Liberals in favour of more immigration

Wow, two proposals from the Liberal party that I like in one day. That is definitely a first.

The article's title is missing a vital qualifier - in favour of more 'skilled' immigration. In fact, 'more' would be better off replaced with 'skilled' if concision is an issue.

It is interesting to know that there are people who have such positive thoughts on skilled immigrants. In this age of globilization, there seems to be only one choice when it comes to integration in the work place. Diversity does matter. Even companies have nowadays made such moves in an attempt to see the realization of racial integration in the work place and they are recruiting more and more "outsiders". This I believe comes from the urge for diversity which lead companies to be a lot more creative especially in engineering and technological efforts.

So thank you for this wonderful proposal.

"Economic development is no longer tied to machinery, and the countries who succeed in attracting very qualified and competent people will perform much better," said Björklund.

For example attracting very qualified people to wash dish and become taxi driver; by the Swedish calculation, this should be considered economic development!

I mean in this article: http://www.thelocal.se/34466/20110620/ (few days ago), it says:

"… The report also shows that less than 20 percent of refugees with some form of post-secondary education have a job which corresponds with their level of education."

And these lucky peoples have already got their education and lived for years in Sweden!

You mean if you change the name of refugees to immigrants; with a MASTER DEGREE from somewhere else, who can't speak Swedish (with a very high probability), but are able to support themselves, would be able to find job in Sweden!!

The question is, if Björklund try to fool himself, or somebody with a MASTER DEGREE!!

Why would any one with business experience and capital come to the second highest taxed country on the planet to do business? I wonder if Swedes think the rest of the world is as oblivious and gullible to everything as the Swedes are.

@Kenny8076 There is a reason there are high taxes in Sweden, and there is a reason Sweden is one of the best countries in the world and they are connected.

at least that was the case before the alliance started selling out the country and kicking out people from insurance so they could get higher pay.

Take the united states with its companies complaining at high taxes, at the end of the year their companies not only don't pay taxes but receive Billions from the government ,and do you know what they do with all that profit? they fire people and create factories in china.

So think again about criticizing a country whose high taxes are actually used on its people.Because most countries seem to have forgotten that government is working for the people not for corporations, and the money the government has is from the people, and shouldn't be used to pay bailouts for bankers and their beachhouses.

as for the subject itself, its pretty dumb no country does that and what is Sweden gonna do with tons of people with degree that just decide to come and stand here without job and without being able to support themselves? the same thing they do with the war country people, give them money and house and let everyone else who was already here get thrown in a loophole of the system?

Are Sweden politicians becoming so disconnected to reality that they have no idea how hard is to even get a simple thing like renting an apartment? some places in sweden u have to stand in line for over 3 years to rent an apartment... and sweden has higher unemployment than Portugal, so what is this all about more immigrants when the ones that are already here are screwed and some are even screwing the swedes and their hospitality?

Hope Denmark will tighten even more the check at the borders with Sweden.

Now I have understood how the little Denmark once conquered the big Sweden: they're more intelligent!

Okay, so who is going to pay for all this?

BBKING,

Diversity doesn't matter. Skill and competence does.

it is not clear ,, sweden has already lots of international students who have and will have a swedish masters ,, they are still feeling insecure that they will not be able to stay in sweden after their completion of Degree. For a work permit the immigration authority required a job that pay at least 13000sek ,, for business students it is very impossible to find a job as they are not good in swedish language both for speaking and writing ,, for technical student like IT or Electrical have very little probability because sometime they find practik or work as trainee but percentage is 1 or 2 ,, student must need at least one year stay permission after their degree , so that they can learn swedish language and also can find job ,, Hope authority will think about it,,

It would be nice to see Sweden take in all the starving Somalis, only about ten million of them at the moment. Sweden is a big country rich country with lots of space. Perhaps the swedish government could speak with UNHCR about this, These people would be very grateful to the kind understanding Swedish people.

