Boss of Sweden's Migration Agency: 'I'd be worried if I had permanent residency'
The Migration Agency's General Director, Mikael Ribbenvik, spoke on SVT on Thursday about the Sweden Democrat-backed government's new proposal to convert existing permanent residence permits to temporary permits.
"It says they're going to investigate whether permanent residence permits can be changed to temporary, I would be worried about that," Ribbenvik said.
Ribbenvik was on public broadcaster SVT's '30 minuter' news programme yesterday to discuss the Sweden Democrat-backed government's plans on migration.
A message from the Migration Minister's team to SVT prior to the show stated that "an investigation will look into in what circumstances existing permanent residence permits (permanent uppehållstillstånd), could be turned into temporary residence permits".
If this were to come into effect, it would be unique, Ribbenvik told SVT.
"This would be the first time this has happened in Sweden. We haven't had this before."
Currently, every time a temporary residence permit runs out, the Migration Agency checks that an applicant still fulfils the requirements for their permit before issuing a new permit. However, those with permanent residence permits do not need to continue to fulfil these requirements.
Around 300,000 people in Sweden have permanent residence permits today and Ribbenvik said he understands that these people could be worried by the proposal.
Ribbenvik also told SVT that migration to Sweden will see a sharp decline if the Tidö Agreement's proposals are made into law.
Around 19 pages of the Tidö Agreement, the Swedish government's policy document written in collaboration with the far-right Sweden Democrats, are dedicated to migration and integration, representing a much larger portion of the report than any other issue.
Multiple points are listed as proposals for inquiry, expected to be implemented within the next four years.
Ribbenvik also said that it is difficult to know exactly how many people will migrate to Sweden due to the current global situation.
"Maybe immigration decreases due to the government's measures, but something could happen close to Sweden which leads to many people coming," he said.
"But a substantial decrease, that can pretty much be said for certain."
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"It says they're going to investigate whether permanent residence permits can be changed to temporary, I would be worried about that," Ribbenvik said.
Ribbenvik was on public broadcaster SVT's '30 minuter' news programme yesterday to discuss the Sweden Democrat-backed government's plans on migration.
A message from the Migration Minister's team to SVT prior to the show stated that "an investigation will look into in what circumstances existing permanent residence permits (permanent uppehållstillstånd), could be turned into temporary residence permits".
If this were to come into effect, it would be unique, Ribbenvik told SVT.
"This would be the first time this has happened in Sweden. We haven't had this before."
Currently, every time a temporary residence permit runs out, the Migration Agency checks that an applicant still fulfils the requirements for their permit before issuing a new permit. However, those with permanent residence permits do not need to continue to fulfil these requirements.
Around 300,000 people in Sweden have permanent residence permits today and Ribbenvik said he understands that these people could be worried by the proposal.
Ribbenvik also told SVT that migration to Sweden will see a sharp decline if the Tidö Agreement's proposals are made into law.
Around 19 pages of the Tidö Agreement, the Swedish government's policy document written in collaboration with the far-right Sweden Democrats, are dedicated to migration and integration, representing a much larger portion of the report than any other issue.
Multiple points are listed as proposals for inquiry, expected to be implemented within the next four years.
Ribbenvik also said that it is difficult to know exactly how many people will migrate to Sweden due to the current global situation.
"Maybe immigration decreases due to the government's measures, but something could happen close to Sweden which leads to many people coming," he said.
"But a substantial decrease, that can pretty much be said for certain."
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