Tuesday, August 23, 2016
The Swedish Migration Agency offices in Solna. Photo: Marcus Ericsson/TT
Sweden’s migration authority (Migrationsverket) could be given the power to call in police to evict failed asylum seekers no longer entitled to use their accommodation, following a new government proposal.
An amendment made to Swedish asylum laws on June 1st means that adults without children who have received a final rejection on their asylum application are no longer entitled to accommodation or a daily allowance from the country’s migration authority.
And now, the Swedish government wants to introduce a further amendment, after the migration board pointed out that it needs to ensure those who no longer have the right to remain in their facilities leave, so that new asylum seekers can take their place.
Evictions from Migrationsverket’s accommodation are currently handled by the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden) – a government agency more commonly tasked with sending bailiffs to deal with debt cases.
And according to the migration board, the situation is far from ideal.
“Today around 2500 people have received a decision saying they will lose their right to assistance,” Migrationsverket press officer Helena Cho Györki told news agency TT.
“We know that around 1000 have left their accommodation, around 800 are still living there after losing their assistance, and that with around half of these we have already requested help from the Enforcement Authority.”
The new draft legislation allowing police to handle evictions would enter into force on January 1st. It is currently being studied by Sweden’s Council on Legislation (Lagrådet), which advises on the legality of government proposals.