For decades, Sweden had been known as the destination for non-European immigrants because of its welcoming culture and perhaps overly generous welfare system. But now that era seems to be ending. The Swedish Ministry of Justice recently announced that Sweden is on track to register the lowest total number of asylum seekers this year since 1997, having already reached ‘net emigration’ for the first time in half a century, meaning that more people left in 2024 than arrived.
According to the figures of the Swedish Migration Agency, only 5,600 asylum claims have been registered in the country in 2024 so far, representing a 27% drop compared to the same period from last year. At the same time, emigration (or ‘return migration’) grew by over 60%—especially among people born in Iraq, Somalia, and Syria—resulting to date in an outbound net ‘excess’ of around 5,700 people.
According to migration minister Maria Stenergard:
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 what it calls net emigration for the first time in 50 years. This development towards sustainable immigration is necessary to strengthen integration and reduce social exclusion.
What makes this an even bigger accomplishment is the fact that, on average, the number of asylum applications remains persistently high throughout the EU, therefore domestic policy likely plays a much bigger role in affecting these numbers than any external factors. Most current emigration does not involve Swedish-born expatriates leaving, stalling demographic concerns about a ‘brain drain’.
Following an election dominated by anti-immigration sentiment in 2022, the Moderates’ center-right government (supported by the national conservative Sweden Democrats) announced a complete overhaul of its immigration and asylum system last year. The reforms carried the ambitious goal of turning Sweden from one of the most permissive countries, in which to acquire citizenship, into one of the toughest.
In addition to making acquiring citizenship much harder, the government also began closing legislative loopholes to address labor migration and family reunification abuses, while also incentivizing voluntary returns and ramping up deportations of illegal migrants. At the same time, labor migration was made easier for thoroughly vetted, highly qualified workers.
“We were given a very clear mandate to get immigration organized and not least to fight crime. And that’s what we work every day to deliver to voters as well,” Stenergard said.
Addressing leftist criticism that fewer migrants in Sweden should be seen as a “tragedy” instead of being celebrated, the minister said it was up to the voters to decide to change course again in a few years if they want, but until then this will remain Stockholm’s official direction. For the time being at least:
Sweden has stopped being an asylum immigration country.
There had been growing pressure within Sweden to dramatically change course on immigration in the years prior to this paradigm shift within the Moderate party. Throughout the past decade, it became increasingly clear that large sections of the first-generation migrants are either unable or unwilling to properly integrate, leading to a spike in organized crime and gang violence.
Sweden itself has gone from having the lowest number of shootings and bombings to the most in the entire EU. For instance, Sweden saw over 350 successful or thwarted bomb attacks registered in 2023, as well as 361 shooting incidents (including 53 fatalities and 109 woundings). Sweden’s gang problem also began to spread beyond its borders, recently prompting neighboring Denmark to consider reinstating permanent border checks on the famous Øresund bridge that connects its capital Copenhagen to Malmö, Sweden’s most gang-ridden city.
