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SWEDISH CITIZENSHIP

‘The idea is to convert permanent residency into Swedish citizenship,’ Migration minister says

Sweden's Migration Minister has responded to criticism of the government's proposal to abolish permanent residency, telling an interviewer that the hope is that holders will gain full citizenship rather than get downgraded to temporary status.

Published: 28 November 2022 11:01 CET

'The idea is to convert permanent residency into Swedish citizenship,' Migration minister says

The interview with Maria Malmar Stenergard was published in the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper on Sunday. Photo: Stefan Jerrevång/TT

“The main idea behind the [Tidö] agreement is that we should convert permanent residency to citizenship,” Maria Malmer Stenergard, from the right-wing Moderate Party, told the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper.”You should not be here forever on a permanent residence permit. A clear path to citizenship is needed.”

I envision that you will receive individual plans for how to achieve this,” she continued. “Learn the language, earn a living, and have knowledge of Swedish society, so that you can fully become a Swedish citizen.”

Malmer Stenergard said it was still unclear whether a planned government inquiry into the possibility of “converting…existing permanent residence permits” would also open the way for those who have been given a permanent right to live in the country to be downgraded to a temporary residency permit.

“We’ll have to look at that,” she said. “There is a problem with positive administrative decisions and changing them, which the Migration Agency’s director general Mikael Ribbenvik has been aware of. We also state in the Tidö Agreement that basic principles of administrative law shall continue to apply.”

In the Tidö Agreement, the deal between the far-right Sweden Democrats and the three government parties, it says that “asylum-related residence permits should be temporary and the institution of permanent residence permits should be phased out to be replaced by a new system based on the immigrant’s protection status”.

It further states that “an inquiry will look into the circumstances under which existing permanent residence permits can be converted, for example through giving affected permit holders realistic possibilities to gain citizenship before a specified deadline. These changes should occur within the framework of basic legal principles.”

Malmer Stenergard stressed that the government would only retroactively reverse an administrative decision (over residency) if a way can be found to make such a move compatible with such principles.

“This is why we state in the Tidö Agreement that basic principles of administrative law must apply,” she said.

She said the government had not yet come to a conclusion on what should happen to those with permanent residency who either cannot or are unwilling to become Swedish citizens.

“We’re not there yet, but of course we’re not going to be satisfied with people just having an existing permanent residency, which in many cases has been granted without any particularly clear demands, if they don’t then take the further steps required for citizenship.”

This did not mean, however, that those with permanent residency permits should be worried, she stressed.

“If your ambition is to take yourself into Swedish society, learn the language, become self-supporting, and live according to our norms and values, I think that there’s a very good chance that you will be awarded citizenship.”

She said that even if people couldn’t meet the requirements for citizenship, everyone with permanent residency should at least have “an individual plan for how they are going to become citizens”, if they want to stay in Sweden.

When it comes to other asylum seekers, however, she said that the government’s aim was for residencies to be recalled more often.

“We want to find a way to let the Migration Agency regularly reassess whether the grounds for residency remain. The aim is that more residencies should be recalled, for example, if a person who is invoking a need of asylum or other protection then goes back to their home country for a holiday.”

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How to use Swedish parental leave to spend three months with your baby back home

Under Sweden’s generous system of parental leave, parents of newborns are allowed to take up to 30 so-called “double days”, when both parents receive parental benefit at the same time.

This means that if each partner also takes a month of parental leave solo, with the other taking their full 25-day holiday entitlement at the same time, couples can enjoy a full three months of paid leave away from work to be with their infant.

This is such a common thing to do that Swedish schools have even been established in some of the most popular resorts in Thailand, so that parents can bring school-age children with them on their breaks, which are the subject of envious reports in the Swedish newspapers.

If you still have days left for another, previous child, you can add in these too, stretching your paid time off from work even longer.

We asked Anna Stenhoff, an executive at the Swedish Social Insurance Agncy, how the system works.

READ ALSO:

Sweden’s 480 days of parental leave: What you need to know

What’s the maximum amount of time you can be abroad on parental leave?

There are different rules for the 390 days that you are paid at sickness level (80 percent of salary) and for the 90 days paid at the minimum level of 180 kronor a day. There are also different rules for stays inside and outside the EU.

Under Sweden’s rules, sickness level parental leave is a work-based benefit. This means you remain entitled to it for as long as you are employed in Sweden and have a child resident in Sweden.

In practice, this generally means you and your child can stay outside the EU and collect sickness level parental leave for up to a year, so long as you do not, say, decide to work for a new employer in the country where you are working, or are not made redundant from your job in Sweden.

