Stockholm may reform a program that encourages migrants struggling to integrate into society to leave the country, according to a proposal submitted to Swedish Immigration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard.
Under Sweden’s current “voluntary repatriation” program, refugees and migrants receive a one-time payment of 10,000 Swedish kronor (approximately 350,000 forints) per adult and 5,000 kronor per child (plus travel costs) if they agree to leave the country.
However, a commission has suggested that this program be extended not only to those with temporary or permanent residency permits but also to naturalized Swedish citizens and their families.
The report, submitted this week, also recommended introducing a repayment obligation for those who received the money but did not leave. At the same time, it rejected a proposal to increase the payment amount, considering it problematic as it might send the “wrong message” to migrants, implying they are “not welcome” in Sweden.
“The investigation’s proposal will now be analyzed by the Ministry of Justice,” said Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard on X (formerly Twitter), acknowledging that the current program has been ineffective, with very few people aware of or willing to take advantage of the available support.
Sweden’s foreign-born population has doubled in the past two decades and is estimated to exceed 2.15 million by 2023, accounting for more than one-fifth of the country’s total population. After a record number of immigrants arrived in 2015, Stockholm implemented restrictions that made the country’s immigration policy one of the strictest in Europe.
As a result, last year marked the first time in over five decades that more people left Sweden than arrived, Stenergard noted.
“We see that many are ‘returning’ without any support,” said the minister.
“For those who have not integrated into Swedish society, repatriation might be an opportunity to create a better life for themselves,” she added. “This is one way to achieve sustainable immigration that strengthens integration and reduces exclusion.”
Translated and edited by L. Earth
