What happened
On 29 January, Riksdagen voted through the legislative amendment based on the government bill ”A new order for asylum seekers' accommodation”, according to information from Migrationsverket.
The new rules will be introduced in two stages:
From 1 March, all new asylum seekers will be allocated a place in one of Migrationsverket's asylum accommodation centers. The general rule will be that they must live there. Anyone who declines or fails to move in loses the right to financial assistance in the form of a daily allowance and special grant. The authority may make exceptions for individuals living with a close family member or if there are exceptional grounds, but these exceptions are to be applied restrictively.
From 1 September, the rules will be extended to also cover individuals who applied for asylum before 1 March 2025 and are currently registered in private accommodation. These individuals will also be assigned a place in Migrationsverket's accommodation and will generally lose their financial support if they do not move there.
Under the decision, Migrationsverket is also permitted to consider an asylum application withdrawn if an applicant not residing in the authority's accommodation fails to notify their residential address.
Our analysis
Analysis: What the change entails
The decision marks a decisive shift in Swedish asylum policy. The government's stated aim is to gather all asylum seekers in state reception or return centers throughout the entire process.
For the individual, this means that the right to private accommodation is effectively abolished for anyone reliant on financial support. Freedom of choice is replaced by severe financial pressure: move to where the authority designates, or be left entirely without a daily allowance and support for essential living expenses.
What is often overlooked in administrative reporting is the consequence of the address notification rule. For asylum seekers living outside the facilities, the requirement means that even the slightest failure to report where one resides can result in the entire asylum application being closed as withdrawn, putting the asylum seeker's entire future at risk.
Source: Migrationsverket