Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
158
new policies took effect on July 20, 2016 and apply to asylum applicants who submitted claims
in Sweden after November 24, 2015.
Two of the most significant changes in the June 2016 law are as follows:153
 Change from permanent to temporary residency for protection beneficiaries: The
temporary law suspended the current policy of granting permanent residency to all
protection beneficiaries. Instead, recognized refugees receive a three-year residency
permit and subsidiary protection beneficiaries a permit valid for 13 months.154 Both
permits are renewable, pending a review of conditions in the beneficiary’s home
country to ensure protection is still needed. In both cases, permit holders can convert
to permanent residency once their permit expires only if they can prove they are self-
supporting (i.e. employed).
 Removal of status for persons “otherwise in need of protection” and on
humanitarian grounds. Protection on grounds other than refugee or subsidiary
protection status will not be granted, except in exceptional circumstances or in cases
that would violate Sweden’s obligations under international law. The likely effects of
this policy change in practice thus remain unclear. Currently, most of those benefiting
from the “otherwise in need of protection” clause in the Aliens Act are unaccompanied
minors. Returning these minors might still prove difficult despite the new law, if such
returns would violate Sweden’s commitments to act in the best interest of the child
under international and EU law.
In addition, the new law reduces access to family reunification for recognized refugees and
subsidiary protection beneficiaries by requiring the sponsoring family member to be self-
sufficient (i.e. employed). Separately, the government has also removed access to housing and
benefits for asylum applicants whose claims have been denied and who are under an order to
leave the country.
Table 13: Status and rights granted to protection beneficiaries under revised 2016
protection law
Refugee Status Subsidiary Protection Other Protection
Residence rights
upon grant of status
3 year temporary
residence permit
13 month temporary
residence permit
N/A
Access to permanent
residence
Contingent on self-
sufficiency
(employment)
Contingent on self-
sufficiency
(employment)
N/A
Family reunification
Have 3 month
window to apply
without meeting
minimum support
requirements
Cannot apply except
under exceptional cases
Cannot apply
153 Interview with Maria Westman-Clement, Deputy Director, Asylum and Migration Policy Unit, Swedish Ministry of Justice,
April 11, 2016
154 The proposed permit length for subsidiary protection beneficiaries was raised from one year to 13 months during the
legislative review process after commentors pointed out that foreign nationals must hold a permit valid for longer than 12
months to be able to register in the social registry, which is required to access most social services.