From the time the war in Ukraine broke out on 24 February and up to and including 1 November, over 158,200 Ukrainian refugees had applied for protection in one of the Nordic countries. Most applied for protection in Sweden, 47,000, and the fewest in Iceland, 1,700.
The general conclusion of the report is that the countries have so far handled the refugee crisis in a good way. However, there are large differences in the conditions the refugees have in each country, and in several respects the conditions in Sweden are the worst.
No plans to review the terms
Sweden pays out the lowest daily allowance to the refugees and, unlike other countries, does not offer them full access to care. Nor does Sweden offer introductory programs or language teaching corresponding to sfi, which Denmark, Norway and Finland do.
– If this goes on for a very long time, it is clear that we need to review the conditions. But I want to highlight what is actually being done, a lot of effort is put into getting Ukrainians into society and the labor market, says Maria Malmer Stenergard.
However, she believes that there are currently no plans to review the conditions during the year that the mass migration directive has now been extended.
A person who might be here for over a year can’t get care unless it’s an emergency, but in neighboring countries they can – how do you see it?
– When we implemented the mass displacement directive, we hoped that it would be for a shorter period of time. But I think there is every reason for the government, if the war continues for a long time, to naturally look at this, says Malmer Stenergard.
See more of the interview with the Minister of Migration in the clip above.