After Tobias Billström's resignation as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Maria Malmberg Stenergard takes over as Minister for Foreign Affairs and leaves her previous role as Minister for Migration. Instead, Johan Forsell becomes the new Minister for Migration. [1]
What is Return Migration (Återvandring)?
You have the right to seek protection and asylum in Sweden, but you also have the right to move back to your home country or another country where you have the right to reside. You can also receive a grant for this, which is a maximum 10,000 per adult, 5,000 per child (under age of 18) and maximum of 40,000 SEK for a whole family. To receive the grant, you must have a temporary or permanent residence permit in Sweden as [2]:
- a refugee
- a quota refugee
- a person in need of alternative protection
- due to particularly distressing circumstances
- are in Sweden due to ties to above listed residence permits
Government report on Return Migration
The government has received a report on return migration, but unfortunately, the investigation leader Joakim Ruist failed to present a proposal. One conclusion was that if the grant for return migration is increased to 350,000 SEK (at the Danish level), it could lead to 700 people returning per year. [3]
Who is Johan Forsell?
Johan Forsell is the current Minister for Migration and is a member of the Moderate Party. Johan Forsell is married with 4 children and lives in Stockholm. He holds a Master's degree in Business Administration and Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics. He had a key role as Chief of Staff at the Government Offices in 2007 and was most recently Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade between 2022-2024. [4]
Johan Forsell's on Return Migration and Immigration
Previously, return migration has not been a priority for the government, but now the new Minister for Migration, Johan Forsell, emphasizes that it is the case.
According to Aftonbladet, Johan Forsell wants to keep asylum-related immigration to Sweden at a very low level for a long time to come. The Minister also has a focus on return migration, i.e., that people who are no longer in need of protection should return to their countries of origin. The question of how many people should be allowed to come to Sweden for asylum reasons, he does not want to specify:
"It's not possible to give a specific number. What's important is that we don't go back to the previous policy that put Sweden in a very difficult situation. Very many people were affected by it."
All changes in Ulf Kristersson's new government:
- Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) becomes Minister for Foreign Affairs.
- Johan Forssell (M) becomes Minister for Migration.
- Mats Persson (L) becomes Minister for Employment and Integration.
- Johan Pehrson (L) becomes Minister for Education.
- Jessica Rosencrantz (M) becomes Minister for EU Affairs.
- Benjamin Dousa (M) becomes Minister for International Development Cooperation.
