Sweden’s government announced on Thursday that it will significantly increase grants for immigrants choosing to leave the country.
Starting in 2026, immigrants who voluntarily return to their home countries can receive up to 350,000 Swedish kronor (about $34,000), a substantial increase from the current 10,000 kronor. At the recent exchange rate of N1,645/$, this amount equates to N55,930,000.
The move is aimed at encouraging more migrants to voluntarily repatriate. The right-wing government, supported by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, revealed this in a statement.
“We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in our migration policy,” Migration Minister Johan Forssell told reporters.
Currently, immigrants can receive up to 10,000 kronor per adult and 5,000 kronor per child, with a cap of 40,000 kronor per family.
“The grant has been around since 1984, but it is relatively unknown. It is small, and relatively few people use it,” Ludvig Aspling of the Sweden Democrats told reporters.
Aspling added that if more people were aware of the grant and its size was increased, more would likely accept the offer.
The announcement came despite a government-appointed inquiry last month recommending against a major increase in the grant, citing doubts about its cost-effectiveness.
Conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who took office in 2022 with a minority coalition backed by the Sweden Democrats, had pledged to tackle immigration and crime.
The Sweden Democrats became the second-largest party in Sweden, winning 20.5% of the vote in the general election.
Sweden has accepted large numbers of migrants since the 1990s, mostly from war-torn countries like the former Yugoslavia, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran, and Iraq. However, the country has long faced challenges in integrating immigrants.
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