data/www.swedenabroad.com/English/21#63d00e29-3af4-4ad3-ac24-12a9438c5852.txt

Changes to Sweden’s migration and asylum policy
Sweden has taken a large share of the responsibility in the ongoing global refugee crisis. When the common EU asylum system found itself unable to deal with the large number of asylum seekers in the second half of 2015, the situation became untenable, placing a great strain on Swedish society. The Government has therefore taken temporary measures to substantially reduce the number of asylum seekers.
In 2015, approximately 163 000 people applied for asylum in Sweden, 114 000 of whom arrived in the latter part of the year, between September and December. Approximately 35 000 of them were unaccompanied minors. This entails many and major challenges for the Swedish asylum system and for other public services such as access to housing, health and medical care, schools and social welfare. The Government has therefore taken a number of temporary measures to substantially reduce the number of asylum seekers. An agreement has also been concluded between the EU and Turkey with a view to ending human smuggling and irregular migration from Turkey to the EU.
ID checks and border controls at internal bordersOn 12 November 2015, Sweden reintroduced temporary border controls at internal borders. The border controls are enforced, in accordance with the Schengen acquis, in certain ports in southern and western Sweden, and at the Öresund bridge.
As of 4 January 2016, Sweden has also introduced temporary ID checks for those entering Sweden from Denmark. This means that anyone travelling from Denmark by bus or train, or a distance shorter than 20 nautical miles by passenger ferry, must show valid photo ID to enter Sweden. There are exceptions for people under 18 travelling with an adult.
Changes to asylum seekers’ right to financial assistanceOn 1 June 2016, Sweden introduced an act under which the right to financial assistance (daily allowance and accommodation provided by the Swedish Migration Agency) ceases to apply for people with no children whose expulsion orders have become final and non-appealable.
New Swedish bill for temporary residence permits The Swedish Government has presented a bill on a temporary act to adjust Swedish asylum regulations to the minimum permitted under EU law and international conventions. The act would apply for three years and would mean temporary residence permits being granted to all those in need of protection apart from quota refugees, with the exception of seriously ill children.
The bill would also mean that the possibilities of family reunification would be limited for those with temporary residence permits.
Under the new act, it would also be more difficult to obtain a residence permit on grounds of exceptionally or particularly distressing circumstances.
More effective returns for those whose applications are rejectedThe number of asylum applications increased substantially in the second half of 2015, and it is therefore expected that more people will be issued refusal-of-entry orders and expulsion orders in the coming years. For the asylum and reception system to work, people who have received such an order must return. The Swedish Migration Agency has therefore been assigned the task of shortening the time from asylum application to return, increasing the number of detention centre places and reinforcing the returns procedure via liaison officers at missions abroad.
Statement by the EU and TurkeyOn 18 March 2016, the EU and Turkey made a statement with a view to ending human smuggling and irregular migration from Turkey to the EU. This EU–Turkey statement means that irregular migrants, i.e. people who have entered a country without permission or who are not seeking asylum, who enter Greece from Turkey as of 20 March 2016 will be returned to Turkey. For those seeking asylum, the Greek authorities will examine each case individually. For every Syrian returned to Turkey from Greece, one Syrian in Turkey will be resettled in the EU under a ‘1:1 mechanism’. Those who have not previously attempted to enter the EU as irregular migrants will be given priority.
The statement expressly states that international regulations and standards must be followed, including the right to protection and to an individual asylum examination. The statement also promises that those migrants who are currently in Turkey will receive increased support. The EU also agreed on reinforced support to Greece to enable it to provide legally certain reception and returns.