STOCKHOLM, Sweden: Sweden’s migration laws are tightening this summer as new asylum, residence and reporting rules reshape the country’s decade-old shift from open refugee policy.
The Swedish Migration Agency said the European Union Migration and Asylum Pact took effect on June 12. Sweden chose the strictest implementation options available under the EU framework.
A new law taking effect on July 12 restricts incoming asylum seekers to temporary residence permits. July 13 reporting-duty law will require six state agencies to report suspected undocumented people to police.
The Guardian reported that Sweden’s parliament passed reporting-duty and “good behaviour” laws in June.
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The “good behaviour” measure allows authorities to revoke or deny residence permits for conduct that may fall short of criminal prosecution, according to The Guardian.
Al Jazeera reported on the case of Raquel Viveira, a Brazilian resident who left Sweden after the migration agency ordered her removal due to a visa-tracking issue. Annual asylum applications in Sweden fell from 163,000 in 2015 to about 9,000.
Sofia Ronnow Pessah, an asylum rights lawyer and policy adviser at RFSL Ungdom, told Al Jazeera that Sweden was entering a new legal reality after the summer changes.
