Sweden has announced it experienced the lowest number of migrants being granted asylum it has seen in four decades in 2024 as a result of an immigration crackdown beginning ten years ago.
In 2015, Sweden granted 163,000 migrants asylum which was the highest number per capita of any EU country that year amid the migrant crisis, the Daily Mail reports. In 2024, only 6,250 asylum-related residence permits were granted, excluding those granted to Ukrainian migrants, according to Migration Minister Johan Forssell citing data from the Migration Agency. Additionally, the number of migrants who applied for asylum was significantly low at 9,645. This was down by 42 percent since 2022 and the lowest level since 1996.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s right-wing government, backed by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats took action to curb immigration after the 2015 surge left migrants without integration and resources, with many forming gangs and resorting to violence. After the migration wave, Sweden’s cases of gang-related gun violence and bombings skyrocketed, with it earning the EU’s highest number of deadly shootings per capita in 2023.
These reform packages include granting temporary residence permits to migrants over permanent, stricter family reunification requirements, and higher income requirements for work visas for non-EU citizens. The government will also be offering immigrants $34,000 each to leave the country.
Forssell told reporters, “While the number of asylum seekers is historically low, the number being granted asylum is also low. […]
— Read More: humanevents.com
