Hej,
As we reported on The Local this week, for the first time since records began, more Indians are leaving Sweden than arriving – at least in the first half of the year.
This figure deserves attention from Swedish decision-makers, as well as readers who aren’t from India, because it concerns Sweden as a whole, including the labour market, innovation and competitiveness.
In recent years, Indians have made up the biggest group of foreigners moving to Sweden, following strengthening diplomatic ties and the Nordic country’s drive to attract highly-skilled students, researchers and labour migrants to plug skills gaps in the tech sector.
There are several possible reasons behind the break in trend.
One is that the Swedish tax agency is currently tidying up the population register, removing everyone who is still in the register despite having left the country. That means that more people are formally registered as “emigrated” this year, even if they left a few years ago.
Still, we have more data that suggest that Indian migration to Sweden is slowing down.
Excluding the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, the first half of this year saw the lowest number of Indian-born immigrants since the same period in 2017. First-time work permits awarded to Indian citizens fell 30 percent in the first half of the year compared to 2023.
The Sweden-India Business Council’s CEO, when our Nordic Editor Richard Orange asked him, cautioned against being too quick to draw conclusions as to the reasons why. But I asked Indian readers of The Local on LinkedIn to share their thoughts with me.
One of the things that came up was the close-knit Indian families. The visa process to get parents over to Sweden from India, even just on a temporary visit, is cumbersome. If you want a long-term or permanent residency permit for them, it’s close to impossible.
Some readers also highlighted discrimination, and a feeling that Indians are practically invisible in the Swedish media, despite being a large immigrant group in the country.
If you come to Sweden with a spouse, it can be hard for the spouse to find work, especially if they don’t work within science, tech or engineering. This is a reason many foreigners, not just Indians, end up leaving – an issue The Local has covered on multiple occasions.
But this has always been the case, so we need to look for factors that have changed. One of those is Sweden’s tighter work permit rules, and tougher climate for immigrants overall. We already know that there’s been a decrease in the number of granted work permits.
Another factor is the rising cost of living in Sweden over the past few years, coupled with pay freezes and layoffs in the tech sector, and the fact that work permit holders have a maximum of three months to find a new job before they have to leave the country.
And a third reason is India’s booming economy in recent years. A highly qualified worker can now earn as much and live as well – or even better, in terms of everyday luxuries – in India than in Sweden. Moving to Sweden just isn’t as lucrative any more, and suddenly things you used to be able to put up with (the weather, the reserved people, access to healthcare) become major obstacles.
Of course Sweden also has many pull factors that speak in its favour.
We’re currently running a survey asking readers to tell us what Indians should be aware of before moving to Sweden, and some of the positives that have been mentioned so far include the work-life balance, non-hierarchical workplaces, access to nature and family-friendly policies.
Some things were mentioned as either positives or negatives by different people, because as we all know there’s no country in the world where people are the same, especially one as diverse as India.
For example the flip side of the non-hierarchical workplace is that it’s harder to get promoted or improve your salary – and while a lot of people criticised unfriendly locals, many others lauded the kindness and politeness of Swedes.
If someone feels that the country they’re in isn’t right for them, there’s no shame in leaving – and I’m sure those who do will go on to do valuable things in their new or old country. But that’s very different from “if you don’t like it here, go home”, and factors that actively turn people away need to be addressed, be it discrimination, red tape or overly tough migration policies.
Sweden has many things going for it, but we need an urgent discussion about retaining the international talent we’ve already got. Let’s have that discussion now. What do you think?
In other news
One of the things Sweden definitely has going for it is its excellent, albeit not perfect, parental leave. The Local’s readers told us of the closer relationship it has given them with their children.
Sweden’s Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson revealed in her budget update that she has 60 billion free to spend on tax cuts or new measures, as she signalled a more expansive fiscal policy for 2025.
Sweden’s central bank lowered the key interest rate again by 0.25 percentage points on August 20th, while adding that it may cut rates two or three more times before the year is out. Which banks are cutting their rates in response?
The Swedish Public Health Agency issued new travel recommendations this week for travellers to areas where there’s a high spread of mpox.
The far-right Sweden Democrats told The Local they would call for the government to overrule its own inquiry on re-emigration cash and push forward with a massive increase in grants given to immigrants to encourage them to return to their home countries.
And finally, this was my colleague Becky Waterton’s first week back at work after an unusually late summer holiday (by Swedish standards, at least). She’s now wondering why Swedes seem to overlook August as a great summer month.
I told her it’s because August is too hot and stuffy and she said “wouldn’t you rather be on holiday than stuck in an office then”, which to be fair I couldn’t really argue with.
With that, I’m signing off for the weekend. Take care!
Best wishes,
Emma
Inside Sweden is our weekly newsletter for members which gives you news, analysis and, sometimes, takes you behind the scenes at The Local. It’s published each Saturday and with Membership+ you can also receive it directly to your inbox.
Dear Local,
I am Indian living in Sweden. I am little involved with the community here. I have seen people leaving to India but do not think it is a trend. However it is true that Sweden is no longer the attraction for high talented Indians. So there will be lesser number of Indians moving here. People are earning much high in Germany and US for the same skill. They save more and can send more to their extended family in India.
Hej Local,
I am an Indian living in Sweden from last 6 years. I have been waiting for my kids to get a visa from last 14 months which includes 6 months of a case officers assigned. There are no pending documents etc. All I am receiving from the case officer is – ‘ It will happen, when it happens’.
The case closure request has been denied as well. I think, there is discrimination at individual level (not at any organizational level). The local Swedes are very friendly.
I’m sorry to hear that – thanks for sharing. If you’d like to tell us more, please feel free to email me at [email protected].