Minister Who Backed Amnesty Now Wants to Stop Russian Skiers

STOCKHOLM - Migration Minister Johan Forssell of the Moderates wants to be able to stop Russian skiers at the border before next year's World Ski Championships in Falun - even if they hold visas from another EU country and compete under a neutral flag.

It is the same politician who helped push the immigration policy that has transformed Sweden.

As leader of the Moderate youth wing he demanded a general amnesty for asylum seekers. He sat in parliament through the years when Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt urged Swedes to "open your hearts". And as recently as last year he asked whether it is really a problem that thousands of people are granted Swedish citizenship every month.

The government is now preparing a national initiative to deny Russian athletes entry to Sweden. The goal is to have the rules ready well before the championships in Falun, which run from 24 February to 7 March 2027.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says he is particularly concerned that countries and organisations are trying to "normalise" relations with Russia - including by letting athletes with no connection to the war take part in championships.

We usually let sport take the lead on how to view these things. But we see very big problems with the attempts to normalise relations with Russia in various ways. So the Swedish position is very close to the Norwegian and Finnish one.

- Ulf Kristersson to the news agency TT

Many Russian athletes already have visas from other EU countries. A visa is one thing, says Forssell, but it is Sweden that decides who gets into the country.

Anyone who does not respect national borders should not be allowed to cross the starting line either.

- Johan Forssell to Aftonbladet

Around 80 Russian cross-country skiers have reportedly been cleared by the International Ski Federation to compete as neutrals this winter. Finland and Norway decided on Thursday to tighten entry rules for Russian athletes.

READ ALSO: EU Adopts Swedish Proposal to Tighten Visa and Border Rules for Russian Citizens

"National security"

Foreign nationals can already be stopped if they are judged to threaten national security, even with a valid visa. But that requires an individual assessment.

The government now wants a broader tool, within the limits of the constitution. Forssell says it should also cover those competing under a neutral flag, since they are still Russian citizens and are used in Russian war propaganda.

He admits the existing options are limited, but still intends to argue that the skiers pose a threat to national security.

We simply do not want to see Russian athletes competing in Sweden while Russia drops bombs on Ukrainian cities.

- Johan Forssell to Aftonbladet

Sweden is pushing the same hard line in the EU. Last summer Forssell drove a letter in which eleven European countries demanded that the EU stop tourist visas for Russian citizens.

That would hit ordinary Russians with nothing to do with the war, including those who oppose President Vladimir Putin. Nearly half a million Russians got tourist visas last year.

We want to put a stop to that.

- Johan Forssell

Demanded amnesty for all

When it comes to Russians, every tool for closing borders is on the table. The same political will has never been seen when it comes to immigration from the Middle East and Africa.

When Forssell led the Moderate youth wing from 2004 to 2006, he stood on the other side of the border question. On 7 May 2005 he spoke at Sergels torg in Stockholm at a rally demanding residence permits for every asylum seeker in Sweden.

I hope the Moderates will now push the demand for this general amnesty and that the Social Democrats start opening up the country to immigration.

- Johan Forssell to Swedish Radio in 2005

In a press release from the youth wing, Forssell said the next step was to open up for labour immigration, and that a one-off amnesty was the only right thing to do.

He went on to become Reinfeldt's chief of staff in 2006-2007 and entered parliament in 2010, as immigration to Sweden rose sharply. He stayed there until the right-wing election win in 2022, when he became a minister.

As far as is known, he never publicly criticised Reinfeldt's immigration policy.

"Is it really a problem?"

As Migration Minister, Forssell has declared that Sweden "will be a multicultural society".

Sweden will be a multicultural society, because it is one today. We have such large groups from different parts of the world. But we need to be much clearer that when you come to Sweden, it is Swedish laws, values and the Swedish language that apply.

- Johan Forssell to Aftonbladet

In an interview with the magazine Fokus, he also brushed off concerns about mass naturalisation. In January 2025 alone, nearly 6,000 people were granted Swedish citizenship.

In 2023 and 2024, the government's first two full years, more than 130,000 people became Swedish citizens, according to the Migration Agency. The Sweden Democrats and Christian Democrats wanted a pause until the requirements were tightened. Forssell said no.

Is it really a problem that people get citizenship?

- Johan Forssell to Fokus

A moratorium would break Swedish law, he argued. Between the government taking office in October 2022 and the 2026 election, close to 207,500 foreigners were granted Swedish citizenship.

READ ALSO: Sweden Votes to Strip Citizenship From Fraudsters and Terrorists

Nuns at a Christmas market

Skiers are not the only temporary visitors to catch the minister's eye. In November 2025 Forssell reacted when Belarusian nuns from a convent in Minsk sold handicrafts in a church in Täby, north of Stockholm. They had sold goods at Swedish Christmas markets for several years.

The Church of Sweden had warned its parishes, citing reports that the convent supports Russia's war and has ties to Russian intelligence.

Forssell wrote that Sweden has no duty to show hospitality to people who support the war against Ukraine, and said he would ask the Migration Agency whether the rules needed to change. He later raised it with his EU colleagues, since the nuns had entered the Schengen area through another country.

Suddenly, closed borders work

So this is the minister who now wants to shut the border to a handful of Russian skiers who come for a championship and then go home.

Meanwhile, at the end of 2025 around 2.2 million of Sweden's residents were born abroad - 20.8 percent of the population, according to Statistics Sweden. In total, 28 percent have a foreign background.

Forssell was there when the Moderates ran an open-door migration policy. Now the hard line is aimed at a few skiers and nuns from the wrong countries, while the policies he helped shape will mark Sweden for generations.

READ ALSO: Dagerlind: Kristersson's and Forssell's Russophobia Obscures Domestic Threats