Minister Johan Forssell special guest at the eighth HoMs meeting at the Polish Embassy in Stockholm
17.04.2025
The eighth HoMs meeting during the Polish Presidency of the EU was held at the Polish Embassy in Stockholm, with the special guest being Sweden's Minister for Migration, Johan Forssell. In his speech, the Minister discussed the main principles of the new migration policy of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's government, highlighting the paradigm shift and the need to restore public trust in migration control.
Minister Forssell presented the latest legislative measures aimed at reducing the number of asylum applications, tightening the requirements for acquiring citizenship, and improving the efficiency of returns. He emphasized that the first visible result of government reforms was the lowest number of asylum applications since 1996, with a 40% reduction compared to the years 2015-2016. Experts from the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) predict that by 2025, this number will decrease by another 20%.
Key actions in this area include recently introduced laws preventing individuals, who have been rejected for asylum and stayed in Sweden for four years, from reapplying for asylum. Furthermore, Minister Forssell announced a review of the regulations regarding Swedish citizenship, including extending the required residence period from 5 to 8 years, introducing the obligation to understand Swedish society's functioning, and – for the first time in 50 years – requiring legal income.
