Sweden information lowest variety of asylum purposes since 1997 following large crackdown in wake of spiralling gang crime – with immigration minister blaming migrants’ failure to combine

Sweden has recorded its lowest number of asylum applications since 1997 following a huge crackdown as the immigration minister blames migrants’ failure to integrate.

For decades, Sweden was hailed as a beacon of compassion, offering an unparalleled welcome to refugees with  Europe’s most generous support schemes.

The Nordic state went further than just opening its borders, but celebrated cultural diversity by funding migrants’ efforts to maintain their native languages and traditions.

But in the past decade, deadly violence linked to feuds between criminal gangs has escalated against the backdrop of the high levels of migration into the country. 

During the 2015 migration crisis, Sweden stunned the world by taking in nearly 163,000 asylum seekers – the highest number per capita of any EU country.

Fast forward nine years, and the picture could not be more different.

In the first 11 months of 2024, just 8,935 irregular migrants arrived in Sweden, with 4,814 of them voluntarily returning home, making it the smallest figure since 1997.

This dramatic reversal is credited to a sweeping package of reforms following a landmark election in 2022, which ushered in the most hardline immigration policies Sweden has seen in decades.

Incredibly, early data now suggests that Sweden may have net emigration for the first time since the 1960s.

Sweden’s migration minister Johan Fossell, 45, is the architect of this seismic shift but has been blunt about the government’s new direction.

Speaking to The Times, he said: ‘We are implementing what we describe as a paradigm shift in Swedish migration policy, and we are doing this with a very outspoken agenda that we want to limit the number of people seeking asylum here in Sweden’.

He explained that the move does not mean that the country does not like migrants, or understand the situation they face, but because it is ‘impossible’ to manage the task of integration when there is such a huge influx each year.

This is a stark difference to the 1970s and 1980s when Sweden boasted itself as a ‘humanitarian superpower’.

Even after the 2015 migration wave, Sweden held onto its open-hearted ideals, but as gang-related gun violence and bombings soared, critics warned that the country was being stretched to breaking point.

In 2023, Sweden had by far the EU’s highest rate of per capita and by December 2024, 40 people had been shot dead in the country – a chilling number for a European country of only 10 million people.

These figures represented a 35 per cent decrease compared to 2022, the most lethal year of the gang wars, when 63 people were shot dead. 

Police said gangs have begun using social media platforms as ‘digital marketplaces’ to openly recruit children, some as young as 11, to commit murders and bombings across the Nordic region.

Inexperienced teenagers, seen as expendable by the gangs, are easier for police to catch than those ordering the shootings.

Still, 72 per cent of deadly shootings were solved in 2023, compared to just 29 per cent in 2022, helped in part by surging camera surveillance. 

Police said they aimed to employ 2,500 cameras and drones this year, a five-fold increase from five years ago.

The radical right-wing Sweden Democrats capitalised on this discontent, gaining ground by highlighting problems linked to immigration.

Scandinavian neighbours began issuing warnings about ‘Swedish conditions,’ alarmed by the spillover of gang violence into their own borders.

Forssell remained frank about the lessons learned, saying that the open-heart policy paved the way to a tough reality.

‘We can find housing for people coming here. The difficult thing is the integration part of it: finding schools, finding apartments, giving people the possibilities to find work,’ he said.

The turning point was the 2022 election.

With the Sweden Democrats riding high, even the traditionally centre-left Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson conceded that Sweden didn’t need more ‘Somalitowns’ or ‘Little Italies’.

The centre-right Moderates only managed to form a government by striking a deal with the Sweden Democrats, giving them significant influence over crime and immigration policies.

Since then, the reforms have come thick and fast.

Family reunifications have been tightened, residency permits are more easily revoked, and asylum rights have been slashed to the bare minimum allowed under EU law.

Immigrants who do not qualify for residency are being urged to return home, with some placed under electronic surveillance or confined to special centres.

Sweden’s immigration policy has undergone a seismic shift, abandoning its once open-handed approach in favour of stricter rules and a focus on control. 

The government is now steering away from traditional asylum status and pushing more migrants into the weaker ‘subsidiary protection’ category. 

This status, unlike full asylum, requires renewal every 13 months and only extends beyond three years for those who can prove they are financially independent.

Forssell has made no apologies for the hardline approach, and speaking candidly, he revealed that the goal is to return to a pre-1970s immigration model, prioritising skilled ‘guest workers’ and limiting asylum to only those with indisputable claims. 

‘We’re going back to basics,’ Forssell explained, adding that restricting family reunification has already delivered results. 

The minister also wants to introduce mandatory language and integration tests for anyone seeking Swedish citizenship.    

While most European nations adopted such measures years ago, Sweden’s reluctance to follow suit was once a badge of pride, but now, even Forssell dismisses the previous policy as absurd.

He blasted the ability of becoming a Swedish citizen if an individual can not speak the language or known little to nothing about the country as ‘stupid’. 

Sweden’s shift is also reflected in its refugee demographics. 

Syrians, who made up a third of the 2015 wave, now dominate Sweden’s refugee population, numbering 111,000. 

Many of them are expected to return home as the Assad regime stabilises, but Forssell estimates that some 100,000 undocumented immigrants remain in Sweden, forming what he calls a ‘shadow society.’

This shadow society represents one of Sweden’s toughest challenges. 

These undocumented individuals, many with no right to stay, exist on the margins, out of reach of the state’s systems but still within its borders. 

Forssell is determined to crack down, especially on those who have committed crimes yet managed to avoid deportation due to legal loopholes.

Currently, even convicted criminals who can’t be deported are allowed to remain in Sweden, receiving benefits and holding jobs. 

The minister called this ‘completely unacceptable’ and vowed to end it, defiantly stating that if an individual is not granted asylum, then they must return home.

In the past, Sweden’s leniency allowed undocumented immigrants to reapply for asylum after four years of living in the shadows, a policy Forssell says led to tragic consequences. 

It’s a stark turnaround for a nation once celebrated as a haven for refugees. 

A decade ago, when Forssell served as a migration spokesman, foreign observers would marvel at Sweden’s utopian image.

The minister said Sweden was once recognised as a country where everything worked perfectly before it erupted into chaos.

But now, nations are asking Sweden how they flipped the situation so quickly, becoming a role model in handling a seemingly out-of-control immigration crisis. 

And although Sweden may no longer be the superpower of its humanitarian heyday, under Forssell’s leadership, it has carved out a new identity – one that prioritises control, integration, and a no-nonsense approach to immigration.