Migration in Sweden

From the mid-1800s up until 1930, about 1.3 million Swedish people emigrated to North America. This emigration left one of the deepest marks on the development of Sweden. Among the motivations for it were poverty, religious persecution, a pessimistic view of the future, lack of political freedom, and a sense of adventure and various gold rushes.

World War I, in combination with immigration restrictions in the USA, slowed down this emigration that was a major social problem in Sweden. In the wake of World War II, Sweden went from being an out-migration country to an in-migration country as refugees from Germany, the Nordic countries, and the Baltic states arrived. Since 1930, with the exception of a few years in the 1970s, Sweden has always had higher annual immigration than emigration.

In the late ’60s, a new authority was formed: the Swedish Immigration Board (the predecessor of the Swedish Migration Agency), and also regulated immigration was introduced. Those who wanted to come to Sweden to work had to have proof of both employment offers and housing, and they were permitted to come only if the work couldn’t be done by unemployed Swedish people. People from the Nordic countries and refugees were not covered by this regulation, and the situation led to massive immigration from Finland and also from Chile (due to the 1973 military coup).

The term of residence required before application for Swedish citizenship was reduced from seven to five years, or two years for citizens of Nordic countries. The same requirements apply today.

In 1985, a new system for the reception of asylum-seekers was introduced. Responsibility was handed over from the labour-market authorities (AMS) to the Swedish Immigration Board (the predecessor of the Swedish Migration Agency).

In the mid-’80s, the number of asylum-seekers from Iran and Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, and Eritrea began to rise.

In the ’90s, Sweden received about 100,000 refugees from the former Yugoslavia, on account of the Balkan conflict.

In 2015, many refugees from the Middle East came to Sweden in response to war and terrorism. By the end of the year, nearly 163,000 persons had applied for asylum in Sweden, with about 51,000 of them being from Syria. Then, 2016 saw Sweden go from having the EU’s most generous asylum laws to representing the minimum EU level, because of various changes in the legislation – for example, imposing temporary border controls, temporary residence permits, and limited opportunities for family reunification – all to reduce the number of asylum-seekers. On 1 March 2016, legislation was passed on joint responsibility for receiving newcomers to the country, and all municipalities are now compelled to receive a certain proportion of the refugees. In 2019, the number of asylum‑seekers in Sweden was roughly 22,000, with Syria, Iran, and Iraq being the main contributors.

Immigration of family members has for several years been the most common reason for migration to Sweden. As of 2019, labour-market reasons are the most common reason for people not born in Europe to seek a permit to move to Sweden.