Swedish Migration Agency asks to pause fast-track scheme for delayed permits
Sweden's Migration Agency has called for a "temporary pause" in the processing of so-called delayed work permit and citizenship cases, which means individuals would no longer be able to request a decision to be made on their case after four or six months have passed.
The Migration Agency's general director Mikael Ribbenvik explained in a press release that the agency had requested the pause in order to cut waiting times.
"We can see that handling these delayed cases takes far too many resources away from normal processing," he said.
"This leads to longer processing times, which goes against the whole idea of the rule."
The request, submitted by the Migration Agency, the Swedish courts and the administrative courts in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö, proposes that the government pauses the processing of delayed cases for 18 months. This proposal would apply to work permit and citizenship cases, in order to cut processing times.
Despite taking measures to cut waiting times for work permits and citizenship cases, the Migration Agency admits that waiting times are still long, with a growing number of cases – including delayed cases – meaning that resources cannot be used effectively.
The possibility of applying to have a delayed case expedited was introduced in summer 2018 to help those who had been waiting a long time to get an answer on their citizenship or work permit application to speed up the Migration Agency's decision and thereby cut waiting times.
However, Ribbenvik stated, the agency warned that this could lead to longer waiting times when it was proposed.
"In our response to the consultation stage of the law, we pointed out that this could lead to the opposite – longer waiting times, as our employees have to dedicate their time to these delayed cases instead of responding to applications for citizenship or work permits," he said.
Facts and figures
Applications for work permits and citizenship increased by 18 percent in 2022 compared with 2018.
In 2022, around 190,000 applications for work permits or citizenship were submitted.
In 2022, around 75,000 applications for a response on delayed cases were submitted.
The average waiting time for work permits is 171 days.
The average waiting time for citizenship is 431 days.
In recent years, between 13,000 and 33,000 decisions on delayed cases were appealed.
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The Migration Agency's general director Mikael Ribbenvik explained in a press release that the agency had requested the pause in order to cut waiting times.
"We can see that handling these delayed cases takes far too many resources away from normal processing," he said.
"This leads to longer processing times, which goes against the whole idea of the rule."
The request, submitted by the Migration Agency, the Swedish courts and the administrative courts in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö, proposes that the government pauses the processing of delayed cases for 18 months. This proposal would apply to work permit and citizenship cases, in order to cut processing times.
Despite taking measures to cut waiting times for work permits and citizenship cases, the Migration Agency admits that waiting times are still long, with a growing number of cases – including delayed cases – meaning that resources cannot be used effectively.
The possibility of applying to have a delayed case expedited was introduced in summer 2018 to help those who had been waiting a long time to get an answer on their citizenship or work permit application to speed up the Migration Agency's decision and thereby cut waiting times.
However, Ribbenvik stated, the agency warned that this could lead to longer waiting times when it was proposed.
"In our response to the consultation stage of the law, we pointed out that this could lead to the opposite – longer waiting times, as our employees have to dedicate their time to these delayed cases instead of responding to applications for citizenship or work permits," he said.
Facts and figures
Applications for work permits and citizenship increased by 18 percent in 2022 compared with 2018.
In 2022, around 190,000 applications for work permits or citizenship were submitted.
In 2022, around 75,000 applications for a response on delayed cases were submitted.
The average waiting time for work permits is 171 days.
The average waiting time for citizenship is 431 days.
In recent years, between 13,000 and 33,000 decisions on delayed cases were appealed.
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