The girl’s parents and 7-year-old brother — who has spent five years of his life in Sweden — were told in March that they must return to Tunisia.
The board has said it will reassess the family’s asylum application with the help of police and social services, Sveriges Television (SVT) reports.
But the temporary reprieve does not guarantee a reversal of the original decision for the family, currently living in Falkenberg in western Sweden.
“The family has not received a permanent residence permit, and the family still has not shown that it needs protection from its home country,” Susanna Berntsson, the board’s regional manager in Gothenburg, told SVT.
Both children live with a foster family. Their mother is mentally ill and their father is incapable of taking care of them.
The girl, who was born in Sweden, was taken into social care shortly after her birth and was considered eligible for a residence permit. The Migration Board said that to take her away from her foster family would constitute “a serious threat to her psycho-social development”.
Should the board uphold its original decision it will up to the girl’s parents to decide whether she should accompany them to Tunisia or remain in Sweden.
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