The Swedish government is being pushed to remove the possibility for asylum seekers to attain permanent residence permits, a policy change that would impact the ability of criminal migrants to stay in the country indefinitely and have implications on others hoping to remain, too. The proposal is the result of an investigation initiated by the government.
The nationalist Sweden Democrats (SD) said that while “under previous governments, even criminal foreigners have been able to obtain permanent residency,”
Now we are putting an end to that once and for all: our new report proposes abolishing permanent residency for everyone. No one should be able to count on staying here for life anymore.
Temporary residence permits are currently granted to those in need of immediate protection, although permanent permits can then be handed out after a certain period of time. SD also this month supported the abolition of ‘track changes,’ meaning rejected asylum applicants can no longer stay in Sweden while submitting new asylum claims based on different grounds or while applying for a separate work permit.
The proposal also suggests removing the right of migrants to obtain tax-paid legal assistance during the Migration Board’s handling of an asylum claim.
SD’s latest proposal is intended to form part of the wider plan to make Sweden’s “the EU’s toughest migration policy.” MEP Charlie Weimers has also expressed hope that officials in Brussels are “finally starting to listen to us.”
But Swedish paper Fria Tider has suggested that for many migrants, permanent residence permits could be replaced by firmer Swedish citizenship—the path to which “remains wide open.” Indeed, the TT news agency quotes Moderates Migration Minister Johan Forssell as saying that
An important point with this [removal of permanent residence permits for asylum seekers] is to increase the incentive to become a citizen.
So this is, perhaps, another front SD will have to turn its attention to next.
If approved, these latest changes should come into force next summer.
(@weimers) 
