Migration and asylum

On 15 June, Sweden’s Minister for Financial Markets Per Bolund met representatives of banks and government agencies to find ways forward that will make it easier for asylum seekers to gain access to bank accounts. During the meeting, Finansinspektionen (the Swedish financial supervisory authority) presented its response to the European Banking Authority’s opinion.

Visby, 28 June 2016. Check against delivery.

Today, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven received Latvia's Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis for talks. Much of their time was dedicated to current issues on the EU agenda, not least the imminent referendum in the UK, fair conditions in the labour market and proposals for joint EU solutions in the migration area.

Today, the U.S. Government announced that Sweden will co-host the Leaders’ Summit on the Global Refugee Crisis, initiated by President Barack Obama. The Summit, to be held in New York in September, aims to work for a global division of responsibility for the world’s refugee situation. Sweden was invited to participate as a co-host, together with Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, Jordan and Mexico.

The Swedish Government has decided to prolong internal border controls from June 8th up to and including November 11th 2016. Following a decision in the Council of the European Union, internal border controls are no longer prolonged on a monthly basis.

Malmö, 25 May 2016. Check against delivery.

The Government has decided to instruct the Swedish Migration Agency to increase the number of places at detention centres, to reduce the time from asylum application to return and to enhance return procedures by means of liaison officers stationed at missions abroad.

Medical age assessments are needed for individuals seeking residence permits in Sweden. The Government has therefore instructed the National Board of Forensic Medicine to promptly start conducting medical age assessments and immediately increase its capability and capacity in this area.

Today, 13 May, President Obama hosted the US-Nordic Leaders Summit in Washington DC. Talks were held at the White House with the Prime Ministers of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland, and Finland’s President. The talks resulted in a joint declaration that addresses a number of issues that are important for Sweden, ranging from security policy to climate change.

Dhaka, Bangladesh 11 May 2016 Check against delivery

The Swedish Minister for Justice and Migration Mr Morgan Johansson will complete his first visit to Bangladesh, today. The main purpose of his visit was to deepen the relations between the two countries in the key area of migration, in light of Bangladesh's chairmanship of the Global Forum on Migration and Development.

On 8 May, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven received Austria’s Federal Chancellor Werner Faymann and Germany’s Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel for talks on current European issues.

Women in Parliaments Summit 2016 Amman, Jordan, 5 May 2016 Check against delivery.

On Thursday 28 April, the Government decided on a bill proposing that Swedish asylum regulations be temporarily brought into line with the minimum level in EU law and international conventions.

Swedish national statement, New York 18 April, 2016. Check against delivery.

Swedish rules of asylum will be temporarily brought into line with the minimum level in EU law and international conventions. The legislative proposal is now being sent to the Council on Legislation.

Geneva 30 March 2016. Check against delivery.

The right to assistance will cease to apply for people whose refusal-of-entry or expulsion order has become final and non-appealable. This is what the Government is proposing in a Bill to the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament). The proposal does not apply to families with children and is part of the agreement reached by the Government and the centre-right parties in October 2015.

On the first day of the European Council on Thursday 17 March, the EU leaders agreed on a joint position on cooperation with Turkey. Friday’s talks with Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu resulted in an agreement on migration issues aimed at stopping the irregular flow of refugees and ending human smuggling. Sweden was represented by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.

The right to assistance will cease to apply for people whose expulsion order has become final and non-appealable. This is what the Government lays out in a proposal submitted to the Council on Legislation. The proposal does not apply to families with children and is part of the agreement reached by the Government and the centre-right parties in October 2015.