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The coalition government has doubled the minimum salary required to apply for a work visa. This measure threatens almost 15,000 people with expulsion.
The hot fumes of the simmering dinner flow from a room in the Stockholm Stadsmission. “Tonight we’re having a vegetarian curry with rice,” Sofie Arvidson, the center’s director, announces to Samir Asadi, who is bundled up in layers of clothing to brave the approach of the Swedish winter. The charity, similar to the Emmaüs movement in France, is committed to education and the fight against poverty. Here, the association office with a discreet entrance welcomes unaccompanied minors, victims of human trafficking or violence and, increasingly, foreign workers.
After the parliamentary election in September 2022, which was marked by the success of the Sweden Democrats (far right), who became the second political force in the country, the Scandinavian kingdom made a rightward turn in its migration policy. The government’s roadmap bears witness to this: with 18 of 62 pages, the Tidö coalition agreement is dedicated to the topic of “immigration and integration”, by far the longest chapter.
It didn’t take long for the implementation to take place. Since November 1, 2023, the minimum salary required to apply for a work visa has doubled from 13,000 to 27,360 Swedish krona (approximately 2,390 euros) for r