Sweden's asylum and immigration policy includes refugee and immigration policy, return policy, repatriation support, and the link between migration and development.
It also includes global cooperation on these issues. This covers the area of how to submit your asylum application, what different types of residence permits you can be granted, and what happens once the Migration Agency has made a decision on your asylum application.
Conditions for asylum migration to Sweden
Read here about how to apply for asylum in Sweden.
- You must be in Sweden or at the Swedish border in order to apply for asylum.
- It is not possible to apply for asylum before your arrival, or at a Swedish embassy in another country.
- The Swedish Migration Agency determines whether you are entitled to protection in Sweden. The Migration Agency's website contains a lot of information about applying for asylum in Sweden.
- You must not have obtained a visa to enter any other EU country.
- You must not have obtained certain types of residence permits in another EU country.
- Each asylum application is considered individually.
- The Migration Agency will examine the specific reasons for seeking asylum in Sweden.
You will be considered a refugee if the Migration Agency assesses that you have good reasons to fear persecution because:
- SexualCurrent tack
- Religious or political beliefs
- Gender
- Sexual orientation
- Membership of a particular social group
If you still need protection after three years, you can be granted an extension of your residence permit. The extension lasts for two years. After three years, you also have the possibility to apply for a permanent residence permit.
Steps for asylum in Sweden
- If you meet the border police when you enter Sweden, you must tell them that you want to apply for asylum.
- The border police will ask you some questions and then they will refer you to the Migration Agency, where your application will be received.
- If you are already in Sweden you must contact the immigration agency yourself.
- You have to go to one of the immigration agency units.
- The Migration Agency's application units are located in Göteborg, Malmö and Stockholm.
- Children who arrive in Sweden without their parents can apply for asylum in Boden, Norrköping, Sundsvall, Umeå, Uppsala and Örebro.
- You have to tell the immigration agency who you are, why you fled and what you think will happen if you have to return to your country.
- Describe as much as you can about yourself and your situation, even if it feels difficult to do so.
- It is important to tell the truth and not change. These things can affect your chances of obtaining a residence permit.
Subsidiary asylum protection in Sweden
You will be considered eligible for subsidiary protection if the Migration Agency assesses that there is a risk that you:
- He was punished with the death penalty.
- Subjected to corporal punishment, torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
- He was injured due to armed conflict, despite not being a soldier.
If you still need protection after 13 months, you can be granted an extension of your residence permit.
Exceptions to the right to protection You are not entitled to asylum in Sweden if you:
- You have committed a war crime.
- They committed a crime against humanity.
- They committed another serious crime.
- You are a threat to Sweden's national security. If you are at risk of being killed or persecuted in your country, you may be given a temporary residence permit even if you have committed any of the above-mentioned acts.
Duration of studying an asylum application to Sweden
There may be many people seeking asylum, and you may have to wait a long time before you are called to your asylum investigation at the Migration Agency. Wait times can vary from person to person. Every asylum application is different, so there is no general rule for how long it takes to investigate an application.
You may find it difficult to deal with the uncertainty of the outcome of your application. Many people suffer during the long waiting period. But there are things you can do while you wait that will help you if you don't get to stay in Sweden.
While waiting, you can always do the following:
- Learn the Swedish language.
- Get a translation of your educational certificates if you attended school in your country or any other country.
- Find activities you can join in your area.
- Work or undertake training to learn a trade.
Asylum seeker card (LMA-kort)
LMA stands for “lagen om mottagande av asylsökande” or the Law on the Reception of Asylum Seekers.
- When you apply for asylum in Sweden, your photo will be taken.
- Later you will receive an asylum seeker card (LMA-Corte).
- You must collect your asylum seeker card at the Migration Agency's reception unit.
- An asylum seeker card is a plastic card with a photo of you on it, showing that you are an asylum seeker.
- It is not an identity card, but proof that you are an asylum seeker who is allowed to remain in Sweden while awaiting a decision on your application.
- The Asylum Seeker Card replaces the receipt you were given when you submitted your asylum application.
- You must always carry your asylum seeker card.
- This is especially important when visiting medical care services, for example, or buying prescribed medicines, as you will pay a lower price if you show your asylum seeker card.
Types of asylum declaration
- If you are granted a residence permit, this means that your asylum application has been accepted.
- If you receive a residence permit as a refugee, your permit will be applied for three years.
- If you obtain a residence permit as a person eligible for subsidiary protection, your permit will be applied for 13 months.
If your asylum application is rejected, it means that the Migration Agency does not think there are sufficient reasons to allow you to stay in Sweden.
Read also: Reunification laws in Sweden for individuals, spouses and children
Options for rejecting an asylum application in Sweden
If your application is rejected you have three options:
- To appeal the decision.
- Return to your home country or to another country where you have permission to remain.
- Apply for a work permit, if you have a job in Sweden.
Appeal to the Immigration Court
If you want to appeal the Migration Agency's decision you must write a letter to the Migration Agency. This letter must state the following:
- Any decision you want the Migration Agency to change.
