The government of Sweden announced Thursday that it will be exponentially increasing its repatriation incentive for migrants to leave Sweden from 10,000 Krona to 350,000 Krona per person, according to local media.
The announcement came as part of the center-right coalition government’s policy speech Tuesday, delivered by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who called for a “paradigm shift” to the country’s immigration policies. He criticized the country’s historically open immigration policy, describing it as “a poorly devised and unsustainable immigration policy in combination with unsuccessful integration policy.”
While introducing the increased repatriation incentive, Kristersson stated, “We cannot accept Sweden being torn apart by social exclusion, gang violence and parallel societies.” He added:
Voluntary repatriation should also be heavily stimulated and increase. This can help reduce the number of people living in social exclusion and the consequences that social exclusion entails, for both Swedish society and for the individual. With the right measures, such as support and information, the number of people voluntarily returning will increase, particularly among the individuals who for various reasons find that they have not become part of Swedish society for reasons, such as inadequate self-sufficiency or Swedish-language skills.
The speech highlights the wave of anti-immigration sentiment that gave rise to the moderate-far right coalition government that is currently in power and has focused on tightening immigration policy. The shift to populist and anti-immigration policies has grown across the EU, leading to riots in the UK and the first far-right government in Germany since World War II.
The government explored the new policy change in an inquiry that released its findings last month. The inquiry ultimately did not recommend an increased incentive because it found that there was a very small economic benefit with immediate and significant financial costs. The inquiry also found there were societal costs such as communicating to migrants that they are not welcome in Sweden and difficulties determining which groups should get the grant.