Hundreds of Thousands of Immigrants Registered in Sweden Without Reason

360,000 people have immigrated to Sweden and settled in Stockholm, Gothenburg, or Malmö. The reasons for their move are unknown, and the authorities have no idea what they are doing here, or whether they are even still in the country. Primarily, this concerns EU citizens.

Recently, the Migration Agency presented a list of professions that it considers should be exempt from the new salary threshold of around 33,000 SEK for labor migrants. The list was commissioned by the Tidö government with the aim that the floor should not pose an obstacle to the competitiveness of Swedish businesses.

At the same time, a completely different issue seems to have been ignored, which Fokus has taken a closer look at — namely, what immigrant labor already exists in the country? This was examined by business organizations in the metropolitan regions in the report International Expertise – A Mapping of the Labor Markets in Metropolitan Regions, released in 2020 and followed up four years later.

Niklas Delersjö, operations manager for Move to Gothenburg and one of the report’s authors, tells Fokus that they saw that there were major gaps in the statistics and that hundreds of thousands of people have moved to the three metropolitan areas without the reason for their residence being registered.

They looked at who had moved to Sweden during the years 2013-2023 for purposes such as work or study, as well as relatives of these individuals. They then established that around 600,000 people came to the metropolitan regions during this period, a group that does not include asylum immigrants, and of these about 75,000 had work as the basis for residence, 32,000 had studies, and 13,000 were relatives.

The largest group, 360,000 individuals, lacked a basis for residence and ended up in the category “Unclear Reason.” These people are thus registered residents of Sweden but nobody knows why they are here or what they are doing—or if they are even still in the country at all. Fokus also points out that the actual number in this category is probably much higher, since they only looked at the big cities and only for a limited period.

The group with an “unclear reason” consists mostly of EU citizens who are covered by the right of free movement. When these individuals register as residents in Sweden, a reason is indicated, such as work, study, or family, but this information is not saved in the statistics. 15–20 percent are non-European citizens.

A Problem

Niklas Delersjö sees the lack of statistics as a problem since it’s useful to know who comes here, which category they belong to, as well as information about professional background and work experience. In this way, it’s easier to guide people to job opportunities and further education, as well as plan for relevant activities and measures.

“It is also a concern for municipalities and regions regarding social planning. How great is the need, for example, for schools and preschools for the children of those who have come to Sweden from other countries? Politicians need background material in order to make smart decisions,” he tells Fokus.

There was a dialogue with both the Ministry of Enterprise and relevant authorities about the findings, and Delersjö’s view is that they are fully aware of the problem regarding the deficiencies in the statistics.

Change in 2014

According to Paula Kossack, analyst at Statistics Sweden (SCB), EU citizens may stay in Sweden for up to three months without needing to register with any authority, but if they stay longer they must register as residents. This is done with the Swedish Tax Agency, where one also indicates the reason for moving to Sweden. She refers to a change in the system in 2014, which meant that the registration of EU citizens’ right of residence was abolished, and today the system is based entirely on EU law. For labor migrants from outside the EU, the statistics are much better.

“Since 2014, the Migration Agency no longer examines the right of residence for EU citizens. They can move here and register as residents without passing through the agency. And that means we do not receive any information about why they are here in the statistics.”

No Controls

There is no authority that routinely checks whether EU citizens also leave the country after the three permitted months. Nor are there any controls of whether EU citizens who register as residents here are actually doing what they claim to be doing.

In the investigation Registration of EEA Citizens presented in January, it is noted, among other things, that Swedish authorities do not have sufficient knowledge about which EU citizens are in the country and on what grounds. The investigator proposes a reintroduction of a system where EEA citizens residing in Sweden for more than three months must register with the Migration Agency. The proposal also includes stricter identity checks upon registration, the possibility for authorities to exchange information, and certain sanctions for those who do not register.