“So long as you keep your job, you can take that leave abroad,” Stenhoff told The Local. “But for parental benefit specificially the child has to be a resident of Sweden, so that’s why the one year kicks in, because typically after a year, the child would no longer be a resident of Sweden, which is a qualificiation for the benefit.”

The 90-days paid at the minimum level, however, is a residency-based benefit, which under Sweden’s rules can only be collected ouside the EU for up to six months, so long as you are still considered resident in Sweden.

“Normally, if you travel abroad on holiday, that’s not an indication of changing residency, but if you moved abroad, you would lose this benefit from day one,” Stenhoff said.

This means you risk losing the benefit at minimum level if you, for instance, inform the Swedish Tax Agency that you have moved to a country outside the EU, or changed your official address to an Indian address, or changed a child’s school to an Indian school.

The rules on residency-based benefits are, however, both more generous and more complicated for stays in another EU country, with the general rule being that you can be in another EU country for up to a year and still receive the benefit.

“It’s more open in the EU, but it’s also more complicated,” Stenhoff said, adding that as the rules changed, for instance, depending on your job and whether you have family members in the other EU country, it was “always a good idea” to ring the Social Insurance Agency to discuss your situation before you leave.

How will a stay abroad affect work or residency permit extensions?

If you only have temporary residency in Sweden through a work permit, you may need to be more careful before taking parental leave outside the EU.

In theory, you can be out of Sweden for six months or more without causing issues when you later apply for an extension, as both being on parental leave and taking the holiday you are entitled to in your job are seen as “an acceptable reason to interrupt your employment” under work permit rules.

This is not the case, however, if the time you have been away from work greatly exceeds the time you were actually working.

“If you have not worked at all, or have only worked for a very limited period of time, your application for a permanent residence permit may be rejected,” the Migration Agency warns on its website.

It’s a good idea to ring the Migration Agency before departure to check that your planned stay will not affect your chances of receiving a new work or residency permit, permanent residency, or citizenship.

What do you need to do before you go abroad?

Even if you are travelling outside the EU, EEA or UK, it is not obligatory to inform the Swedish Social Insurance Agency or request permission to take your leave internationally, Stenhoff said. But she nonetheless said it was a good idea to ring to check that everything you planned to do is within rules.

You should also keep documents or print-outs from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency and also from your employer of the days you have taken of parental leave and holiday, as you may need to send these to the Migration Agency when you apply to extend your work permit.

The Swedish Board of Health and Welfare recommends that parents planning to travel abroad with a baby also inform the childcare unit or barnavårdscentral (BVC) that they are registered with of their plans at least a few months before they depart, so that they can ensure that your baby has all the vaccinations they need to travel safely abroad.

In Sweden, BVCs normally invite you to around 13 visits during the child’s first year, so if you plan to be away for three to six months of this, they may also wish to carry out some essential checks before you go.

Which bank account can I be paid into?

If you are receiving benefits abroad, it is easier to have them paid into a standard Swedish bank account. It is, however, possible to have them paid into a foreign bank account, so long as it is in the name of the beneficiary and it has passed the money-laundering and other anti-fraud checks run by the agency’s payments division. You can register a new bank account by logging into the Social Insurance Agency here.

What about if I have a child at school or day care?

There is currently no requirement to send your child to daycare in Sweden, but many municipalities automatically take away your place at preschool if your child is away for two months or more without a good reason.

You may well be able to get around this if you are away for three or four months by explaining your plans to the preschool head. If you want to keep your child’s place you will have to continue paying the monthly fee while you are away.

It is compulsory in Sweden for all children between the ages of 6 and 16 to attend school, however. This means that if you are planning on taking your child out of school for two or three months, you need to convince the headteacher that you have “extraordinary reasons and special circumstances” to do so.

Whether they say ‘yes’ depends on how liberal they are, but you are quite likely to have your request denied, particularly in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö, where the municipalities face a recurring problem of chldren being taken out of school without permission.

Acceptable reasons include family celebrations such as weddings and funerals, and important religious festivals. You are unlikely to have a request accepted for a holiday.

For periods longer than a few months, you will need to apply to your municipality for a temporary exemption from compulsory schooling. You can find the application form for Stockholm here, and the city government’s explainer on taking your child overseas here.

The chances are that if you take a child away for longer than a few months, they will be declared no longer covered by compulsory schooling, meaning they will lose their school place and you will have to reapply on your return.

There is no statutory regulation saying what counts as a long or short time overseas, but in Malmö, for example, any journey longer than 10 days needs to be approved by the school head, and anything over six months is very likely to lose you your school place.

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