Paradigm shift? Sweden says can pay nearly RM150,000 per head to immigrants who leave voluntarily

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Most of Sweden’s immigrants have come from conflict-ridden countries such as the former Yugoslavia, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran and Iraq. — Reuters pic

STOCKHOLM, Sept 13 — Sweden plans to boost payments to up to $34,000 to immigrants who leave the nation that has been a haven for the war-weary and persecuted, the right-wing government said Thursday.

The Scandinavian country was for decades seen as a “humanitarian superpower”, but over the years has struggled to integrate many of its newcomers.

Immigrants who voluntarily return to their countries of origin from 2026 would be eligible to receive up to 350,000 Swedish kronor (RM147,000), the government, which is propped up by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, told a press conference.

“We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in our migration policy,” Migration Minister Johan Forssell told reporters, as the government presented its latest move to crack down on migration.

Currently immigrants can receive up to 10,000 kronor per adult and 5,000 kronor per child, with a cap of 40,000 kronor per family.

Immigrants groups could not immediately be reached for comment on the change.

“The grant has been around since 1984, but it is relatively unknown, it is small and relatively few people use it,” Ludvig Aspling of the Sweden Democrats told reporters.

Forssell said only one person had accepted the offer last year.

Aspling added that if more people were aware of the grant and its size was increased, more would likely take the money and leave.

He said the incentive would most likely appeal to the several hundred thousand migrants who were either long-term unemployed, jobless or whose incomes were so low they needed state benefits to make ends meet.

“That’s the group we think would be interested,” Aspling said.

A government-appointed probe last month advised the government against significantly hiking the amount of the grant, saying the expected effectiveness did not justify the potential costs.

The Nordic nation has struggled for years to integrate immigrants, and the head of the inquiry, Joakim Ruist, said that a sizeable financial increase would send a signal that migrants were undesirable, further hampering integration efforts.

Other European countries also offer grants as an incentive for migrants to return home.

Denmark pays more than $15,000 per person, compared to around $1,400 in Norway, $2,800 in France and $2,000 in Germany.

Integration struggles

Sweden’s conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson came to power in 2022 with a minority coalition government propped up by the Sweden Democrats, vowing to get tough on immigration and crime.

The Sweden Democrats emerged as the country’s second-largest party with 20.5 percent support in that election.

Sweden has offered generous foreign development aid since the 1970s and has taken in large numbers of migrants since the 1990s.

Most of Sweden’s immigrants have come from conflict-ridden countries such as the former Yugoslavia, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran and Iraq.

In 2015 alone, at the height of the migration crisis in Europe, Sweden took in 160,000 asylum seekers, the highest per capita in the EU.

With much higher rates of unemployment among those born abroad, the situation had widened Sweden’s wealth inequalities and straining its generous cradle-to-grave welfare system.

The 2015 migration crisis proved a turning point, with the then-Social Democratic government announcing soon afterwards that it was no longer able to continue its open door policies.

A slew of measures have been taken by both left and right-wing governments since then to curb migration, including issuing only temporary residence permits to asylum seekers, tightening family reunifications requirements, and hiking income requirements for work visas for non-EU citizens.

Kristersson’s government also plans to make it easier to expel migrants for substance abuse, association with criminal groups or statements threatening Swedish values. — AFP