SD: We Are Stopping Free Dental Care for Illegals

The Tidö government is now moving forward to abolish the so-called “50 krona note” in dental care – the system that allowed individuals residing illegally in Sweden to receive dental care at a symbolic cost of 50 SEK. Meanwhile, Swedish citizens have in many cases been forced to pay thousands of kronor for similar treatments.

The Sweden Democrats’ parliamentary group leader, Linda Lindberg, and the party’s social policy spokesperson, Jessica Stegrud, announce in an opinion piece in Aftonbladet that the subsidization of dental care for people residing illegally in Sweden will soon be abolished.

According to the SD representatives, the change means that illegal migrants will henceforth have to cover their own dental care costs, just like other patients.

In the article, the SD leaders describe the reform as putting a stop to what they see as a deeply unfair system where people without residence permits have been able to get extensive dental care for just a few kronor.

For the symbolic sum of just 50 kronor, illegal migrants can go to the dentist and receive extensive oral health care at the tax payers’ expense.

The system has existed for over ten years and covers people assessed as being in need of “emergency dental care.”

“We are now putting a stop to this injustice, once and for all”

In their article, they simultaneously deliver sharp criticism of the fact that people residing illegally in the country have been entitled to parts of the Swedish welfare system.

It is problematic enough that we likely have tens of thousands, perhaps up to a hundred thousand, people who are in our country without a permit. Even worse is that these same people are entitled to several parts of the welfare system that all law-abiding citizens have contributed to.

To illustrate the difference between Swedish citizens and those without permits, they highlight an example with a Swedish construction worker suffering from acute tooth pain who needs a root canal.

Despite the general dental care support such as ATB, this means that his own dental costs in this case could end up somewhere between 5,000 and 8,000 kronor depending on which provider he goes to and what actions are taken.

This is then contrasted with what they describe as the current situation for illegal migrants.

This should be contrasted with the off-the-books odd-jobber living under society’s radar, who can walk into the dentist and have the same treatment done – but for 50 kronor.

The SD representatives write that the subsidy is now to be abolished and that those residing illegally in Sweden will henceforth have to pay for their own dental care.

We are finally making this a reality. In the near future, the subsidy for dental care for illegals will be abolished and they will therefore have to pay for it themselves, like everyone else. It’s only fair.

In the article, they also write that the government is working on more measures related to migration and deportations.

In parallel with this, we have also worked with the government on a number of measures intended in various ways to make it easier to deport these individuals from our country.

At the same time, SD highlights its broader dental care policy and promises further reforms if the party and the Tidö parties retain the voters’ trust after the next election.

If we gain the voters’ trust to continue this work in the next term, we will ensure that all citizens are covered by our “ten-tooth” dental plan, where you pay only 10 percent of the reference price.

They end the opinion piece by describing welfare as something that should primarily benefit Swedish citizens.

The money we all put towards our welfare should of course go to our own citizens, not to illegal migrants living in the shadows.

Samnytt tested free dental care

In spring 2019, Samnytt conducted a hidden camera test to investigate how the system worked in practice when illegal immigrants were entitled to virtually free health and dental care, while Swedish citizens had to pay significantly more.

Watch the report: