Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
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Historically, subsidiary protection beneficiaries have comprised a large share of positive
asylum decisions in Sweden (see Figure 23), and Sweden has tended to rely more on
subsidiary status than has been the case in other EU countries (between 40 and 50 percent of
positive decisions typically confer refugee status in the European Union, on average).143
Swedish authorities attribute this trend in part to the fact that different statuses have,
historically, afforded forced migrants with the same residency and other rights, and there is
thus less of an incentive to investigate the more complex grounds that refugee status
requires.144 The share of protection beneficiaries granted refugee protection has, however,
risen in recent years, both in Sweden and in the European Union as a whole. This is due
primarily to the greater numbers of applicants from countries such as Syria, Eritrea, and Iraq
who usually receive refugee status.
Procedures for granting status
All asylum determinations (whether for refugee, subsidiary, or other protection) are made on
an individual basis by the Swedish Migration Agency, an independent authority. The Migration
Agency falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice, which establishes guidelines for
and funds the Agency’s activities but does not exercise any direct authority over its decisions
or application of the asylum laws. Specially trained officers of the Migration Agency receive,
process, and adjudicate asylum claims, and all decisions are subject to multiple levels of
review before they are issued. Both the independence of the Migration Agency from political
institutions and the specialized training of asylum officers are important safeguards for
maintaining the quality and integrity of the asylum decision-making process.
Asylum applications are typically taken in a two-step process, and an applicants' eligibility for
all forms of protection (refugee, subsidiary, and humanitarian) is considered at the same time.
Asylum officers first register applicants with the Migration Agency, take their biometric
information (including fingerprints and photos), and check their identification. Applicants are
then usually given a date for a second, in-depth interview some months later where
authorities gather information needed to make a substantive determination on the asylum
case. As of mid-2015, the Migration Agency took approximately 8 months to process an
asylum application. Since the surge in arrivals in the fall of 2015, processing times have risen
(and are now estimated to be over a year), although the Migration Agency has stopped issuing
official estimates.145
Rights and status of forced migrants
The type of residence permit—temporary or permanent—granted to recipients of
international protection in Sweden is determined by Migration Agency authorities on an
individual basis and is not typically tied to nationality. In practice, recipients of international
protection in Sweden (whether refugee or subsidiary protection) have normally been granted
permanent residence status. This policy, guided by a belief among Swedish authorities that
permanent residency facilitates integration of refugees into Swedish society,146 has been in
place since the 1970s.
143 Eurostat, "First instance decisions on applications by citizenship, age and sex Annual aggregated data (rounded)
[migr_asydcfsta]."
144 Interview with Helene Hedebris, Legal Affairs Expert, Region South, Migrationsverket, April 15, 2016.
145 Interview with Andre Nilen, Head of Staff, Region South, and Asa Evrensel, Protection Process Specialist, Operational
Department, Migrationsverket, April 14, 2016.
146 Interview with Helene Hedebris, Legal Affairs Expert, Region South, Migrationsverket, April 15, 2016.