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Explained: What you need to know about the Swedish government’s work permit proposals

A Swedish government inquiry is looking into changing work permit regulations. So what's up for discussion, and why?

Published: 7 February 2020 18:07 CET
Updated: 10 July 2020 17:32 CEST
Explained: What you need to know about the Swedish government's work permit proposals
Justice and Migration Minister Morgan Johansson. Photo: Johan Nilsson / TT

Article first published on February 7th, and updated on June 29th.

Why are we talking about this now?

In early February, the right-of-centre Moderate Party forced the issue of work permit regulations when it put forward its own set of proposals to change the system. 

Just days later, the centre-left Social Democrat-Green government announced its own plans to launch an inquiry to review the labour immigration systems.

This inquiry was jointly agreed with the Centre and Liberal parties, whose support is needed in parliament. All four parties signed a policy agreement in January, the January Deal, which included a pledge to “solve the problem of deportation of skilled workers”, but it's only now that it has been formally put forward.

The government decided on launching the inquiry on February 6th, and some parts of the report will be presented by February next year, with others scheduled for November 2021.

What are the issues addressed in the proposals?

Both the government and Moderate Party proposals address the problems of deportations of skilled talent from Sweden, and abuse and fraud linked to the work permit system.

Sweden relies on foreign workers to plug skills shortages in the country, including the fast-growing tech sector.

But legislation which was intended to crack down on exploitation of foreign workers, especially in industries such as berry-picking, had the unintended consequence that many workers with legitimate employers had their permit renewals rejected. This resulted in hundreds of skilled workers being ordered to leave the country due to minor errors in their paperwork, often relating to small discrepancies over holiday pay or insurance policies.

So this is one of the problems that the major Swedish parties have pledged to solve.

As of June, the inquiry is also tasked with proposing law changes designed to put an end to so-called 'talent deportation'.

At the same time there are also concerns that current legislation leaves loopholes than can still be exploited by unscrupulous employers. 

In an opinion article signed by the migration spokespeople of the four 'January Deal' parties, they stated that there was “broad consensus in parliament to address the problems of cheating, fraud and abuse” in the Swedish labour market.

But the way the parties intend to resolve these issues is different.

What is included in the government proposals?

The government's proposals included a so-called 'talent visa' that would allow individuals with skills the Swedish labour market needs to move more easily. In addition, the government proposed simplification of the labour migration process in general, and in particular making it easier for foreign workers to travel during processing time.

They also included a commitment to stop the deportations of skilled workers over minor mistakes, something that has caused problems for hundreds of workers since legislation was tightened a few years ago.

And a maintenance requirement for work permit holders who wish to bring family members to Sweden would also be on the cards.  

What did the opposition say?

One of the big differences between the Moderate Party's and the government's stance relates to the so-called spårbyte or “track change”, the system which allows rejected asylum seekers to apply for a work permit to stay in Sweden in certain circumstances. The Moderates would ban this completely, while the government proposed making this easier. 


Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson and migration policy spokesperson Maria Malmer Stenergard. Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT

Another difference is that the Moderates would increase the salary requirement for receiving a work permit, by requiring applicants to be earning a full-time salary, while the government proposals included analysis of problems linked to part-time salaries.

The Moderates have criticized the government proposals as “half-measures”, while Justice Minister Morgan Johansson has argued that the government plans address the same issues as those put forward by the opposition.

Has anything already been done to stop deportations of skilled workers?

Yes, but campaigners say progress has been much slower than hoped. 

One of the biggest milestones was a landmark court ruling in December 2017. The Swedish Migration Court of Appeal ruling in the case of a pizza baker in Jokkmokk set a precedent for a principle of so-called helhetsbedömning or 'overall assessment', which meant that a small error should no longer be enough to derail an otherwise good application.

The number of rejected permit extensions has declined since then, but there have not been changes to actual legislation, despite a pledge to “solve the problem of deportation of skilled labour” in the January Agreement.

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POLITICS

‘Very little debate’ on consequences of Sweden’s crime and migration clampdown

Sweden’s political leaders are putting the population’s well-being at risk by moving the country in a more authoritarian direction, according to a recent report.

Published: 29 April 2024 08:56 CEST
'Very little debate' on consequences of Sweden's crime and migration clampdown

The Liberties Rule of Law report shows Sweden backsliding across more areas than any other of the 19 European Union member states monitored, fuelling concerns that the country risks breaching its international human rights obligations, the report says.

“We’ve seen this regression in other countries for a number of years, such as Poland and Hungary, but now we see it also in countries like Sweden,” says John Stauffer, legal director of the human rights organisation Civil Rights Defenders, which co-authored the Swedish section of the report.

The report, compiled by independent civil liberties groups, examines six common challenges facing European Union member states.

Sweden is shown to be regressing in five of these areas: the justice system, media environment, checks and balances, enabling framework for civil society and systemic human rights issues.

The only area where Sweden has not regressed since 2022 is in its anti-corruption framework, where there has been no movement in either a positive or negative direction.

Source: Liberties Rule of Law report

As politicians scramble to combat an escalation in gang crime, laws are being rushed through with too little consideration for basic rights, according to Civil Rights Defenders.

Stauffer cites Sweden’s new stop-and-search zones as a case in point. From April 25th, police in Sweden can temporarily declare any area a “security zone” if there is deemed to be a risk of shootings or explosive attacks stemming from gang conflicts.

Once an area has received this designation, police will be able to search people and cars in the area without any concrete suspicion.

“This is definitely a piece of legislation where we see that it’s problematic from a human rights perspective,” says Stauffer, adding that it “will result in ethnic profiling and discrimination”.

Civil Rights Defenders sought to prevent the new law and will try to challenge it in the courts once it comes into force, Stauffer tells The Local in an interview for the Sweden in Focus Extra podcast. 

He also notes that victims of racial discrimination at the hands of the Swedish authorities had very little chance of getting a fair hearing as actions by the police or judiciary are “not even covered by the Discrimination Act”.

READ ALSO: ‘Civil rights groups in Sweden can fight this government’s repressive proposals’

Stauffer also expresses concerns that an ongoing migration clampdown risks splitting Sweden into a sort of A and B team, where “the government limits access to rights based on your legal basis for being in the country”.

The report says the government’s migration policies take a “divisive ‘us vs them’ approach, which threatens to increase rather than reduce existing social inequalities and exclude certain groups from becoming part of society”.

Proposals such as the introduction of a requirement for civil servants to report undocumented migrants to the authorities would increase societal mistrust and ultimately weaken the rule of law in Sweden, the report says.

The lack of opposition to the kind of surveillance measures that might previously have sparked an outcry is a major concern, says Stauffer.

Politicians’ consistent depiction of Sweden as a country in crisis “affects the public and creates support for these harsh measures”, says Stauffer. “And there is very little talk and debate about the negative consequences.”

Hear John Stauffer from Civil Rights Defender discuss the Liberties Rule of Law report in the The Local’s Sweden in Focus Extra podcast for Membership+ subscribers.

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