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Sweden starts granting all Syrians who arrive here permanent residency – what can go wrong?
Tuesday, 03 September 2013
The Swedish Migration Board has decided to start giving all Syrians who
have come to Sweden permanent residence, making Sweden the first in the
EU to reconsider the situation in Syria and let everyone who received
temporary authorization to stay and bring in their families.
Other EU countries so far are providing limited, often one-year residence permit, reports Swedish television and radio Sweden.
Anders Danielsson, Director General of the Swedish Migration Board,
told Swedish television that the driver for the decision has to do with
the persistent precarious situation in the country, which does not seem
to be improving.
According to Anders Danielsson, the decision means that the refugees
who now have temporary residence permit can apply for permanent ones.
Image/Scancomark.com
The decision also means that the Syrian refugees who have permanent
residency now have the right to bring in their families. According to
the immigration office, it is primarily about wife / husband and kids
under 18 who can be affected.
So far, Sweden and Germany are receiving the most refugees. Between
2012 and 2013, Sweden received approximately 14,700 asylum seekers from
Syrians.
Along with Germany, Sweden is the EU country with the highest number of asylum seekers from the war-torn country.

Image/Scancomark.com
But for those not covered by the family reunification, they are find it
difficult to get to Sweden because in order to seek asylum in the EU,
the asylum seeker should seek in the first EU country in which that
person arrives at. Moreover, to travel to EU countries will require a
visa – something that cannot be given when there is a risk that the
person will seek asylum.
The Syrians who already arrived in Sweden in the past year have often
fled to countries such as Greece or Italy, and then paid smugglers to
carry on through Europe to Sweden. A journey that is often both
expensive and dangerous.
According to the UN, more than two million people fled the war-torn
Syria, but according to official sources in neighbouring countries,
Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan, the figure to be far higher because many
refugees never come in contact with either the UN Refugee Agency, the
official channels that they get recorded in countries that they have
fled to.
by Scancomark.com Team

