The Swedish government has said it will start offering certain migrants up to 350,000 Swedish kronor ($34,000) in exchange for returning to their countries of origin from 2026.
Migration Minister Johan Forssell made the announcement on Thursday commenting “we are in the midst of a paradigm shift in our migration policy.”
Immigration has become increasingly controversial in Sweden over recent years, with the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats coming second in the county’s most recent general election in September 2022. While unable to form a government itself, the Sweden Democrats have since been propping up an administration led by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, from the center-right Moderate Party which came third in the election.
Forssell noted there is already a Swedish government program offering migrants funds to help them return home, but the amounts paid are much lower at a maximum of 10,000 kronor ($976) per adult and 5,000 kronor per child, with a cap of 40,000 kronor ($3,903) per family. However he said the offer is little used and was taken up by only one migrant in 2023.
Speaking to reporters, Ludvig Aspling, a lawmaker and the Sweden Democrats spokesperson on immigration, suggested the policy would most appeal to migrants who were long-term unemployed or reliant on state welfare.
Aspling also referenced the Swedish government’s current scheme offering migrants much lower sums to return to their country of origin. He said: “The grant has been around since 1984, but it is relatively unknown, it is small and relatively few people use it.”
It is unclear what the exact criteria to receive the new sums of money will be. Newsweek contacted the Swedish government and the Sweden Democrats for comment via email.
The Swedish government’s decision to dramatically increase the amount paid to migrants who leave came despite the policy being criticized last month in a report from a government appointed probe, which argued the benefits don’t justify the costs.
According to the AFP news agency a number of other European countries already have schemes that pay migrants to return to their home countries, with offers of around $2,000 in Germany, $2,800 in France, $1,400 in Norway and more than $15,000 in Denmark.
Since coming to power the new Swedish government has tightened asylum and other immigration rules, as a result of which the country is on track to receive its lowest number of asylum applications since 1997 this year according to the Swedish Migration Agency.
According to the government agency Sweden received 5,600 asylum applications up to July 28 this year, and Statistics Sweden estimates it will record net emigration for the first time in half a century.
In a statement following the Swedish Migration Agency announcement last month Minister for Migration Maria Malmer Stenergard said: “The Government’s efforts have produced results. The number of asylum applications is looking to be historically low, asylum-related residence permits continue to decrease and Sweden has net emigration for the first time in 50 years. This development toward sustainable immigration is necessary to strengthen integration and reduce social exclusion.”
Reacting to the Swedish Migration Agency and Statistics Sweden figures, in an August press release, the government said: “In 2023, emigration increased among people born in countries such as Iraq, Somalia and Syria. That same year, net migration numbers for people born in these countries were negative. According to preliminary statistics from Statistics Sweden up to May this year, Sweden had negative net migration.”
In 2015 Sweden received 163,000 asylum applications according to the BBC, the highest figure per capita in Europe.
A survey published in 2017 by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention found 30 percent of foreigners living in Sweden said they didn’t feel safe going out at night, up from 24 percent in 2015.
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