“For the sake of the system’s legitimacy, it’s important that it be made difficult to abuse it and that residence and work permits are with­drawn when there are grounds for doing so. The Govern­ment has therefore given the Swedish Migration Agency the mandate to take measures that are per­missible within the scope of the existing rules and regulations,” says Minister for Migration Maria Malmer Stenergard.

Under the mandate, the Swedish Migration Agency will develop procedures and create a clear division of respons­ibility regarding the work on withdrawal of residence and work permits. The Agency will further this work by with­drawing residence permits for higher edu­cation studies when there are indications that such permits are being abused. More­over, the Agency will take suitable measures to strengthen work on with­drawal of permits.

“The work being initiated today is an important first step towards responsible migration policy,” says Sweden Democrats Deputy Party Leader Henrik Vinge.

The mandate is based on an agree­ment between the Sweden Democrats, the Moderate Party, the Christian Democrats and the Liberal Party. Under the mandate, the Swedish Migration Agency will also analyse whether auto­mated systems and other administ­rative support can be used to a greater extent. Among other things, this will reveal indi­cations that a permit should be with­drawn and facilitate more effective use of information from the Swedish Tax Agency. In addition, the Swedish Migration Agency will analyse the possibility of intro­ducing new methods for regular follow-up of granted residence permits and their with­drawal when necessary.

The mandate covers all types of residence permit, regard­less of the grounds on which they have been granted, and will be carried out without negatively impacting their processing times.

A written report is due to be presented to the Ministry of Justice no later than 30 June 2023.