Sweden further tightens conditions for asylum seekers and announces it will limit their freedom of movement: 'These are not prisons'
Asylum seekers on their way to Sweden, intercepted by the Danish police (illustrative image), PHOTO: Per Rasmussen / AP / Profimedia Images
Sweden's centre-right government announced on Friday that it plans to force all asylum seekers to live in migrant reception centers while their cases are processed, in a further tightening of immigration regulations.
Johan Forssell, Sweden's immigration minister, explained that asylum seekers will have to prove they have moved to these centers or risk losing their social benefits, and also accept travel restrictions.
Successive governments have tightened immigration policies since 2015, when around 160,000 asylum seekers sought refuge in Sweden. Reuters notes that the issue has fueled the rise of anti-immigration parties across Europe and is likely to be a key factor in Sweden's parliamentary elections in September.
“People who are in the system will have to live under the coordination of the Migration Agency … I want to emphasize that these are not prisons,” Forssell said.
He said the current legislation, which allows asylum seekers to choose their own housing, has led to problems of overcrowding, social exclusion and made it easier to stay illegally in Sweden.
The number of asylum applications fell last year in Sweden to the lowest level in 40 years.
The Swedish government wants to automatically reject asylum applications from those who do not comply with the new rules
But the current minority coalition, backed by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party, says even tougher measures are needed to reduce the number of people coming to Sweden.
Uncontrolled immigration is blamed for the rise in violent crime in Sweden, a problem that has rocked the Nordic country in recent years.
Under the new government proposal, which the executive hopes to implement in October this year, asylum seekers who do not comply could have their applications rejected automatically.
Also, the people whose applications were rejected would be obliged to periodically register their whereabouts, in order to prevent them from going underground.
