Sweden’s government on Tuesday said it would put forward a bill introducing a requirement for migrants to adhere to an “honest living” or face deportation.
The country’s right-wing government, which came into power in 2022 on vows to get tough on immigration, is trying to rapidly push through a slew of reforms in various areas ahead of legislative elections in September.
The new requirement would make it easier to withdraw residence permits for migrants.
“Following laws and rules is a given, but it must also be a given that we do our best to live responsibly and not harm our country,” Migration Minister Johan Forssell told a press conference.
“If, for example, you ignore paying your debts, if you don’t comply with decisions from Swedish authorities, if you cheat the benefits system, if you cheat your way to a Swedish residence permit… then you do not have the right to be here,” Forssell said.
Other examples the government cited included working without paying taxes or not paying fines.
“Statements — that is, things a person says or expresses — should not in themselves be regarded as evidence of lack of honest living, but they may be an indication of, for example, links to violent extremism, which can then be a sign of deficient character,” Ludvig Aspling, migration policy spokesman for the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats which is propping up the government, told reporters.
According to rights group Civil Rights Defenders, which had also previously criticised the measure, said the new bill risked undermining the principle of equal treatment before the law as it was too vague in its definition.
“The fact that non‑criminalised statement may also be taken into account, even if they cannot constitute an independent ground for a lack of honest living, raises particularly serious concerns,” John Stauffer, the group’s legal director said in a statement.
“Such an arrangement may have a chilling effect on freedom of expression and lead to increased self‑censorship,” Stauffer added.
He added that this would also create situation where a citizen would be free to express an opinion without any consequence that a migrant would not.
“In practice, this creates different rules depending on who you are, which runs counter to fundamental principles of equality before the law,” Stauffer said.
The government was also proposing that residence permits could be revoked in more unrelated situations, such as in cases of migrants being considered a threat or if they were discovered to have lied on their applications.
If passed by parliament, the changes would go into effect on July 13.
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