Sweden’s government is moving to tighten immigration conditions based on family ties, announcing the formation of a commission to conduct a comprehensive review on the matter, as reported by Azernews. Last autumn, amendments to migration laws already curtailed opportunities for foreign nationals to obtain Swedish permanent residency through family connections. Despite these changes, Swedish legislation remains comparatively more generous than EU standards, according to a government statement.
Maria Malmer Steenergaard, Sweden’s Migration Minister, highlighted concerns over significant migration in recent years, coupled with inadequate integration, leading to heightened isolation issues. She emphasized that revising and further toughening family migration criteria forms a crucial part of efforts to address these challenges and ensure a responsible, stringent, and sustainable long-term migration policy.
Proposed revisions include new requirements for financial self-sufficiency and potential use of DNA testing to verify biological relationships. The government commission tasked with this review will align its recommendations with existing EU mandates, aiming to avoid exceeding these boundaries while proposing effective measures.