Yesterday, the 22nd of June, the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag) decided on changes to laws that apply to foreign citizens – Utlänningslagen (2005:716) that will take effect from 20th of July 2021.
19 out of 35 of the changes proposed by the Swedish government was presented to the parliament in April of 2021, is now officially accepted.
The changes made to the Utlänningslagen (2005:716) can be summarized as such:
- Residence permits for persons in need of protection and others shall, as a general rule, be temporary
- A permanent residence permit may be granted at the earliest after the person has had a temporary residence permit for at least three years, and if certain special requirements are met
- In some cases it may be possible to grant a residence permit due to affiliation with a person who has a temporary residence permit;
- The requirement to have sufficient means (försörjningskrav) for close family members (anhöriginvandring) shall not only apply to the person living in Sweden but also to the relative.
- An adult who has resided in Sweden with a residence permit and during that time found a special connection to Sweden must be able to be granted a residence permit if the circumstances are especially sensitive.
Additionally, the parliament also made three announcements to the government to return with proposals for:
- Knowledge requirements in Swedish and social studies for a permanent residence permit
- Possibility to refuse a residence permit due to age-related reason
- A more efficient and cohesive repatriate process.
Preparations are in full swing
The new changes will take effect on the 20th of July and will not be any provisional regulation that applies for those who submitted their application prior to this date. This means the time for the authority to prepare for the new legislation very short and will therefore be very demanding. Migrationsverket’s legal department is preparing to update the regulations based on the amendment of the Utlänningslagen (2005: 716) mentioned above.
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