Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

IMMIGRATION

More Swedes than ever are moving abroad

Record numbers of Swedes are quitting their homeland, according to figures from the country's number crunching agency Statistics Sweden.

Published: 7 January 2016 17:12 CET

More Swedes than ever are moving abroad

Swedes at Arlanda airport. Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT

More Swedish residents chose to leave the Nordic nation to live in other countries in 2014 than at any other time in the last 160 years, freshly released figures suggest.

Between 1850 and 1930, there was mass emigration from Sweden amid high unemployment and crop failures, with around 50,000 people a year quitting the Scandinavian country.

According to Statistics Sweden, some 51,237 people left Sweden in 2014, including foreign-born residents heading back to their home countries or other destinations.

“The proportion of emigrants in relation to the Swedish population as a whole is not as great as in the 1800s. But the fact remains that Sweden is today also a country of emigration,” Maria Solevid, political scientist at the University of Gothenburg, told Swedish broadcaster SVT on Thursday.

The official statistics follow separate figures released by the non-profit organisation Svenskar i världen (Swedes Worldwide), which last year published a widely-shared list of the most popular foreign destinations Swedes relocate to.

The United States featured at the top of the table, with 150,000 Swedes following in the footsteps of their ancestors. Meanwhile 90,000 are understood to live in the UK, with a similar figure settling in sunny Spain. Other warm climes including Thailand, France and Italy were among the leading ten choices.

However according to Solevid, there has been little detailed research on the specific reasons Swedes seek new lives abroad.

“There is stunningly little knowledge of these people and why they move,” she said, adding that her team intended to investigate the issue.

Despite rising numbers of people fleeing their frozen homeland, Sweden's population is continuing to grow at a record rate, driven by unprecedented immigration. Some 163,000 people sought asylum in Sweden in 2015, while the number of foreigners relocating from other EU countries also continued to grow rapidly.

Sweden's total population is expected to pass 10 million for the first time in history later this year, according to Statistics Sweden.

Do foreigners in Sweden have to carry their residence cards?

What is an uppehållstillstånd?

Firstly, an uppehållstillstånd or residence permit is required for legal residence in Sweden for non-EU citizens, as well as EU citizens without EU right of residence.

Note that this is not the same as an uppehållskort, which is for non-EU citizens living with a non-Swedish EU citizen, nor is it the same as an intyg om permanent uppehållsrätt for EU citizens or uppehållsstatus for Brits here under the rules of the withdrawal agreement.

Card, status, or permit? The different types of permanent residence document in Sweden

Residence permits are granted to those wanting to work, study or live in Sweden, including those who came to the country as family members of other residents or as refugees.

The criteria you must fulfil to be granted a residence permit depend on the reason you are in Sweden and your personal situation.

If you are granted a residence permit for Sweden, you will be issued with a residence card or uppehållstillståndskort, as documentation of your residence rights.

The card itself is a plastic card the size of a credit card and displays your photo. It also includes a chip containing your biometric data. You will be required to attend an appointment to submit biometric details to the Migration Agency, either at one of its offices or at your closest Swedish embassy or consulate, if you’re applying from outside the country, after which the agency will be able to produce your residence card.

So, do I need to carry the card with me at all times?

Technically, no, but it’s best to always know where it is, as you will need to be able to show it when asked.

A press officer at Sweden’s Migration Agency told The Local that it’s a good idea to carry it with you at all times, although there’s no specific requirement for residence permit holders to do so.

“We can’t comment exactly on the situations in which other authorities, such as the police or healthcare services would need to see your residence permit card, but our general advice is that it’s a good idea to carry your residence card with you at all times, like any other form of ID, such as a driving licence, for example,” she said.

According to the Migration Agency’s website, you should always have it with you when in contact with Swedish authorities or healthcare, as it proves that you have the right to live in Sweden.

“According to the Aliens Act, foreigners in Sweden must show a passport or other document showing they have the right to live in Sweden, when asked by a police officer,” police press officer Irene Sokolow told The Local.

“[The foreigner] is responsible for proving their right to be in Sweden, as well as their identity and the day and time they arrived in Sweden, if relevant. They are, however, not required to carry their identity card or passport with them.”

One situation where you should have your card with you is when travelling over the Swedish border, where you should always present it to border police along with your passport. This ensures you’ll be registered correctly as a resident when exiting or re-entering the country, rather than as a tourist.

One reason why this is important is that non-EU residents can only visit Schengen for 90 days in every 180-day period without needing a residence permit or other visa, so if you’re falsely registered as entering Sweden as a visitor, this 90-day countdown will start.

If you’re then discovered living in Sweden past the 90-day deadline, your false registration as a tourist could lead to you being branded an overstayer, which could affect your chances of getting a residence permit in the future, as well as your chances of being allowed to enter other Schengen countries.

Where else might I be asked to show my card?

Sweden’s police are also able to carry out so-called inre utlänningskontroller, special controls to identify people living in Sweden illegally, if they have reason to believe the person in question does not have a permit or visa to live in Sweden.

These can take place anywhere within Sweden, including at workplaces suspected of hiring people without valid residence permits, so at least in theory, you could be stopped by police anywhere in the country and asked to show your residence permit if they have reason to believe you’re living here illegally.

“When an inre utlänningskontroll is carried out and the person in question does not have any such documents with them, the police can check their status with the Migration Agency,” Sokolow told The Local.

Legally, the police have the power to confiscate your passport or other ID document if you can’t prove you have the right to be in Sweden when asked, although this will be returned to you when you provide them with a valid residence permit card or when they receive other proof that you have the right to be in the country.

Url copied to clipboard!