According to the Swedish Migration Agency, Sweden issued 47,711 residence permits in the first six months of 2024.
This figure represents an increase of five percent compared to the same period in 2023, when the number of residence permits issued was 45,138, reports Schengen.News.
Most of the approvals in the first half of 2024 concerned the areas of employment, family reunification, studies and asylum.
Construction work was the main reason for issuing permits in the first half of 2024
The main reason for issuing the permit was employment: a total of 14,615 work permits were issued to foreigners.
Most work permits were issued to IT architects, system developers, test managers, berry pickers and planters, engineers and technicians, and civil engineering professions.
The fact that work is the most frequently cited reason for granting a residence permit underscores the country’s need for foreign workers.
According to the EURES 2023 Shortages and Surpluses Report, Sweden is experiencing labour shortages in 39 occupations. The sectors most affected include healthcare and education.
Sweden’s Labour Minister Johan Pehrson has acknowledged the country’s labour needs and previously stated that staff are urgently needed in some parts of the country.
In some parts of the country there is a shortage of staff while unemployment is rising. That doesn’t add up.
Sweden is trying to address this problem by introducing a new processing system that aims to reduce the waiting time for highly skilled workers. According to the Swedish Immigration Service, the average wait time for cases entered into the system to be resolved is less than 30 days.
Almost 12,400 permits for family reunification granted
The Swedish authorities issued 12,372 family reunification permits in the first half of 2024, a decrease of four percent compared to the same period last year.
Although the number of permits for this category has decreased slightly, Sweden recently announced plans to tighten rules on family reunification, as the authorities consider the current rules on family immigration to be “more generous” compared to those provided for in EU law.
In addition to work and family reunification, students (8,341) and asylum seekers (7,992) also received a significant proportion of residence permits.
32,890 people received Swedish citizenship
The Migration Agency also announced that Sweden granted citizenship to 31,890 people in the first half of 2024, including over 4,600 in June.
In contrast, 92,125 applications have been received but not yet decided.
