The Swedish Migration Agency ( sv, Migrationsverket; previous English name: Swedish Migration Board), is a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
government agency
A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...
, established on 1 July 1969. Its task is to evaluate and decide on applications from people who want to seek a temporary residence permit, acquire permanent residence or
citizenship in Sweden. This makes it involved in
immigration to Sweden
Immigration to Sweden is the process by which people human migration, migrate to Sweden to reside in the country.
Many, but not all, become Swedish nationality law, Swedish citizens. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration h ...
The Swedish Migration Agency is under the
Ministry of Justice and operates nationwide from about 40 offices. It is headquartered in
Norrköping
Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...
in
Östergötland
Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...
and is led by a Director General, currently
Anders Danielsson
Sven Anders Herman Danielsson (born 27 December 1953) is a Swedish government official who served as Director-General and Head of the Swedish Security Service
The Swedish Security Service ( sv, Säkerhetspolisen , abbreviated SÄPO ; until 19 ...
. In 2014, the agency received 81,301 applications for
asylum, of which 31,220 were granted.
Fokus
Fokus was a political party in Denmark. The party was founded in 2010, originally as a splinter group of the Danish People’s Party (DF), but the politics of Fokus differed from that of DF on a number of issues. For example, while DF supported ...
, the agency's budget for unaccompanied minor
An unaccompanied minor (sometimes "unaccompanied child" or "separated child") is a child without the presence of a legal guardian.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child defines unaccompanied minors and unaccompanied children as those "who ...
s alone at 27 billion krona represented 37% of the UNHCR:s budget for managing refugees over the entire planet.
Criticism
The Swedish Migration Agency has come under criticism for its opaque handling of expatriate work permit applications and inordinate delays coupled with over-zealous, often controversial, readings of Swedish regulations related to insurance requisites for work permit extensions. The Agency continues to process applications with delays extending up to 10 months in some cases.
In May 2016 the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine
The Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine ( sv, Rättsmedicinalverket, abbreviated RMV) is a Swedish government agency organized under the Ministry of Justice, responsible for forensic psychiatry, forensic chemistry, forensic medicine and ...
''sv: Rättsmedicinalverket (RMV)'' started aiding the agency with determining the age of migrants claiming to be under 18. The first batch of 518 investigations indicated that 442 were likely adult and the rest retained their status as unaccompanied minor
An unaccompanied minor (sometimes "unaccompanied child" or "separated child") is a child without the presence of a legal guardian.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child defines unaccompanied minors and unaccompanied children as those "who ...
s, which gave access to education, better housing and greater likelihood of refugee status. Of the 442, 430 were men and 12 women. RMV was tasked with doing the backlog of 3000 - 14000 age investigations which had been obstructed by Swedish Bar Association lawyers, doctors, dentists and officials of National Board of Health and Welfare
The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare ( sv, Socialstyrelsen) is a Swedish government agency. The agency was the result of a merger between the National Swedish Board of Health and the Swedish Royal Board of Social Affairs in 1968. ...
.<\ref>
In June 2016 the SMA expressed doubts about 70% of asylum applicants purportedly 15-17.
In July 2018, the agency together with municipalities of Sweden
The municipalities of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges kommuner) are its lower-level local government entities. There are 290 municipalities which are responsible for a large proportion of local services, including schools, emergency services and physical ...
was criticised by the national agency against honor-related crime (Swedish: ''nationella kompetensteamet mot hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck'') for not doing enough to discover and rectify child marriages among migrants.
See also
*Government agencies in Sweden
The government agencies in Sweden are state-controlled organizations that act independently to carry out the policies of the Government of Sweden. The ministries are relatively small and merely policy-making organizations, allowed to monitor the ...
References
{{authority control
Migrationsverket
The Swedish Migration Agency ( sv, Migrationsverket; previous English name: Swedish Migration Board), is a Swedish government agency, established on 1 July 1969. Its task is to evaluate and decide on applications from people who want to seek a te ...
Foreign relations of Sweden