In a press statement, Parliamentary Ombudsman Per Lennerbrant said that the Migration Agency must make “special efforts” to address the long waiting times faced by those applying for asylum, permanent residency, or citizenship in Sweden.
He said he had decided to launch a new investigation into the issue after complaints continued to come in about long processing times, despite him highlighting the problem in a previous investigation, the conclusions of which were published in January 2021.
“In my previous assessment I spoke of a fear that the agency’s long processing times would become the norm if serious measures were not taken,” he said.
“I am now forced to confirm that my fears appear to have been valid. The Migration Agency must make special efforts to address the long processing times.”
According to the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s statement, it is “unacceptable” that the Migration Agency, year after year, has unreasonably long processing times for a large range of cases.
SEE ALSO:
- Why I wish Sweden’s failing Migration Agency was an election issue
- What are my rights while I wait for my Swedish residence permit to be extended?
The Ombudsman criticised the Migration Agency for “slow and passive” processing in all cases which were a subject of the investigation.
A copy of the decision has been sent to Sweden’s governmental offices, as the long waiting times are also in part due to lacking resources.
Lennerbrant will continue to follow the issue of waiting times at the Migration Agency, he said.
Please whitelist us to continue reading.
Glad you keep bringing this topic up, it’s crazy. I’m 6 months into a predicted *36* month wait for my citizenship application, I’ve not even been given a case worker yet.
There shouldn’t be any complications with my case. I’ve been living (as an EU citizen) with my Swedish born sambo for 4 years, the rule is you have to have been living like that for 2 years. How can the estimated wait time be LONGER than the time it would take before I can legally apply to be citizen?
Luckily my case is not going to affect my right to be here long term, but for those who risk deportation or having their lives here uprooted it must be awful and stressful.
Waiting for 42 months to receive a decision on my citizenship application having lived for 12+ years. Out of theseyears, 2 years of MSc, 5 years of PhD and now working for 5 years in IT sector. It is easy to lose patience actually.
Yes, one more problem is some cases are not done via first come first serve basis.
If there are additional documents and it’s delayed then it is fine but the basis on which the cases are picked is so unclear.
This long time 5 months + even for certified employer and certified agency is little sad.
I really hope this comes to an end. Just because of this excessive long waiting time, me and my husband is waiting for more than a 1.5 year now! Its frustrating. Even after a case officer assigned, you just keep waiting for decision. I dont know why!!
I hope MV gets the point of how ridiculously our lives are hampered by this long waiting times!!
I have now exceeded 3 years waiting time for citizenship. Plus ça change