Swedish Migration Agency Proposes Ending Permanent Residence Permits for Migrants

(SWEDEN) — Sweden has proposed abolishing permanent residence permits for refugees, beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, quota refugees, and EU long-term residents, replacing them with temporary permits to encourage citizenship, return, or repatriation.

The plan would target permanent residence permits granted on asylum-related grounds, including permits for dependents. It would not apply to permits based on employment or family ties.

Under the proposal, authorities would revoke the permanent permits covered by the new rules and then automatically assess whether the person qualifies for temporary permits under the Aliens Act or Aliens Ordinance. People would not need to file a new application for that review.

The proposal comes from the government inquiry Miniminivåutredningen. Its final report, SOU 2025:99, was presented on September 26, 2025.

Sweden’s move would affect people who received permanent residence permits through asylum-related protection rather than through work or family-based routes. It would also cover quota refugees and EU long-term residents within the categories named in the proposal.

At the center of the plan is a shift away from permanent status for those groups and toward temporary permits. The government’s stated aim is to encourage citizenship, return, or repatriation.

The inquiry estimated that up to 185,000 people could be affected. That figure includes 16,800 children.

Several exceptions would limit when revocation could happen. One would cover people who have a citizenship application, or a registered intent to apply for citizenship, with the Swedish Migration Agency by December 31, 2026, if the case remains undecided.

Another exception would apply where exceptional reasons argue against revocation. The inquiry highlighted those aged 15 or older, especially in cases where no doubt exists about retaining permanent status.

A further exception would cover prior revocation decisions under this law that have legal force. Those cases would not be reopened under the same mechanism.

For people who do not qualify for temporary permits or citizenship after a final decision, the consequence would be departure from Sweden within months. They would be able to appeal to migration courts.

Any expulsions under the proposal would still have to comply with EU law and international obligations. That condition would remain in place even if permanent residence permits were withdrawn.

The measure would mark another step in Sweden’s policy shift since the 2015/2016 refugee crisis. Since then, policy has moved toward more restrictive rules, with greater emphasis on labor immigration than asylum.

That broader shift has also included temporary permits and limited family reunification. The new proposal fits into that direction by replacing permanent residence permits with temporary permits for the groups covered.

A legislative proposal is expected in Q1 2026. The law is set to take effect on January 1, 2027.

Migration Minister Johan Forssell has said those affected would be encouraged to apply for citizenship to support integration. That emphasis places citizenship at the center of the proposed transition away from permanent protection-based status.

The timing in the proposal creates a narrow path for some people who want to keep their status from being revoked. If they have a citizenship application pending, or if they have registered an intent with the Swedish Migration Agency by December 31, 2026, and the matter is still undecided, they would fall within one of the stated exceptions.

That provision gives the Swedish Migration Agency a central role in the months before the planned start date. People seeking to avoid revocation through the citizenship route would need to have their application or intent registered before the deadline set out in the proposal.

For others, the outcome would depend on the automatic review that follows revocation. Authorities would examine whether the person can receive temporary permits under existing immigration law, rather than requiring a separate filing.

That part of the system means the proposal does not simply end status in a single step. It replaces one form of legal residence with a review for another, while leaving open the possibility that some people will not qualify and would then face removal after a final decision.

The categories named in the inquiry show how tightly the proposal is tied to asylum-based residence. Refugees, beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, quota refugees, and EU long-term residents are included when their permanent residence permits rest on asylum-related grounds.

People whose permits rest on work or family ties are excluded. The distinction separates asylum-related permanent residence permits from other long-term residence routes already used in Sweden.

The children counted in the inquiry’s estimate indicate the breadth of the possible impact. Of the up to 185,000 people affected, 16,800 are children.

That estimate also places the proposal among the larger immigration measures now under discussion in Sweden. Few other figures in the plan are as striking as the total number of people who could see their permanent residence permits reviewed.

The proposal sits alongside other changes already moving through Sweden’s immigration system. From January 1, 2026, the country raised repatriation grants for eligible permit holders on asylum grounds whose permits were granted before September 12, 2024.

Those grants are set at SEK 350,000 per adult and SEK 25,000 per child, with a ceiling of SEK 600,000 per household. The repatriation grants and the plan to replace permanent residence permits with temporary permits point in the same policy direction: fewer open-ended protections and greater focus on citizenship, return, or repatriation.

Separate reforms also target labor immigration. From June 1, 2026, Sweden set a 90% median wage threshold of SEK 33,390.

That labor measure reflects the same broader shift described in the inquiry, which places priority on labor immigration over asylum. It also shows that the changes are not limited to protection-based residence but form part of a wider reworking of migration policy.

Integration requirements such as language skills are also part of that broader package. Forssell’s focus on citizenship as support for integration aligns with those requirements.

In practice, the proposal would create several different tracks for people now holding permanent residence permits on asylum-related grounds. Some would move toward citizenship before the new rules take effect. Some would be reviewed for temporary permits. Some could invoke exceptional reasons against revocation. Others could end up with final decisions requiring them to leave Sweden within months.

Appeals to migration courts would remain available. That means the courts would play a role in testing individual decisions as people challenge revocations or related rulings on temporary permits and departure.

Even so, the basic change in the proposal is clear. Sweden would no longer treat permanent residence permits as the standard long-term outcome for the groups covered by the inquiry.

Instead, temporary permits would become the replacement status for those who still qualify to remain after their permanent permits are revoked. The proposal frames that shift as a way to encourage a move either into citizenship or out of Sweden through return or repatriation.

The law’s planned start date of January 1, 2027, also means the months before then carry added weight for affected residents. The deadline of December 31, 2026, for registering a citizenship application or intent with the Swedish Migration Agency stands one day before the proposed law would take effect.

That sequence links the citizenship route directly to the legal transition. People who act before the deadline could fall under an exception, while those who do not may face revocation and an automatic review for temporary permits once the law starts.

The inquiry’s design also suggests that permanent status itself has become the issue under review, rather than lawful residence as such. Authorities would first remove permanent residence permits for those covered, then decide whether temporary permits should follow under the Aliens Act or Aliens Ordinance.

For those who remain ineligible for temporary permits or citizenship, the consequences could come quickly after the legal process ends. They would have months to leave Sweden after a final decision, though any expulsion would still need to meet EU law and international obligations.

With up to 185,000 people, including 16,800 children, potentially affected, the proposal would reshape how Sweden handles protection-based long-term residence by replacing permanent residence permits with temporary permits and pushing more people toward citizenship before January 1, 2027.