Sweden Offers Migrants 350,000 Kronor to Leave - Only 200 Have Taken It

STOCKHOLM - Ten months after Sweden raised its voluntary return grant to 350,000 kronor per adult, just over 200 people have been approved. Interest is falling almost month by month, and the migration minister says nothing more will change.

Since January 1, the Swedish Migration Agency has received 786 applications, according to its monthly statistics up to September. Of those, 635 have been decided. Just over 200 were approved, 350 were rejected and almost 80 were dropped or dismissed, for example because the applicant withdrew.

That is a sharp rise from 2025, when the grant was only 10,000 kronor. Back then 133 people applied and exactly one received the money. But it is still far short of the agency's own forecast. After the first few weeks, it expected around 600 people a year to get the grant. With one quarter left, it has reached barely a third of that.

A January Rush, Then Silence

Applications came in a wave right after the increase, once the agency had advertised the new rules on social media. January brought 276 applications and February 160. Since then the curve has pointed down, and September's 24 new applications were the lowest of the year.

The money is paid in three instalments. One fifth is paid while the recipient is still in Sweden. The rest is split between arrival in the new country and a final payment no earlier than 15 months after departure.

By the end of August, the agency had paid out 13.5 million kronor, mostly first instalments. Over the same period, its information campaigns cost around 9.1 million kronor, according to its report to the government.

Wrong Permit, Unpaid Debts

The most common reason for rejection is that the applicant holds the wrong kind of residence permit, which applies to 145 of the refusals. Another 31 were turned down because their permit was granted after September 12, 2024. People in Sweden on work permits, or who want to move on within the EU, can also be refused.

Debt stops many others. Forty-two were rejected because of debts registered with the Swedish Enforcement Authority, and 34 because of unpaid student loans.

Syrians dominate, accounting for 465 of the applications. They are followed by Iraqis with 37, citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with 35 and Afghans with 25. The agency itself believes the security situation, and the difficulty of transferring money to countries such as Syria, may have held interest back.

Minister Rules Out Changes

Migration minister Johan Forssell says it has been clear who the grant is for. "Our impression is that it has been clear, but given the increase, interest has also grown," he wrote in a reply to the daily Dagens Nyheter. There are no plans to restrict or redesign it.

"It is not relevant for a caretaker government to look at further changes," Forssell wrote.

Ulf Kristersson's government has been in caretaker mode since the prime minister resigned after the September 13 election, handling mainly routine business until a new government takes office. Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson was voted down on October 15, and on Tuesday parliament votes on Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist.

The Sweden Democrats, who pushed the increase through together with the government, call it a step in the right direction in their election manifesto. The party wants to go further and also offer the grant to naturalised Swedish citizens who give up their citizenship.