What did the inquiry say?
The inquiry called for making it possible to reject asylum applications in more cases than what is currently permitted, as well as allowing the Migration Agency to declare an unfounded asylum application as “clearly unfounded”. This would mean that the applicant has to leave the country, and would also mean, if they choose to appeal, that they are unable to stay in the country while their appeal is being handled.
In addition to this, the inquiry proposes “abolishing the possibility of being granted permanent residency for certain groups”.
Which groups are included?
Under the proposal, the current groups would no longer be eligible for permanent residency, no matter how long they have lived in Sweden:
- Refugees,
- People in alternative need of protection,
- Quota refugees,
- Long-term residents of the EU (varaktigt bosatta),
- People who have been granted residence permits because of “exceptionally distressing circumstances” (synnerligen ömmande omständigheter) or an “impediment to enforcement” (verkställighetshinder).
The new proposal would also apply to family members who are in Sweden on family reunification permits linked to people in the above groups.
Quota refugees would no longer be issued permanent residence permits as their first permit, but would instead be issued with a temporary residence permit for three years if they have refugee status, or 13 months if they are in alternative need of protection.
Finally, immigrants who have been convicted of a crime would no longer be eligible for permanent residency.
How will it affect varaktigt bosatta?
Under current rules, non-EU citizens who have been living in Sweden with a residence permit for five years, with no breaks, can apply for status as varaktigt bosatt, or long-term residence, which grants them an EU residence permit with at least five years’ validity, and which is automatically renewed when it expires. This is a residence permit which is granted under EU law rather than Swedish law.
For primarily practical reasons, people in this group have previously been granted permanent residency under Swedish law at the same time as long-term residency under EU law.
Under the new rules, people in this group would, instead of being granted permanent residence permits alongside status as varaktigt bosatt, be granted a temporary residence permit with a five year validity. They would also be allowed to apply for and be granted a residence permit without needing to leave Sweden.
They would also be allowed to work in Sweden without needing to apply for a work permit, as would their family members, despite not holding permanent residency.
People in this group would still be able to apply for permanent residency under Swedish rules if they qualify, for example as a work permit holder or another form of permit which is still eligible for permanent residency.
How will it affect so-called ‘track changers’, who switched from an asylum application to a work permit?
The ‘track change’ system, which was abolished on April 1st, 2025, has already effectively made it impossible for people who were living in Sweden under this system to apply for a work permit or work permit extension from within Sweden.
However, there may still be some track changers who have valid residence permits after this date who would be eligible for permanent residency once their current permit runs out.
In order to prevent this, the inquiry has proposed introducing a new clause to the Aliens Act which would state that time spent in Sweden on a track change permit would no longer count towards a permanent residence permit.
What about citizenship applications?
Under current rules, citizenship applicants need to either hold a permanent residence permit (under Swedish rules), have permanent right of residence (under EU rules) or permanent residence status (a post-Brexit residence permit).
The new proposal would mean that certain groups of immigrants would not be eligible for any of these permits, which could effectively bar them from being eligible for Swedish citizenship.
In order to allow people in the affected groups to still be able to apply for citizenship in the future, the inquiry proposes changing rules on citizenship to allow applicants from these groups to apply if they have either “well founded prospects of being granted a long-term residence permit,” or if they have been living in Sweden for ten years with temporary residence permits.
When would these rules come into force?
Firstly, this is just a proposal, so it hasn’t been approved in parliament yet and it could change between now and becoming law.
Having said that, the government and the Sweden Democrats have a majority in parliament, so it is likely that it will pass.
It currently has a predicted implementation date of June 12th, 2026.
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