- Jimmie Åkesson proposes converting existing permanent permits into temporary ones following the twenty twenty-six elections.
- The plan specifically targets refugees and asylum seekers, requiring them to prove a continued need for protection.
- Sweden recently increased citizenship residency requirements from five to eight years and introduced conduct-based reviews.
Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson said Tuesday that a re-elected right-wing coalition should convert at least some existing permanent residence permits into temporary ones, a move that could force people to repeatedly prove their right to remain in Sweden.
Åkesson said the proposal would become part of negotiations among the parties cooperating under the Tidö Agreement after the September 13, 2026 parliamentary election. He did not say every permit would change, but said that “a lot can be converted.”
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He defended the plan in an interview published by Sveriges Radio on August 11.
“We have given quite a few people permanent residency, a kind of citizenship, but without the obligations that come with citizenship. I don't think that's reasonable.”
The proposal targets people who already hold permanent status, rather than only future applicants. Its immediate legal scope would depend on negotiations and later implementation by the government and parliament.
Sweden has already moved to replace several categories of permanent permits. The Riksdag voted on June 9 to abolish permanent residence permits for asylum seekers, people needing protection and long-term residents. The change took effect on July 12, replacing those permits with five-year temporary permits.
Existing permits could face a new review standard
A separate amendment to the Swedish Aliens Act took effect on July 13. It allows authorities to revoke residence permits for “poor conduct,” or vandel, including some behavior that is not criminal.
The listed grounds include systemic welfare fraud, unpaid debts, links to criminal or extremist organizations, unpaid taxes and undeclared work. The rule gives officials a wider basis for examining whether a person should retain permission to live in Sweden.
Johan Forssell, Sweden’s minister for migration, linked the conduct measure to personal responsibility when he discussed the legislation in March.
“Anyone who doesn’t make the effort to do the right thing shouldn't be able to count on staying.”
The proposed conversion of existing permits would add a further layer. People moved from permanent to temporary status could face periodic assessments of whether they still qualify for protection, according to the policy description.
The proposal is centered on protection-based permits
The likely reach of the plan is narrower than a blanket cancellation of every permanent permit. Current legislative reports, including SOU 2025:99, suggest that people who received residence through work permits or family ties may fall outside the proposed revocation policy.
Refugees and asylum seekers are the main group identified as being at risk of conversion. A temporary status would require them to demonstrate a continuing need for protection when their permits come up for review.
The proposal also raises the possibility of deportation reviews based on conduct that does not amount to a criminal conviction. Critics have warned that this could leave decisions to the discretion of the Swedish Migration Agency and weaken predictability for people who previously held permanent status.
Amnesty International and legal experts have criticized the retroactive element, arguing that changing the status of existing permit holders threatens legal certainty. The issue is not only whether future applicants meet new standards, but whether rules can be applied to people who received a permanent permit under earlier rules.
Citizenship rules have also tightened
The proposed residency conversions come as Sweden has raised the bar for naturalization. Since June 6, the required residence period for Swedish citizenship has increased from five years to eight years.
Applicants must also satisfy new requirements involving language, social knowledge and self-sufficiency through income. Permanent residence and citizenship remain different legal statuses, but the changes point in the same direction: longer residence, stronger integration conditions and closer scrutiny of continued eligibility.
The government’s migration policy has developed through the Tidö cooperation, under which the Sweden Democrats support a Moderate-led government in exchange for stricter migration measures. The party’s latest proposal would push that arrangement beyond rules for new permits and into the status of people already settled in the country.
Coalition talks would determine how many permits change
Åkesson said the coalition partners may not convert all existing permits. His stated expectation is that negotiations could still result in “a lot” being changed.
That leaves several groups facing different prospects. Protection-based permit holders are the central target described in the proposal, while work-based and family-linked residents may be excluded under the legislative framework now cited by policymakers.
The next formal test will come after the September election, when the parties would have to decide whether to pursue retroactive conversions and which categories to include. Any resulting policy would operate alongside the five-year permits introduced July 12 and the conduct rules that took effect July 13.