- Why do you want the Migration Agency to change the decision?
- Your personal data.
- This is your case number printed on your asylum seeker card.
- A telephone number and address where the immigration agency or court can reach you.
The Migration Agency will review your appeal to check whether the decision needs to be changed. If the Migration Agency concludes that it has made an incorrect decision, it can change the decision. This could be, for example, if there are grounds for asylum that the Migration Agency was not aware of when it made the decision.
If the Migration Agency does not find that there is any reason to change the decision, it will be sent to the Migration Court. The court can either change the decision or agree with the Migration Agency.
Appeal to the Immigration Court of Appeal
If you are not satisfied with the ruling of the Immigration Court, you can appeal it to the Immigration Court of Appeal. You must file your appeal with the Immigration Court of Appeals within three weeks of the day you received your ruling by the Immigration Court.
The Court of Appeal only hears certain cases in certain cases. This is known as a case review. The Immigration Court of Appeals can reconsider a case when there is no guidance from previous rulings, known as precedent, or when the Immigration Court reconsiders the case in the wrong way.
In most cases, the Immigration Appeals Court decides not to reconsider the appeal. This means that the immigration court ruling applies. If the Immigration Court of Appeal decides not to reconsider the appeal, the Immigration Court ruling begins to apply immediately.
When appeal is not possible
You cannot appeal a decision:
- If you have accepted the decision and signed what is known as a declaration of acceptance (nöjdförklaring).
- If the Immigration Appeals Court decides not to review your case.
- If you have been granted a residence permit for a limited period of time.
When should you leave Sweden?
- You will have a certain period of time to leave Sweden after receiving your decision.
- The decision will determine the duration of that time period.
- If you do not leave Sweden and return to your country within the specified time, you risk receiving a return ban.
- This means that you will not be allowed to enter any country in the European Union for between one and five years.
- Your notification of the decision will say how long the return ban will apply in your case.
Residence during the asylum application period
As an asylum seeker you can either get the Migration Agency's help in finding accommodation or arrange your own accommodation. You can find more information about what the rules are here.
- The Migration Agency will offer you temporary accommodation while you wait for a decision on your asylum application.
- The Migration Agency will pay for your accommodation if you do not have money.
- If you are staying in temporary accommodation provided by the Migration Agency, you cannot choose where you will stay.
- You must be prepared to move to a place where accommodation is available.
- It is also possible that you will have to move to another accommodation center while you wait for a decision on your asylum application.
- If accommodation is offered to you, the place offered applies to you only. The accommodation is often in a shared apartment.
- If you arrive in Sweden with your family, you and your family will always have your own room together.
- If you are single, you will share a room with others of the same sex.
Study during the asylum application period
- All children have the right to education.
- The municipality where you live is obliged to provide places for your children at school.
- Your child has the right to attend kindergarten on the same conditions as other children in Sweden.
- Your child is entitled to join school from the term of six years of age.
The right to education applies to the following forms of education:
- Nursery
- Preschool class
- Compulsory school
- Compulsory school for people with special needs
- Private schools and day leisure centres
For upper secondary school and secondary schools with special needs, a child is eligible to enroll if he or she starts school before reaching 18 years of age.
Health insurance for refugees in Sweden
- Every person living in Sweden has the right to health and to receive medical care when necessary
- As an asylum seeker in Sweden you are entitled to a limited range of medical and dental care.
- Everyone seeking asylum in Sweden is offered a free medical examination.
- You are entitled to help and care if you feel mentally unwell.
- A person with a functional disability has a reduced ability to function physically, mentally, or intellectually.
- The functional impairment may be that your eyesight is bad, or that you need certain aids such as a hearing aid or a wheelchair.
- If you have been exposed to violence, you are entitled to protection and support.
Asylum salary in Sweden
- There may be possibilities for you to work or start your own business while applying for asylum in Sweden.
- There are also many ways to prepare to work in Sweden.
- If you do not have the opportunity to earn your own money, and you have no other assets, you can apply for financial support from the Migration Agency.
- You may be able to open a bank account and access other banking services while seeking asylum in Sweden.
In accommodations where food is included the daily allowance is
- 24 SEK per day for adults who are alone
- SEK 19 per person for adults sharing household expenses
In accommodations where food is not included the daily allowance is
- 17 SEK per day for adults who are alone
- SEK 61 per person for adults sharing household expenses
- SEK 37 per day for children from 0 to 3 years
- 43 SEK per day for children aged 4-10 years
- 50 SEK per day for children from 11 to 17 years.
Housing compensation
If you have received a job or a job offer, you can apply for accommodation compensation. This is for work longer than a period of three months and when you have to move to a place where the Migration Agency does not have any accommodation to offer. Housing compensation is
- 850 SEK per month for families
- 350 SEK per month for a single-person household.
Information compiled from one source: https://www.migrationsverket.se/