Literally as an International Student, I don't see any long term future in Sweden even if the Swedish Government give Work permit. What use of a Permit when there is a need to learn Svenska or having reference even for a dirty job. And even if the people are willing to do Cleaning Job or such odd jobs, while their stay in Sweden, It means to Kill your Professional career, your Bachelor, your Master everything. It is a total waste of your career. Australia, Canada is much better atleast a student can earn 3500-4000 AUD and can save upto 2000-2500 AUD even after paying fees, accommodation, food and good life.

Great Idea, stop all other.

The Liberals fail to mention that 1) people who actually hire for Masters Degree level jobs don't hire young immigrants out of school and that 2) Sweden doesn't need any more people... it needs warmer weather and legalized marijuana

This is all playing catch-up, the Swedish Migration Policies have never favoured skilled migration. The focus seems to have largely been on family reunification and asylum and protection. Even when Sweden was graduating thousands of foreign students each year with Master degrees or PhDs that are paid for by the state themselves, these students were not offered a fighting chance to stay and find a job.

Denmark, one might argue has a wiser migration policy and has done so for years. I have met so many students educated in Sweden who just go south of the border since the Danes have relatively generous policies for educated migrants. In my experience, only a very small amount, perhaps less than 5% of students remain in Sweden.

A friend of mine, very well educated, publishes in top journals and academic conferences finished his PhD in Sweden but having not focused on finding a job while writing his thesis (this is not as easy as it sounds) had little chance of staying once he had defended his thesis.

Point is, Sweden doesn't need to advertise itself on the international market for skilled labour, there is alot generated here that simply goes to waste as migration policies do not reflect the demands of the society itself.

As for those mentioning the high unemployment rate, I must disagree to some extent. I work in an academic setting and almost all the students that have passed through over the last few years have secured jobs. I would be inclined to suggest that the unemployment rate among skilled, educated people in Sweden is in fact much lower. You cannot create migration or labour policies that demand your locals are employed first regardless of their skill level. You must first encourage a "re-skilling" or "re-tooling" of the labour force. When this happens, the selection becomes natural and internal employment rates will rise. Remember, even more worse that tax rates, a company will not invest in an environment that forces it to employ local unskilled labour. This is one of the key reasons companies relocate

Hey, I have a master and Phd in the great sciences of pedicure and hair dresses.

So I'm a veeeeeery skilled immigrant.

Hope to can entry in Sweden.

Obviously I'd accept a job not less than a CEO position.

I just finished my master, going to apply for Danish work permit. The majority of my university friends have done the same. Sweden is closed for us.

In some fields, or at least in IT, there is need and they do hire.

I did get a job in my field (IT) just after masters, and I know friends who did the same. And visa expiring is a problem, because hiring process in Sweden is very slow and it can be difficult to put much effort to job hunting when you are trying to finish a degree/thesis. I was just about to sail away when I got my job offer. After me my department hired another fresh-out-of-masters foreigner (whole company hired more people). And they didn't hire a Swedish xjobbare even though he had great fika skills - yummy homemade buns/cakes :)

The World should be more open, these visas rules and permits are a new-time slavery. We know that this system was created by "developed" nations. Shame! And they talk about competition.

@JoeB, well not quite that simple ...

@Birbun, don't be so arrogant.

@axiom,

'the Swedish Migration Policies have never favoured skilled migration'.

a question that might itch if i don't ask, WHY??? what makes the migration favors non skilled immigrants???

Sorry it is a bit hard to comment here, it keeps prompting me to login in and then tells me I am already logged in.

Note, I never stated that the rules favour non-skilled migration as that would be a purely fictitious thing to say.

It was rather a simple statement that there are no migration rules that encourage or facilitate skilled migration. The current rules treat everyone pretty much equally since skillset is not, in many cases a determining factor for migration into Sweden.

Contrasting this with the USA, Canada, Australia, UK or even Denmark, there have long existed rules, aside from the general migration categories that encourage skilled migrants to relocate and take up jobs locally. That is to say, rules are in place that encourage migration solely on the basis of meeting local skills gaps and demand.

