Sweden is one of the most diverse countries in Europe; more than 25% of the population have immigrant backgrounds (1). Being unharmed by the world wars, many refugees migrated to Sweden during and after the Second World War. From 1950, labor migrants also increased and since then, the number of immigrants has consistently increased (See more in Immigration in Sweden I).
According to the Migrant Integration Policy Index 2020 (MIPEX), Sweden was rated one of the top 10 countries in the world in terms of integration policies (2).
In 2007, the new Ministry of Integration and Gender Equality was established. In the following year 2008, the strategy for migrant integration was reformed and the Empowerment against Exclusion was set to ensure demand and supply balance in the labor market as well as equality in schools (3).
In 2016, the government increased the budget for immigrants’ early integration by 200 million euros. One of the unique integration programs in Sweden is the Establishment Programme administered by the Public Employment Service. It is targeted at 20-65 years old newly arrived immigrants with international protection status. The participants receive benefits to cover their living costs for up to 24 months by engaging in the 40 hours per week program to learn Swedish, find a job via job coaching, civic orientation, and become self-sufficient eventually. This program became mandatory for all targeted immigrants in 2018, and the Intensive Year Program was added further in 2021. The intensive Year Program aims for fast-paced learning of Swedish and intensive internship to integrate into the labor market.
Not only provide these integration programs, but also they regularly evaluate the programs by several institutions such as Delmi, the Institute for Evaluation of Labor Market and Education Policy, and the National Integration Evaluation Mechanism.
While much effort is being made to promote the integration of migrants, legal status is becoming rather stringent for immigrants. For example, the Aliens Act 2005 was reformed in 2016, and it halted the automatic issue of permanent residence permits for refugees. Instead of permanent residence, refugee immigrants received three years residence permit but currently, they can receive the residence permit for up to 13 months. In 2021, it became mandatory for asylum seekers to attend the two and a half day introduction course on Swedish society upon their arrival. We can see that the government still promotes and values the integration of immigrants while attempting to reduce the number of immigrants.
Since October 18, 2022 when the new government was formed, the restriction for migration has become tougher (4). They seek to adjust the Swedish migration to the minimum level under EU law, for example, by being more strict for family reunification, citizenship, and withdrawal of residence permits. Their aims are to retain only migrants who are integrated into Swedish society, but this has been controversial.
Meanwhile, the government still strives to integrate immigrants as much as possible from numerous aspects. For example, in October 2024, they decided to increase the budget for Swedish language education for immigrants (5).
Personally, Sweden is attractive to migrants because of good economic conditions, high quality of life, and a supportive attitude to diversity and inclusion. As a migrant, I can find many opportunities that help us integrate into society. Municipalities provide numerous programs such as language café and cultural events for us to connect to people and learn language and culture. On the other hand, I’m not certain if these opportunities are equally available in both urban and rural areas, men and women, refugees and labor migrants. I may find these opportunities just because I came for work and live in a populated and diverse area. I will take a look at initiatives by several municipalities for immigrants in the next posts.
References
1. Statistics Sweden. Statistiska Centralbyrån. 2023 [cited 2023 Nov 9]. Population in Sweden by Country/Region of Birth, Citizenship and Swedish/Foreign background, 31 December 2022. Available from: https://www.scb.se/en/finding-statistics/statistics-by-subject-area/population/population-composition/population-statistics/pong/tables-and-graphs/foreign-born-citizenship-and-foreignswedish-background/population-in-sweden-by-countryregion-of-birth-citizenship-and-swedishforeign-background-31-december-2022/
2. Migration Policy Index 2020. www.mipex.eu. 2020 [cited 2024 Oct 14]. Migrant Integration Policy Index. Available from: https://www.mipex.eu/
3. European Comission. Governance of migrant integration in Sweden [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Oct 14]. Available from: https://migrant-integration.ec.europa.eu/country-governance/governance/sweden_en
4. European Migration Network. EMN country factsheet 2022: Sweden [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2024 Oct 14]. Available from: https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-08/EMN_Factsheets2022_SE_0.pdf
5. Regeringskansliet R och. Regeringskansliet. Regeringen och Regeringskansliet; 2024 [cited 2024 Oct 11]. Measures to ensure that more people learn Swedish. Available from: https://www.government.se/press-releases/2024/10/measures-to-ensure-that-more-people-learn-swedish/
