The new work permit policy aims at combating illegal immigration while simultaneously dissuading under-qualified non-EU nationals from migrating to Sweden.
Photo credit: Humaniun
Sweden is widely credited for having a long history of migration. As a country, it isn't a stranger to immigration and emigration. From the 1850s to the 1950s, about 1.5 million Swedes emigrated to the Americas and Australia, a period in Swedish history commonly referred to as the Great Emigration.
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons/CCO
How does immigration work in Sweden?
There are specificities and degrees when it comes to the question of who has the right to migrate to Sweden. In the first case, European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland nationals do not need a visa or permit to come to Sweden; they enjoy the right to live, work and study in Sweden simply by being a citizen of the above-mentioned countries or area. A second set of individuals have the same rights as EU/EEA and Swiss citizens; nationals from the USA, Britain, Canada, Australia, and Japan, to name a few, do not need a visa either. In the third category, we have foreign nationals who, on the other hand, need to apply for a residence permit or visa if they choose to move to Sweden.
Not all immigration is either "regular" or "irregular". Immigration can also be on a humanitarian basis; this is a right reserved solely for individuals who are seeking protection on the reliable and provable grounds that they are fleeing persecution from their birth country. This kind of immigration is known as "asylum" (the third and often forgotten type of immigration).
Sweden signed the UN Refugee Convention (otherwise known as the Geneva Convention), in which it agreed to examine and grant asylum to people recognized as refugees:
The core principle of the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol is non-refoulement, which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom.
What is the new work permit policy about?
In October 2023, Candace Owen’s bed:
Sweden has announced that they will be deporting any migrants who make less than 2,322 euros per month. She signed the tweet saying: well done, Sweden.
Photo credit: From X
Reading this X, one's initial reaction is disbelief and fear, at least for an immigrant. Questions like "What is there to celebrate? Do Swedish nationals even earn that much per month? Why are immigrants singled out? However, an even more important question takes up space in our reasoning: does this new policy threaten to deport all immigrants who fail to reach this monthly salary cap?
Here is some context
Yes, it is true that Sweden now has a new work permit policy, individuals who apply to obtain new work permits will be required to earn at least 27,360 Swedish Krona (which is the equivalent of 2,341.70 per month), a significant increase from the 13,000 Swedish Krona or 1,135.67 euros per month it used to be.
This new policy is expected to go into effect from 1ˢᵗ November 2023. Although it doesn’t explicitly say “immigrants,” we can assume that it refers primarily to non-EU immigrants because only non-EU/EEA immigrants are required to apply for work permits. We can also assume two other things: the individual either already resides in Sweden legally (in which case, according to this new policy, will be deported if they don't earn 2,341.70 euros per month), or the individual is seeking a work visa to come to Sweden (in this second case, they will be denied a visa but not deported because or for latter to happen, they would have to reside in Sweden, to begin with).
Now, why this new policy? What is its goal?
The introduction of a new work permit model by the Swedish immigration agency is meant to combat mass illegal immigration and dissuade underqualified people from migrating to Sweden.
Following news regarding Labor immigration fraud and abuse, both of which have become a commonality in Sweden and other European countries, this new policy aims to maintain dignified welcome standards, and individuals without grounds for protection or any legal right to remain in Sweden will be deported. There is also a growing phenomenon in Sweden known as the shadow society, a phrase frequently used to characterize the rising number of foreign nationals who live outside the Swedish system, without residence permits, and are frequently exploited in the labor market.
Furthermore, it will also result in the cutting down of social benefits for non-European immigrants because many claim that the current integration policy isn’t working, seeing that it demands nothing of the migrants, citing segregation, social exclusion, unemployment, poor school results, and a lack of common Swedish values.
Finally, it will tighten the conditions for citizenship, using DNA analysis to identify migrant individuals, limiting grants of residence permits based on humanitarian grounds, imposing stricter conditions on family reunion visas, and removing the possibility of applying for a work visa following the rejection of an asylum application.
Thoughts?
Should other European countries implement the same policy?
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