Continues to hand out 100,000 residence permits a year

Published 6 July 2024 at 10.59

Domestic. The Tidö government never implemented the “paradigm shift” in Swedish immigration policy that Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson claimed. This is clear from recent statistics from the Swedish Migration Agency, which show that the SD-backed government granted 47,700 new residence permits in the first half of 2024 alone.

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With a something unexpected support from Jimmie Åkesson and his Sweden Democrats, Ulf Kristersson continues the immigration policy that former Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt (M) introduced, where Sweden for the first time increased immigration to a more or less permanent level of around 100,000 people a year.

On average, Reinfeldt annually granted 103,375 immigrants residence permits in Sweden in this way, and when his own eight-year reign was over, he had given 827,000 immigrants residence permits.

The record was later surpassed by Stefan Löfven (S) with 837,000 immigrants during his barely eight years in power, which included the year of asylum chaos in 2015.

During the debates before this year's EU elections, the high immigration of both prime ministers was criticized by the Sweden Democrats' party leader, Jimmie Åkesson, who called the high immigration during these years a “people exchange ” and a “historical” mistake.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, for his part, has promised an end to his representatives' immigration policy and said that he will implement a “paradigm shift” in immigration policy.

The only problem is that there has been no paradigm shift and that the high level of immigration is an ongoing project and not some “historical” mistake.

Since the Tidö government took office on October 18, 2022, no noticeable reduction in immigration has been implemented at all. In 2023, Kristersson granted 102,139 residence permits, and according to the Swedish Migration Agency, he granted a further 47,700 in the first half of 2024.

With normal seasonal variations taken into account, Sweden thus appears to be moving towards an immigration of well over 100,000 people in 2024 as well – something more than during Fredrik Reinfeldt's time in power.

Åkesson and Kristersson also look like they can grab a silver medal in the politicians' SM in people exchange. The Tidö government has so far granted 180,000 immigrants residence permits since September 18, 2022, which means a population exchange rate of 278 immigrants a day.

This is very close to Fredrik Reinfeldt, who maintained a population exchange rate of 282 immigrants a day.< /p>

However, there is a long way to go to gold medalist Stefan Löfven, who was prime minister during the asylum chaos in 2015 and on average admitted 320 immigrants a day during his reign.

When Stefan Löfven resigned in November 2021 he had, however, reduced the rate of immigration to 258 residence permits a day – compared to 447 six months earlier.

The Social Democratic government had then, among other things, introduced border controls at the Öresund Bridge and imposed full carrier responsibility on shipping companies in Trelleborg if they brought illegal immigrants .

The Social Democrats thus carried out a paradigm shift in Swedish immigration policy, but it was temporary and was later relaxed to a more generous level during Magdalena Andersson's short time as prime minister. It is this generous level that is now maintained by the current Tidö government.