The Tidö Government Wants to Make It Easier to Revoke Residence Permits

At a press conference on Tuesday morning, the government and the Sweden Democrats presented a new good conduct requirement for residence permits, which will also apply retroactively and thus cover residence permits issued before the law comes into effect.

In the government bill, the government proposes new rules that will make it easier to deny and revoke residence permits due to lack of good conduct. In addition to criminality, this may also include cases where a person does not comply with laws and other regulations or authority decisions, for example by improperly exploiting the welfare system, posing a security threat, or having unpaid debts.

The new good conduct requirement is proposed to cover both new and existing residence permits. Actions indicating lack of good conduct before the legal changes take effect will, however, not in themselves form grounds for a conduct assessment, but may be included in an overall assessment together with actions occurring after the legal changes have taken effect.

The government is also proposing that residence permits should be able to be revoked in more situations than today, even for reasons other than lack of good conduct. New opportunities for this are proposed to be introduced 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 on the basis of misleading information.

– The vast majority of people who immigrate to Sweden do the right thing and are an important part of Swedish society. But anyone who comes here and commits crimes or misbehaves has forfeited Swedish hospitality. Sweden is not a society without demands, says Minister for Migration Johan Forssell (M).

Length of Stay in Sweden

The government is also proposing to remove the current limitations on revoking residence permits due to length of stay in Sweden.

– For many years, Sweden has granted residence permits to people who have come here with dishonest or even hostile intentions. Now, we intend to implement further changes to give us better opportunities to expel people who have forfeited their right to be here. Our country should not be a sanctuary for foreigners engaging in crime or displaying antisocial behavior, says Ludvig Aspling, migration policy spokesperson for the Sweden Democrats.

Goes Further Than the Investigator

Last year, the government’s investigator proposed that more residence permits should be able to be denied or revoked due to deficiencies in honest conduct and compliance, but at the same time urged caution regarding retroactive laws.

– I trust the investigation, but ultimately it is the parliament and government who have the voters’ mandate in democratic elections. It is ultimately up to the voters to decide, Forssell told DN in February.

The legislative changes are mainly proposed to take effect on July 13 this year.

Press conference: