Sweden Passes Law Allowing Immigrants’ Residency Permits to Be Revoked Over Bad Behavior

Residency permits were given to 6,250 asylum seekers and their relatives in 2024, the lowest number since comparable records began in 1985.
Sweden Passes Law Allowing Immigrants’ Residency Permits to Be Revoked Over Bad Behavior
Police work at the scene outside a mosque in Orebro after a shooting where several people injured in Orebro, Sweden, on August 15, 2025. Photo by Filip Gronroos/various sources/AFP
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Sweden’s parliament has passed a law allowing authorities to revoke residence permits from immigrants for “not behaving properly,” the latest in a series of moves breaking away from the country’s once-liberal immigration system.

Residency permits can now be revoked for conduct including unpaid debts, undeclared work, organizing begging, and more, even where the behavior falls short of a criminal conviction.

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Owen Evans
Owen Evans
Author
Owen Evans is a UK-based journalist covering a wide range of national stories, with a particular interest in civil liberties and free speech.