Advertisement

Migrationsverket overturns deportation decision for 6-year-old orphan

TT/The Local
TT/The Local - [email protected]
Migrationsverket overturns deportation decision for 6-year-old orphan
One of Migrationsverket's offices. File photo: Janerik Henriksson / TT

A six-year-old who was ordered to leave Sweden, despite the fact he lived here with his grandparents and attended Swedish preschool, will now reportedly be able to stay in the country.

Advertisement

The child was ordered to leave the country and return to Ukraine in 2018, despite attending a preschool class in Sweden and living with his maternal grandparents, his closest family members. His grandparents had begun procedures to formally adopt the child after his mother died suddenly earlier that year and his father refused custody, making him a legal orphan. 

The case was reported widely in Sweden, including by The Local, and the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) said in October it had acted "too quickly". The agency halted the deportation order while further investigation into the case was carried out.

Now, Migrationsverket has confirmed that the six-year-old can stay in Sweden, according to Dagens Nyheter. His grandparents had argued that the deportation order would lead to the boy living in an institution in Ukraine, where he had no living relatives to care for him.

The boy and his mother first applied for residency in Sweden in April 2015 after arriving when the child was only two years old. Migrationsverket denied their request, a decision upheld later by the Migration Court.

The reason for the change in the decision is that the boy's maternal grandfather is an EES citizen.

"It's a big relief for a six-year-old to now find out that he can stay here," the boy's legal representative told Dagens Nyheter.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also