Pay more money to migrants who are willing to leave Sweden and return to their home country. This is the proposal of the far-right party Sweden Democrats (SD), which is dividing the government in Stockholm. “We believe that there are many people who would prefer to return home, but who might need a little help along the way,” said Ludvig Aspling, spokesman for SD, which externally supports the current government of the Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals. When the Swedish parliament resumed yesterday (September 10), the issue of increasing voluntary migration aid caused strong tensions between the Liberals and the Sweden Democrats.
The proposal
The far-right party Sd wants to increase the allowance offered to residents born outside Sweden who decide to leave the country, along the lines of the Danish system, in order to convince foreigners to return to their countries of origin or leave elsewhere.
The current repatriation compensation valid in Sweden amounts to 10 thousand Swedish kronor, which is equivalent to 873 euros, a paltry sum compared to that of the Danish neighbors where, as reported by Euractiv, people who leave the country permanently can receive an allowance of up to 330 thousand Danish kroner, or a good 44 thousand euros. And so the use of this instrument has therefore remained minimal: only one person has used it in 2023 compared to 300 in Denmark.
In 2023, the government in Stockholm assigned a researcher to investigate ways that would encourage more people living in Sweden who have strong ties to another country to emigrate. The research is in line with the coalition’s commitment to developing a new repatriation system.
According to the government, the people affected are those who have failed to integrate into Swedish society in terms of language, self-sufficiency or other cultural factors. Government appointed researcher Joakim Ruist, an economist in the field of global migration, has spoken out against the proposal, warning that such a policy would have little economic impact and would have negative effects on integration.
Liberals are against it
The Liberals have supported Ruist’s position and are therefore holding back and not wanting to include the issue on the agenda. The young people of the party are very much against it, with a representative of the Youth Association of the Liberal Party (LUF) who has called on the political formation to firmly oppose the proposal. According to their chairman, Anton Holmlund, the idea of the Sweden Democrats would send a bad message to all those who would like to integrate.
“This sends a very bad signal to all those who want to stay and integrate. Here the government says you should not stay. Ideally, we want to pay you to leave. This is a completely wrong signal and will not help integration in Sweden,” he said.
