Government proposes measures to ensure that more people with removal orders leave the country

The Government wants to streamline returns and reduce incentives for aliens issued with removal orders to remain in Sweden. The bill therefore includes the following proposals:

• that a removal order should apply for five years from the date an alien leaves the country, or longer if a re-entry ban is in force;
• the option of issuing longer re-entry bans than is currently possible if an alien has not left the country when the deadline for voluntary departure has expired.

In the bill, the Government also proposes that the possibility of applying for a residence permit for work from within the country following a failed asylum application – sometimes referred to as ‘changing track’ – be eliminated.

“Today, around one in four asylum seekers have already had their cases examined. Ensuring that people who receive expulsion orders also leave the country is fundamental to maintaining confidence in our migration system. These proposals reduce incentives to stay in Sweden once an expulsion order has been issued,” says Minister for Migration Johan Forssell.

“Sweden has had lax rules on returns for decades and this is an important step towards changing that. ‘Changing track’, which has undermined regulated immigration, will be abolished. The regulation whereby expulsion orders become statute-barred after just four years will be removed and replaced with a regulation that will force more people to return home,” says Ludvig Aspling, migration policy spokesperson for the Sweden Democrats.

It is proposed that the legislative amendments enter into force on 1 April 2025.