What happened
On 1 June, new rules are introduced for persons who have an expulsion order but cannot be sent home due to the risk of, for example, the death penalty or torture. Previously, the Swedish Migration Agency has granted these persons temporary residence permits, which provided the right to work, civil registration, and Swedish welfare. Under the new rules, the deportation is instead only stopped temporarily without any residence permit being granted. Affected persons are offered accommodation at the Swedish Migration Agency's facilities and may be subject to a reporting obligation and a ban on leaving a designated area. The change primarily applies to persons assessed as threats to public order and security, who have been convicted of crimes, or where there are objections regarding the person's way of life.
Our analysis
OUR ANALYSIS: The law is justified by stopping persons who pose security threats or have committed serious crimes. But in the text, the concept of a person's way of life – conduct (vandel) – is also slipped in as a basis for stripping people of their rights. This creates a dangerous slippery slope where legal security is weakened for new Swedes who become trapped in the borderland of bureaucracy. The individuals cannot be deported under international law, but are deprived of the right to work and earn an honest living. At the same time, the Swedish Migration Agency is now analyzing a new ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union, which shows that the agency's hard line may clash with binding European law.
Explained
Inhibition (stay of execution) means that an expulsion order is temporarily paused when there are impediments to enforcing it, for example if the person risks the death penalty or torture in their home country.
Source: Migrationsverket