As per Sweden’s Residence Permit Statistics, 47,700 residence permits have been granted to foreigners from January to June 2024. This is a 5 percent increase compared with the last year for the same time period.
Most of the permits were awarded for employment purposes (14,615). On the other hand, the family reunification residence permit granted reached 8,400. Foreign students from across the globe got 7,814 study-based residence permits which is the third most popular stream of immigration in Sweden for non-EU nationals.
During the same time period, 32,890 foreigners living in Sweden were naturalized. These are huge numbers but there are still 92,125 open cases in June which are to be finalized for nationality purposes. The Swedish immigration department called “Migrationsverket” issued these statistics recently.
Granted Residence Permits for all categories
Following is the number of foreigners who were granted residence permits for different reasons (categories):
| Residence permit categories | Jan–Jun 2024 |
| Connection | 12,372 |
| Work | 14,615 |
| Asylum including applicants under the Mass Refugee Directive | 7,992 |
| EU/EEA | 3,588 |
| Studies | 8,341 |
| Obstacles to enforcement | 428 |
Work Visas Granted
Below are the number of work or employment-related residence permits between January and June 2024:
| Residence Permit Stream | Jan–Jun 2024 |
| Applications received | 21,071 |
| Settled cases | 25,002 |
| Granted residence permits | 13,324 |
Family Reunification
Below are the number of family reunification (immediate relations) residence permits granted by the Swedish government between January and June 2024:
| Residence Permit Stream | Jan–Jun 2024 |
| Applications received | 11,170 |
| Settled cases | 15,192 |
| Granted residence permits | 8,400 |
The Swedish government is also working to bring stricter rules for family reunification-related visas. According to Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard;
“Extensive immigration in recent years combined with a lack of integration has contributed to major challenges with growing exclusion. Reviewing and further tightening the conditions for family immigration is an important step in reversing the trend and ensuring a responsible, strict, and long-term sustainable migration policy.”
Student Visas
Overall, between January and June 2024, Sweden granted 7,814 student visas for different educational institutions to foreign students across the globe:
| Residence Permit Stream | Jan–Jun 2024 |
| Applications received | 15,382 |
| Settled cases | 9,509 |
| Granted residence permits | 7,814 |
Citizenships
Sweden granted 32,890 citizenship to foreigners between January and June 2024. Still, till June 2024, the immigration department has 92,125 open naturalization cases that need to be finalized.
| Cases type | Jan–Jun 2024 |
| Applications received | 33,520 |
| Settled cases | 41,527 |
| Granted citizenship | 32,890 |
As per new proposed rules, obtaining Swedish citizenship will be tougher than ever before due to increased eligibility time to eight years, mandatory language, and life in Sweden tests. Foreigners will now have to fulfill more requirements such as cleaner records and financial independence. Read here for more details.