Asylum seekers and refugees in Sweden
Recent stories
Poll claims anti-immigrant sentiment decreasing
A poll conducted by Gothenburg University suggests that anti-immigration sentiment in Sweden has decreased since the early 1990s and has remained steady after 9/11.
1 August 2002 (34 words)
Hardening climate for Iranian asylum seekers
Most Iranians applying for asylum in Sweden cite either the religious hierarchical system in Iran, or persecution on grounds of their sexuality.
1 May 2002 (221 words)
Stateless Palestinians launch hunger strike
In February, ten stateless Palestinians started a hunger strike in a church to protest against the way hundreds of Palestinians have waited up to three years to have their asylum claims considered.
11 April 2002 (107 words)
Focus on the position of young refugees
Since the beginning of the year, there has been concern in the media about the situation of young, unaccompanied asylum seekers.
26 February 2002 (246 words)
Scandal of Ghana deportations exposed
The Swedish police and the Consul General in Accra have come under intense criticism for the deportation of non-Ghanaians to Ghana.
19 February 2002 (44 words)
Kosovans given permanent residence status
In January, thousands of Kosovo Albanians, who fled to Sweden during the 1999 crack down, were granted permanent residence status.
14 January 2002 (31 words)
No residence permits for Kurds from northern Iraq
While the authorities would like to deport Kurds from northern Iraq, it is practically impossible to do so.
1 January 2002 (79 words)
Kurdish asylum seeker shot dead by police
A police officer is to face charges after Idris Demir, a Kurdish refugee was shot dead outside his home in Jönköping in February.
1 October 2001 (260 words)
Row over US citizen's asylum claim
Sweden has been criticised by the European parliament for refusing asylum to a US citizen on the grounds that he comes from a 'safe country'.
1 October 2001 (143 words)
Test case focuses on housing discrimination against refugees
A test case has been launched to ascertain whether housing associations, which refuse to take refugees as tenants, are guilty of discrimination.
1 August 2000 (59 words)
Dramatic decrease in immigrant wage levels
Research carried out jointly by the universities of Uppsala and Chicago has indicated dramatic differences in the wages of immigrants and Swedes.
1 August 2000 (89 words)
Contradictions in asylum and immigration debate
While the government continues to tighten refugee policy, the general debate is shifting towards consideration of the labour needs of the Swedish economy.
1 August 2000 (176 words)
Asylum and immigration rules tightened
Two leading lawyers have criticised the Foreigners' Board for unfair procedures which include assuming that all applicants for asylum are bogus and liars and relying far-too heavily on inaccurate diplomatic assessments of conditions in refugee-producing countries.
1 March 2000 (120 words)
Policemen fined for illegal border deportation
In Scania, a policeman has been fined after he took unilateral action and deported an Iraqi he apprehended at the border in possession of false travel documents.
1 March 2000 (40 words)
Swedish embassy in Iran investigated
The Swedish embassy in Iran is under investigation after allegations of bribery and illegal sales of visas and residency permits.
1 March 2000 (29 words)
Social Board recommends 'illegals' get access to medical treatment
In a recently-published report, the Social Board, a governmental authority which monitors the work of its corresponding government department, has recommended that the law, prohibiting hospitals to give medical treatment to rejected asylum-seekers and other undocumented workers, be lifted.
1 November 1999 (110 words)
UN Committee against torture rebukes Sweden for disregarding human rights
The UN Committee Against Torture has, for the seventh time, criticised Sweden for its attempts to deport asylum-seekers to countries where they risk torture.
1 November 1999 (61 words)
Kurds must return to Iraq
After going to Iraq as part of a delegation to investigate the situation of the Kurds, immigration office director Lena Häll Andersson has concluded that it is safe for the Iraqi Kurds to return although deportations will have to wait until border conditions improve.
1 July 1999 (54 words)
Local authorities do not want financial burden of refugees
An umbrella organisation representing all municipal administrations in Sweden, has called on the central state to assume all the financial responsibilities of housing and servicing refugees.
1 July 1999 (58 words)
Algerian conscientious objector deported
Despite advice that deportations to Algeria are unsafe from both UNHCR and AI, a 23-year-old Algerian, Habib T, was deported a few days after the Swedish elections.
1 March 1999 (77 words)
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