Sweden’s stance on immigration has changed fundamentally over the past decade | Real Time Headlines

Sweden is often seen as a liberal utopia in Europe and beyond, with the country of 10.5 million people known for its stable economy, high quality of life, and open and progressive society.

That reputation for acceptance and tolerance was on display in 2014 when asylum seekers began arriving in droves from war-torn parts of the Middle East, particularly Syria, to Sweden and other parts of Europe.

At the time, Sweden’s then-prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt implored citizens to “show tolerance,” tell the public: “I know this will cause friction. Therefore, I call on the Swedish people to show patience and open their hearts.”

In 2014, Sweden registered 81,301 asylum seekers; Data display. By 2015, that number had doubled to nearly 163,000, and in November of that year Sweden said it needed to “breathe”.

“It pains me that Sweden is no longer able to receive asylum seekers at the high level it does today. We simply cannot do this anymore,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said at a now-infamous press conference , the deputy prime minister said at a press conference tearful.

Since then, Swedish immigration policy has followed a one-way street. This policy became even stricter under the center-left coalition government in power until the end of 2022, and even more stringent under the current conservative government led by the center-right Moderate Party but backed by the far-right Sweden Democrats strict.

As far as the current situation is concerned, About 2.1 million Swedish residents (20% of the population) were born abroadSyria, Iraq, Iran, Somalia and Afghanistan are the most common non-EU countries of birth.

The current center-right government has announced a series of measures and policies aimed at reducing so-called irregular (or undocumented) migration. These include stricter asylum legislation and stricter rules for family members already in Sweden joining the immigration process. In addition, the government has proposed new measures to expel or return immigrants (including the use of financial inducements) and increased powers to revoke residence permits.

The government also wants to significantly reduce the number of low-skilled workers immigrating to Sweden. it is launching a new immigration law Work permits are only issued to immigrants whose monthly salary reaches at least 80% of the Swedish median salary. The current price is SEK 35,600 (approximately US$3,455). However, the government noted that certain occupations, such as family carers, should be excluded from the new requirements.

Jacob Lind, a researcher on international migration at Sweden’s Malmö University, told CNBC that the government’s rapid shift in immigration policy has unsettled Swedes who welcomed refugees a decade ago and left many migrants in limbo.

“After 2015, civil society mobilized to help and accommodate all these people. Later, when the policy suddenly changed, many of them felt betrayed,” Linde said.

“Before November 2015, people were told ‘open up’, ‘we don’t build walls’, we should all help, everyone should step in, and that’s what people did. Then they (the government) changed their position. Now , what they do by blocking immigration makes it not only harder for you to come here, but it makes your life in Sweden much more difficult.

Linde accused the government of using immigrants as scapegoats, “saying they are … Basically the root of all problems, but of course that’s not true.

“Even though there are challenges and costs in helping people and integrating people into society, we know that takes time. But they are actually weaponizing the problem and saying that every problem in Sweden right now is due to integration and immigration, ” he said.

By the end of 2016, nearly 5.2 million refugees and immigrants had arrived in Europe. According to the United Nations Refugee AgencyGermany alone hosts more than one million refugees.

Large crowds have witnessed rising anti-immigration sentiment across the continent, triggering Support surges For right-wing parties demanding strict immigration restrictions.

The Swedish government says its restrictive policies are working. In August, Sweden’s Ministry of Justice announced that there were now “more immigrants than immigrants for the first time in half a century,” while the number of asylum seekers and those receiving residence permits continued to decline.

“The number of asylum seekers in Sweden is on track to reach its lowest level since 1997, and Sweden has net migration for the first time in more than 50 years,” The ministry said in a statementciting information from the Swedish Migration Service.

Net migration or net emigration is the difference between people moving in and moving out of an area in a year. Positive net migration means that more people are leaving a country than immigrating to it.

The Swedish Ministry of Justice noted that “although the number of asylum seekers in the EU has stabilized at a high level, the number of asylum seekers in Sweden continues to decline.” The ministry said that as of July 28 this year, the number of asylum applications fell by 27 %.

This year, the number of asylum seekers in Sweden is expected to reach its lowest level since 1997. Stenergard said in a statement.