Sweden’s 2025 immigration overhaul: track change ends, deportations

(SWEDEN) Sweden’s immigration overhaul has moved from plan to daily reality after rules that took effect on 1 April 2025 scrapped the track change system and tightened how deportation orders work. The changes hit hardest among rejected asylum seekers who had jobs and families and expected to stay through work permits. Parliament ended the in‑country switch with no transitional rules, and the Swedish Migration Agency applies the new law to decisions taken on or after 1 April 2025, no matter when a person filed.

Officials say the point is clearer, stricter enforcement, while rights groups warn that people who are settled and working may now face abrupt exits. Many are watching proposals for stricter rules on citizenship, permanent residence, and labour migration due in 2026–2027.

What the track change reform means

Until this spring, “spårbyte” let some people whose asylum claims had been rejected apply for a work‑based residence permit without leaving Sweden, if they had been working and met permit conditions. It was a narrow exception to the normal rule that work permit applications must be filed from abroad, but it became a lifeline for workers who had built careers, paid tax, and enrolled children in school.

From 1 April 2025, that bridge disappeared overnight. The Migration Agency says people who already hold a work permit granted through track change may keep working until the permit ends, but they cannot extend it on work‑permit grounds from inside Sweden.

Monitoring cited in the source material estimates the number affected at roughly 4,700, plus family members in coming months.

Timing and legal cutoff

• The law is applied based on when the Agency makes its decision, not when an application was submitted.
• This means a track change request filed before 1 April 2025 can still be refused if the decision is taken after that date.
• Lawyers and advisers say families now face abrupt planning and may need to prepare for moves they thought avoided.

One narrow opening remains: if, on 31 March 2025, more than four years had passed since the asylum‑rejection decision, the earlier expulsion order is treated as expired and the agency may look at other permit grounds — though not a new work permit via track change.

Changes to deportation and enforcement timelines

From 1 April 2025, deportation and expulsion decisions remain enforceable for five years, and the five‑year period now starts when the person actually leaves Sweden and the Schengen area. Under the old rule, the period ran from when the decision became final, even if the person remained in Sweden, which created an incentive to delay departure.

The government frames the new approach as a way to stop people “waiting out” an order and to give authorities longer time to act if someone disappears.

• The Migration Agency said it had around 9,000 open return cases affected when the new limitation‑period rule entered into force.
• For individuals, this can mean years of uncertainty after a refusal.

Tougher penalties for missed departure deadlines

The new law gives the Migration Agency explicit power to set longer re‑entry bans when a person does not leave within the voluntary departure period. In practice, these bans can block travel not only back to Sweden but to much of the Schengen zone.

• The rule applies to anyone whose rejection or expulsion decision had not expired by 31 March 2025, pulling older cases into the new framework.
• For people living without status, staying put no longer shortens the time an order can be enforced, while a late exit can bring a longer ban.

VisaVerge.com reports this shift is changing legal advice, with lawyers urging action on available options.

Key takeaway: track exact decision dates and permit expiry. The new five‑year enforcement period is counted from the day you actually leave.

Political context: the Tidö Agreement and broader agenda

Ministers have tied the April changes to a wider push under the Tidö Agreement, the governing platform that promises fewer arrivals and more returns. The government frames the agenda as correcting what it calls decades of overly generous policy, linking tougher rules to failed integration, parallel societies, and crime.

• One stated aim is that Swedish rules should not go beyond EU or international minimum obligations.
• Since 2022, around 40 migration‑related legislative proposals have been put forward, covering detention powers, revoking permits, and tightening “good conduct” checks.
• The pace of change matters because each new rule can reset a family’s plans after a single parliamentary vote.

Labour market impacts and future direction for work permits

Employers are feeling the strain first in lower‑paid sectors that had relied on workers who once could regularise status through track change.

Sectors mentioned in the source material include:
– Cleaning firms
– Restaurants
– Agriculture
– Parts of manufacturing

The direction of travel for labour migration favors higher‑paid jobs. A government inquiry has proposed:
– Higher income thresholds for work permits
– Restrictions on low‑skilled recruitment
– Some exemptions for certain occupations, researchers, or recent graduates

One planned reform for June 2026 would:
– Set the minimum salary at 90% of the national median salary (described as currently around SEK 33,390)
– Raise employer duties and sanctions for violations from 2026

Permanent residence and citizenship — tougher tests ahead

Permanent residence is set to become harder for many non‑EU workers if current proposals become law. The source material describes a move toward more conditional status, with measures such as:

• Requirement to show stable income sufficient to support a family without welfare, estimated at around SEK 29,680 net per month
• Tougher documentation and passport rules, with less tolerance for earlier irregularities
• Discussion of linking permanent residence to Swedish language ability (levels A2 to B1) and broader “integration” markers

Citizenship proposals (inquiry dated 14 January 2025) include:
– Extending the main residence requirement from 5 to 8 years
– Adding a formal test of financial self‑support
– Tightening “good conduct” checks before naturalisation

• These proposals are out for consultation and have been suggested to enter into force on 1 June 2026.
• If adopted, people near the five‑year mark may need to wait longer and demonstrate a stronger work and income record.

For families, citizenship often represents the line between stability and a life shaped by renewals and fear of sudden change.

Return policy, reception rules, and incentives

The government is working on an asylum‑law overhaul intended to align Sweden with the EU minimum standard for reception and procedural rights. Proposed changes include:

• More duties for asylum seekers (attendance checks, staying in a chosen county, reporting requirements, mandatory introduction programmes)
• Expanded internal immigration checks, detention, and other coercive tools
• Intended application from 1 July 2026 in step with the EU Migration Pact timetable

On the voluntary side, a repatriation grant is due to rise to up to SEK 350,000 per person from 1 January 2026, a large sum meant to encourage voluntary departures. Critics warn that cash alone cannot fix risks at home.

Housing, construction policy, and economic measures

Economic policy that once accompanied immigration changes has shifted. In March 2025 the government launched a temporary renovation tax rebate worth SEK 4.4 billion as part of a SEK 5.8 billion package aimed at the construction sector during a housing slump.

• The rebate has now run its course and is no longer open to new projects in the same form.
• Debate has shifted to easing building rules, coping with high interest rates, and targeted support for student or rental housing rather than broad credits.

For migrants, housing is where policy meets stress:
– Someone who has to leave Sweden when a permit ends may break a lease.
– Employers who cannot recruit may delay projects suddenly.

Numbers at a glance

Practical advice and next steps

• Advisers say the safest starting point is to track exact decision dates and permit expiry, because the new five‑year period is counted from the day you actually leave.
• The Swedish Migration Agency posts official updates and application rules on its English portal: https://www.migrationsverket.se/English.html
• Check the Agency first before making binding travel or housing decisions.

The absence of transitional rules means migrants and employers must read fine print and follow legislative developments closely. Each new proposal can materially change someone’s status or a company’s staffing outlook almost overnight.