@axiom #23

it's correct, I agree.

I have a swedish friend who have been saying exactly the same for a long time as this party says now.

Nowadays, getting a job in Sweden is virtually impossible. However, even if it new rules are made to make it easier, I believe Sweden will not be ready for this. Even if the country needs or is willing to accept educated imigrants, regular people will not like to have you as neighbours anyways.

What they do not realise is that their taxes are somehow paying for foreign students education. The least we could do is to give back and use our knowledge in Sweden's favour even if it's for short period of time.

@15U #18:

+1

I myself may go to the other side (*whispers* the other side!) of the Öresund as soon as I get my degree!

Swedish people are not racists. But they are so proud of having Blue eyes and blond hair.

Maybe a master's degree in dish washing.

@15U, so what? #26 You been posting that all over this site. Are they supposed to be ashamed?

In the US the Liberals want to let as many people into the country as possible, especially welfare cases, as long as they vote for Liberals.

@#29

Utter NONSENSE, this is something strung around by those unwilling to read and learn.

Ever heard of the Simpson-Mazzoli Act?

Ronald Reagan, often noted as the ideal Republican President signed this act into law, which granted amnesty to 3 million immigrants in the USA at the time.

@tadchem, liberals in the USA with lower incomes and immigrants never turn out to vote so that simply isn't true.

All migrants do is claim benefits,according to British media. The Daily Mail moans that they don't work. Now they're complaining that they have jobs. As a decent tax paying migrant working and living here I find it offensive that xenophobia exists in a country where every Britain tells us that everybody is equal.

At the end of the day employers are always going to employ the person who will do the job the best for the least money. Politicians of all 3 main parties will always talk tough about immigration ,but secretly they love it ,it keeps wages down and house prices up. A successful employer will choose the right person for the job, regardless of ethnicity etc. What is so hard to understand about that? If the country invites foreign workers here then don't be surprised if they work.

What the immigrants ask is not just social benefit and money from the government, but more human interaction and being respected as fellow human-beings. Hell if I can get more of these at the expense of paying more tax, I'd even do that. The sense of belonging doesn't come from money or other materialistic factors for that matter. How about treating people equally? For example like saying hi when walking past each other on streets instead of exclaiming "you steal our jobs"; or NOT rejecting a job applicant for being Asian/Mideast/African/Slavic? The sense of respect stems from the small gestures of people, the way they greet you and wants to know you as a person. Then again I can't blame the Brits cos they don't even show much intimacy towards each other.

Seven million Brits are unable to read and write. It is practicaly imposible for them to work for the economic, social and emotional prosperity of the British society. Because of this, British society would bleed to death without migration. Immigrants are the life blood of the British society.

IA

http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk

Ahmed trafficking under age girls into prostitution isn't legitimate work

Ahmad - you say that 'millions of Brits are illerate' and the 'immigrants are the lifeblood of the UK'.

Please - go back to wherever you came from.

Britain - a highly literate country, which is of course why you are attracted to it - is better than the rot-hole you came from, so you come - are paid well and treated with dignity - but you want more?

I run a business, and the comments above are basically correct: businesses hire the best person for the job, usually not so much concern about ethnicity - BUT ETHNICITY MATTERS IN MOST JOBS.

There are VERY FEW JOBS where people are doing R&D in a lab, or that require no social skills other than plain labour.

THERE IS VERY LITTLE SOMEONE CAN DO UNLESS THEY ARE FLUENT IN THE CULTURE.

VERY LITTLE.

Education is a joke - a 'Masters Degree' in 80% of subjects doesn't quality you for ANYTHING. I want A) Sales B) Marketing C) Support D) Product Managers E) HR F) Finance G) IT people. If I were in Sweden I would only consider hiring Swedes for most of those roles.

Only IT, some low-level finance and support positions would be ok for immigrants from developing nations.

Some other roles might be good for rock-stars from developed nations regardless of ethnicity, but that's a rarity.

Sweden should be fore Swedes.

Sweden will gain nothing from mass immigration.