The right to some social security benefits
In a document on the party’s website, titled Do your duty, claim your right – a re-evaluation of citizenship (Do your duty, demand your rights – an appraisal of citizenship), the Sweden Democrats outline their plans for limiting residence-based social security benefits to Swedish citizens and EU citizens only.
The document is dated April 2021, but appears to have been uploaded to the party’s website in July 2022, and is still listed under the heading “what we want”.
Benefits will still be available to EU citizens, the document states, due to “certain EU legal conditions where special regulation for Swedish citizens could entail a renegotiation of the European Convention”.
The document further states that “the proposals in the report intend to restrict residence-based social security benefits so they are only available to Swedish citizens, as much as possible”.
Residence-based social security benefits which would no longer be available to non-EU citizens if this proposal were to become law include child benefits, adoption benefits, sickness benefits in the form of a guarantee benefit, housing benefits, disability benefits, nursing benefits, cost compensation benefits, rehabilitation allowance, parental leave pay at minimum or basic levels and dental care benefits.
Note that this proposal would not affect the rights of non-EU citizens to employment-based benefits, such as compensation for injuries sustained at work, income-based maternity or paternity pay, pregnancy pay, income-related unemployment or sick pay, or pay for taking care of a sick child (VAB).
The Local reached out to the Sweden Democrats for comment on this document, as well as to ask whether it is still current. A press officer informed us that the party “will not be participating at this time”.
Permanent residence permits
The Sweden Democrats also want to abolish permanent residence permits, arguing in a separate document on their website, titled A better future for Sweden (A better future for Sweden), that “the institution of permanent residence permits clashes with the idea of increasing the value of citizenship”.
“Under the current rules, the difference between the two institutions is small, and in practice is nothing more than the right to vote,” the document says, arguing that “citizenship has become an upgraded version of a permanent residence permit.”
“In order to preserve the sanctity of citizenship, the right of foreigners to stay in Sweden should never be allowed to approach that of Swedish citizens,” it reads.
Instead of granting permanent residence permits after a certain amount of time in the country (currently at least three years, in most cases four), the Sweden Democrats propose phasing them out completely in favour of “temporary residence permits of varying length”.
The party addresses the high level of resources which would be necessary if the Migration Agency were tasked with renewing temporary residence permits in perpetuity, but do not believe it would cause issues, stating that “the Migration Agency’s experiences with permit extension cases under the temporary law have shown good possibilities of fast and efficient procedures, especially in many similar cases”.
Current waiting times for temporary residence permit renewal at time of writing range from five months to 27 months, depending on the type of permit.
The right to citizenship after five years
Under current rules, immigrants to Sweden can apply for citizenship after living in the country for five years (three years in some cases).
The Sweden Democrats believe this is too short, stating in a migration policy document that they want instead to introduce a minimum qualifying period of ten years before immigrants are eligible to apply for citizenship in Sweden.
In addition to this, the party wants to introduce “well-regulated requirements for citizenship applications,” such as “mastery of the Swedish language and knowledge of fundamental facts about Sweden, our society and our history, as well as current laws and rules, responsibilities as well as rights”, which “can and should be confirmed via testing before citizenship can be granted”.
The party wants to further require that prospective applicants include an “explanation that they have understood the responsibilities and duties citizenship entails” in their citizenship application.
Further to this, the party states that “respect for and loyalty to Sweden are a natural part of citizenship” and that “citizens of Sweden should also be part of Sweden and see Sweden as their homeland”.
The right to move to Sweden to be with a family member, in some cases
In the document titled A better future for Swedenthe Sweden Democrats also suggest that they want to limit the right to residence permits based on family reunification, also known as relative immigration or occasionally a ‘sambo visa’.
In this document, the Sweden Democrats state that “the rules for family reunification should be adapted to the minimum levels under European law. It should therefore only be possible for refugees”.
This would mean that it would no longer be possible for immigrants to be granted a residence permit to move to Sweden to be with a spouse or cohabiting partner who is already living in Sweden, unless that spouse or cohabiting partner was in Sweden as a refugee.
In addition to this, the Sweden Democrats state that only the following family members would be eligible for this type of permit:
- A foreigner who is the spouse or cohabiting partner of the refugee
- An underaged unmarried foreigner who is the child of the refugee or the refugee’s spouse or cohabiting partner
- An underaged unmarried foreigner who is the child of the refugee if the refugee has sole custody of the foreigner, and if the foreigner is financially dependent on the refugee
- An underaged unmarried foreigner who is the child of the refugee’s spouse or cohabiting partner if the refugee’s spouse or cohabiting partner has sole custody of the foreigner, and if the foreigner is financially dependent on the refugee’s spouse or cohabiting partner
Finally, the Sweden Democrats propose that the relationship between the refugee and the family member must have been established before the refugee entered Sweden, and that the refugee must have been living in Sweden legally for two years to be able to bring their family member to Sweden under this permit.
In the document, the Sweden Democrats state that “Swedish citizens living abroad must have special opportunities to return home with their foreign family members, chiefly regarding to priority in processing and the possibility of applying within Sweden,” although it is not clear whether foreign family members would be able to apply to move to Sweden to live with a Swedish citizen already living in the country.
In addition to this, the Sweden Democrats state in the document that “a residence permit should be rejected for:
- foreigners who are the spouse or partner of someone who lives in or has been granted a residence permit in Sweden, or
- foreign children who are unmarried and have a parent who is married to or the partner of someone who is living in or has been granted a residence permit in Sweden, if one of the spouses or partners is under 21 years old”.
The document also states that “residence permits should also be rejected for foreigners who are applying to move to Sweden to live with a relative who is living in Sweden or has been granted a residence permit, for reasons of public order, safety and health”, and finally that “residence permits shall also be denied if the foreigner or person they are applying to move to refuses to follow integration measures”.
The Local has reached out to the Sweden Democrat’s migration spokesperson for comment and clarification on this topic.