Sweden’s government has announced that it will significantly increase grants for immigrants who voluntarily return to their home countries, aiming to encourage more migrants to do so.
The announcement was made on Thursday September 12, 2024 by its Migration Minister, Johan Forssell at a press conference.
According to the right-wing government supported by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, beginning from 2026, immigrants who choose to return will be eligible for up to 350,000 Swedish kronor ($34,000).
He noted that the country was experiencing a shift in its migration policy informing that immigrant families receive up 40,000 kronor. These monies according to him, have been available since 1984.
“We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in our migration policy,” Migration Minister Johan Forssell said at a press conference.
Currently, immigrants can receive up to 10,000 kronor per adult and 5,000 kronor per child, with a maximum of 40,000 kronor per family.
“This grant has been available since 1984, but it is relatively unknown, small, and used by few people,” Ludvig Aspling of the Sweden Democrats noted.
The announcement came despite a recent government-appointed probe advising against a significant increase, arguing that the expected benefits did not justify the potential costs.
Conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who assumed office in 2022 with a minority coalition supported by the Sweden Democrats, has pledged to address immigration and crime.
Sweden has welcomed many migrants since the 1990s from conflict-ridden countries such as the former Yugoslavia, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran, and Iraq, but has faced challenges integrating them.
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi).
The country has a population of 10.6 million and a low population density of 25.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (66/sq mi); around 87% of Swedes reside in urban areas in the central and southern half of the country.
Its urban areas together covers1.5% of its land area. Sweden has a diverse climate owing to the length of the country, which ranges from 55°N to 69°N. Sweden is the largest Nordic country and the fifth-largest country in Europe.
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