Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
175
lessened under the new asylum law. Recognized protection beneficiaries receive the same
treatment under Swedish law and in Swedish social systems as other legal residents, and fully
integrating protection beneficiaries into Swedish society, mainstream social services, and the
labor market as quickly as possible is a top policy priority.
Effectively implementing both the high level of legal protection in the Swedish asylum system,
as well as the deep commitments to the care and integration of recognized refugee
populations, has required extensive investment in technical and regulatory infrastructure and
a high level of sustained political commitment on the part of Swedish policy leaders. The
financial, human, and physical resources and sophistication of the Swedish Migration Agency,
the body responsible for implementing many aspects of asylum policy, are remarkable, and
programs and initiatives implemented both by the Migration Agency and other key actors are
continuously evaluated and adapted to meet changing needs and demands.
Yet the significant increase in asylum flows in the fall of 2015 may have called into question
some of these investments and commitments. The scale of the flows and the rapidity with
which they increased made living up to the high standards of the Swedish system nearly
impossible in many areas. Social systems found their capacities strained not just by the
increasing number of clients, but also by the diversity of the newly arrived population and
their needs. In a system that centers on providing an individual assessment of each person's
protection and support needs, complex or unusual cases multiply the demands on that
system's capacity.
The short-term fiscal impacts are relatively clear: Expenditures by the state have increased
dramatically as the growing demand on asylum and related services required additional
financial support to step up services to meet new needs. The Swedish Audit office has
estimated that direct expenditures by the government for migration and integration measures
have more than doubled from SEK 15.1 billion in 2012 to 40.6 billion in 2016 (approximately
USD 1.9 billion to 5 billion).260 Predictions by the IMF put expenditures on the asylum system
at roughly 1 percent of GDP for 2016.261
The effects have, however, been felt most concretely at the local level. Because asylum seekers
and refugees have access to Swedish public services, the increased inflows have put acute
pressure on some sectors, particularly education and health which are both managed at the
local level. County health authorities, for example, have raised concerns regarding the costs of
services provided to asylum seekers. While they do receive reimbursements from the national
government,262 these are paid at a fixed rate per asylum applicant and are not adjusted for
actual needs or expenses. According to the Association of Counties and Municipalities,
260 Riksrevisionen, Nyanländas etablering– är statens insatser effektiva?, Report No. 2015:17, (Stockhom: Riksrevisonen,
2015),
261 Shekhar Aiyar et al., “The Refugee Surge in Europe: Economic Challenges,” (staff discussion note SDN/16/02,
International Monetary Fund, January 2016),
262 As of 2014, the Association of Counties and Municipalities reported county authorities were paid SEK 4215
(approximately USD 500) for each adult asylum seeker in the county (different rates applied to children and those over 61
years old), and an additional SEK 2070 (approximately USD 250) for each health check performed. Olsson and Eriksson,
Hälso- och sjukvård åt asylsökande under år 2014