SD wants to tighten the asylum rules on 30 points

The Sweden Democrats’ goal is for Sweden to have the lowest immigration in Europe. Now the party puts forward 30 proposals to tighten the regulations around asylum applications.

– This would mean almost zero asylum immigration, says party leader Jimmie Åkesson (SD).

The party has gone through the minimum level in EU law of 30 points and found that Sweden is above what is legally binding on most points.

– There is not a single rule where Sweden today is not more generous than what the regulations require. In other words, there has never been any honest ambition to reach the EU’s minimum level, says Ludvig Aspling, migration policy spokesperson for SD, at a press conference.

SD wants to change rules within the grounds of protection (the right to seek asylum in Sweden), how the asylum process itself works, reception and social benefits, as well as the rules on family immigration.

Single factor

Party leader Jimmie Åkesson says at the press conference that there is no single factor that has affected Sweden as negatively as “the careless migration policy”.

– It is claimed that we have very low immigration today, but the fact is that Sweden continues to have a relatively high asylum immigration, he says.

According to Åkesson, SD’s list of demands corresponds to what the party has agreed on with the Moderates and the Christian Democrats.

– I assume that the Liberals also agree to this, he says.

Refuse asylum

Among the 30 requirements is, among other things, refusing asylum to those who themselves created their reason for asylum after they left their home country. It could, for example, be about people who, when they are in Sweden, claim to have converted or started a homosexual relationship.

Other demands are to abolish the right to family reunification within the household community, that revocation of protection status must become mandatory if the reasons have disappeared, a maximum one-year residence permit for relatives and that all possibilities to limit benefits for asylum seekers must be introduced. Alternatively, those in need of protection should not be able to bring their family here.

– We cannot continue to keep Swedish welfare open to everyone who wants it, says Jimmie Åkesson.

So far this year, almost 100,000 people have received residence permits in Sweden. About 43,000 are Ukrainians who have been granted temporary protection under the Mass Refugee Directive.