Sweden’s parliament, presently controlled by center-right forces, has voted to abolish permanent residence permits for asylum seekers and several other groups with migration backgrounds, a stunning reversal for a country once praised by Europe’s liberal establishment as the moral showcase of mass immigration.
The new law, set to take effect on July 12, will restrict those covered by the reform to temporary residence permits only. Those who already hold valid permanent residence statuses will not be affected.
The government says the reform “eliminates the possibility of granting permanent residence permits to asylum seekers” and other specified groups. With this, Sweden is ending the idea that entry through the asylum system should become a permanent path to settlement by default.
Temporary permits have already become common in Sweden, but the new measure goes further. It blocks certain migrants from turning temporary protection into permanent legal status—a major break with the old settlement model.