Sweden – Country Report: Border Management and Migration Controls

År: 2019

Typ av text: Working paper som beskriver svensk lagstiftning och politik på asylområdet med fokus på gränskontroll

Språk: Engelska

Publicerad av: Uppsala universitet inom ramen för det EU-finansierade Horizon 2020 projektet “RESPOND: Multilevel Governance of Mass Migration in Europe and Beyond”, ett samarbete mellan 14 partners i ursprungs-, transit och destinationsländer för migration till EU som Uppsala universitet samordnar

Författare: Karin Borevi & Mudar Shakra

Antal sidor: 57

Tillgänglig på: http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1343561/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Vad texten handlar om

Rapporten är deskriptiv. De redogör för generell policy och lagstiftning på asylområdet från 1980-talet (när migration enligt författarna gick från ett ganska o-politiserat till ett politiserat politikområde) fram till januariöverenskommelsen 2019 som innebar en förlängning i ytterligare två år av begränsningslagen som infördes 2016, men liberalisering vad gäller familjeåterförening för alternativt skyddsbehövande. Fokus ligger dock på förändringar från och med 2015, och särskilt gällande gränskontroller (inklusive exempelvis transportörsansvaret, visum, myndigheters ansvarsfördelning vid utvisningar etc) och införandet av begränsningslagen. I en del av rapporten tas civilsamhällets mobilisering upp kort, och organisationerna Refugees Welcome Sverige, FARR, Stöttepelaren och Facebook-gruppen Stoppa utvisningarna av afghanska ungdomar nämns.

Viktigaste resultat

“This report gives an overview of the Swedish legal and policy framework of border management and migration control – how it relates to EU regulations and policies; what key actors are involved in the implementation and what the key issues and challenges are in relation to this field.” (sida 7)

“The report particularly documents policy changes which were introduced in Sweden as a direct result of the large increase of the arrival of asylum seekers during the autumn of 2015, which triggered the introduction of policy measures following two main strategies: (1) reintroduction and reinforcement of Sweden’s territorial border controls and (2) limitations in the possibilities for asylum seekers to be granted residence.” (sida 7)

“In the wake of the so called “refugee crisis” in 2015, a prominent narrative in the Swedish policy discourse is that restrictions in the possibilities to achieve residence is required to limit and control the immigration of asylum seekers to the country. In sum, the nexus border/immigration control – residence permits is a salient theme in the Swedish context, which will also be reflected in this report.” (sida 7)

“The purpose with the temporary law-changes [begränsningslagen] was to limit the number of asylum seekers. It is however a debatable issue whether the measures have had the intended effect. A report issued by the Red Cross, for instance, concluded that there is nothing to suggest that the law-changes introduced in 2016 has had the intended effect of reducing the number of asylum-seekers arriving in Sweden (Beskow, 2018).” (sida 16)

“As described in this report, the explicit goal stated by the politicians when introducing measures to restrict the possibilities to achieve residency was to limit the number of asylum seekers coming to Sweden. In other words, restricted provisions for people granted protection in Sweden was one important tool, intended to indirectly pursue border management and immigration control. However, one issue which merits more investigation and analysis concerns the relationship between policy goals and outcomes. Have the measures had the intended effect? What is the causal relationship between the introduction of stricter policy measures and the numbers of asylum seekers arriving in Sweden? It lies beyond this report to answer these questions, but it should be highlighted that this is a debatable issue, and that policy decisions are based on meagre empirical evidence of the relevant causal relationships.” (sida 48)

Perspektiv/teoretiska begrepp

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Metoden för studien

Secondary literature and research literature,
Reviews of Swedish parliamentary documents from policy processes preceding key immigration policy decisions.,
Swedish Aliens Act, EU law and preparatory materials (such as investigations, government bills, parliamentary records) from the Swedish parliamentary policy processes preceding incorporation or adaptation of EU-directives or rules in the national Swedish legislation,
Public information provided by main actors (e.g. the Swedish Migration Agency; the Swedish Police, different NGOs etc.) via web pages, information brochures and similar documents;
Interviews with core actors/stakeholders who have been involved in various aspects of border management (where a anonymous representative for FARR was interviewed, for example)
Further, the report draws on data gathered at a focus group interview, which was arranged in November 2018 and where approximately 10 actors participated (including representative of NGOs involved in political mobilization and practical work in relation to reception, legal advice and return issues). (sida 9-10)

Ev policyförslag

The idea which has become dominant in the policy discourse in Sweden post-2015 – that restricted provisions for people granted protection in Sweden is an effective policy tool to pursue border management and immigration control – should be critically scrutinized and challenged.
Policy changes are needed to counteract exploitation of persons in search of a secure residence permit. This holds true e.g. for people who feel compelled to enter irregular job contracts to achieve a work permit with the hope of eventually acquiring a permanent residency.
The Migration agency’s processing of family reunification applications needs to be improved to make sure that Sweden lives up to refugee rights principles in family reunification cases. This is necessary e.g. in cases where strict ID/passport requirements are applied on applicants who are de facto a person in need of protection.
At the EU level, this report shows the need to find a common ground for interpretation and implementation of the Dublin convention. (sida 49)

Ev förslag för vidare granskning

What is the causal relationship between the introduction of stricter policy measures and the numbers of asylum seekers arriving in Sweden? It lies beyond this report to answer these questions, but it should be highlighted that this is a debatable issue, and that policy decisions are based on meagre empirical evidence of the relevant causal relationships.