Published 24 September 2024 at 12.11
Domestic. The government has today submitted a bill to the Riksdag with new proposals aimed at attracting «highly qualified» immigrants from the third world — by lowering the requirements for what is meant by «highly qualified». But according to SD, the new proposal will have no effect.
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- < li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last arrow">SD: Reduced requirements do not lead to increased immigration
The new proposals were presented by the newly appointed Migration Minister Johan Forssell (M).
— The rules for highly qualified labor must be improved. Sweden must be an attractive country for highly qualified labor and it must be ensured that employers in highly qualified professional sectors get the labor they need on time. This is an important part of the government's work to strengthen Sweden's competitiveness, says Johan Forssell.
According to the Sweden Democrats, however, the rule change is completely meaningless and will not increase immigration.
«People who otherwise would have applied for a work permit now apply for a blue card. No one who can get a blue card would be able to get a regular work permit,» writes the party's immigration policy spokesperson Ludvig Aspling in a comment to Fria Tider.
The proposals implement the so-called new blue card directive, which replaces the 2009 blue card directive. An EU blue card is a combined residence and work permit that can be granted to non-European immigrants who have an employment contract for «highly qualified employment» in Sweden.
In the bill, the government proposes the legislative changes needed to implement the new blue card directive.
«The proposals aim to improve the opportunities to attract and retain highly qualified workers and facilitate the mobility of these people within the EU», writes the government.
Among other things, the proposals mean that the salary threshold for granting a EU blue card is reduced and the requirement for employment period is reduced to 6 months. More categories of people also get the opportunity to be granted an EU Blue Card, and the possibilities to change from other types of residence permit to an EU Blue Card are expanded. It will also be possible to switch to another «highly qualified employment» without applying for a new EU blue card.
The legislative changes are proposed to enter into force on 1 January 2025.
The article has been updated. with SD's comments.