Prior to Monday’s vote, various left-wing groups had held demonstrations against the proposals, which they believe go far too far. But after the parliamentary vote, it is now clear that the stricter and clearer requirements on conduct for residence permits as well as the reporting duty have been passed and will be implemented.

In the Tidö government’s legislative proposal, a conduct requirement is suggested, meaning that more residence permits can be denied or revoked due to deficiencies in lifestyle and reliability than is the case today.

“Sweden has, for many years, granted residence permits to people who have come here with dishonest or even hostile intentions. We now aim to implement further changes to give us better opportunities to expel people who have exhausted their right to be here. Our country should not be a sanctuary for foreigners who engage in crime or display antisocial behavior,” said the Sweden Democrats’ migration policy spokesperson Ludvig Aspling in March.

In addition to criminality, it can refer to a person not following laws and other regulations or official decisions, for example by improperly exploiting welfare systems. It can also refer to a person who poses a security threat or has unpaid debts.

The government also proposes that residence permits can be revoked in more situations than today, even for reasons other than deficiencies in conduct. New opportunities to revoke residence permits are proposed when a foreign citizen poses a threat to public order or security, when the conditions for the residence permit are no longer met, or when the permit was granted based on misleading information. The government also proposes that the current limitations on revoking residence permits due to length of stay in Sweden be removed.

READ ALSO: Eight out of ten teachers will not comply with a reporting duty

As with the proposed reporting duty for public employees who come into contact with illegal immigrants, the conduct requirement has also sparked anger on the left, leading to demonstrations against the proposals over the weekend. Among those participating in the protests were the following groups:

Akademikerförbundet SSR
Barnrättsbyrån
Civil Rights Defenders
Fackförbundet ST
Fackförbundet Vision
Fackligt center för papperslösa
FARR – Flyktinggruppernas riksråd
Fremia
Fysioterapeuterna
Föreningen Hjärta
IFMSA-Sweden
IMER-förbundet
Campaign for a Humane Migration Policy
Läkare i världen (Doctors of the World)
Network NOW IT’S ENOUGH!
RFSL
Seko
Swedish Association of Nurses
Swedish Midwives Association
Swedish Occupational Therapists
Swedish Medical Association

“Regrettable”

In the vote, both the conduct requirements and reporting duty were passed. One group not celebrating today is Civil Rights Defenders:

“It is regrettable that Sweden’s parliament has chosen a path that divides people into ‘us and them’ instead of working towards strong protection of rights for everyone. Introducing a conduct requirement weakens Sweden as a state governed by law. Legal certainty, the principle of legality, and the principle of equality before the law are undermined,” says John Stauffer, Chief Legal Officer at Civil Rights Defenders.

The red-green bloc did not think that reintroducing official accountability was a good idea:

The new rules enter into force on July 13.

READ ALSO: Tidö government wants to make it easier to revoke residence permits