Sweden: Siltanews – News Desk
The Swedish Migration Services has granted 23,870 work permits to foreign nationals between January and October – representing the highest count of this type of permit issued so far in 2024.
According to data published by this authority, work permits represent nearly one-third (30 per cent) of the total number of permits issued during this period. In the first eight months of 2024, 80,336 permits were granted for all categories of applicants, Schengen.
In addition to work permits, family reunification permits were quite common, being the second-most popular type of permit issued this year. In total, 20,595 permits for family reunification or one-quarter (25 per cent) were granted to foreigners from the beginning of the year until the end of October 2024.
The Migration Services granted 8,095 permits in October alone, with family reunification being the reason for most of them. About 31.2 per cent, or 2,529 permits, were granted for family reunification, representing the largest number of permits for this month.
The second type of permit that was most commonly issued was a work permit, with the authorities granting 2,146 in October 2024 alone.
As per other types of permits, 1,066 were issued for asylum, 1,500 were granted for study purposes, and 765 were issued to EU/EES nationals. So far, in 2024, the number of study permits issued has reached 15,965, while permits for asylum stand at 13,041.
The Swedish authorities are considering tightening conditions for family immigration cases by tasking a special investigator to review the regulations for granting residence permits based on affiliation.
One of the reasons why the Swedish government is considering tightening the rules is that the current rules are viewed as looser than the EU law requires. Some of the proposals for new family reunification rules include increasing the age limit to deny residence permits to applicants who claim that they have personal ties with residents in Sweden. This age limit would be increased from 18 to 21 years.