Sweden Offers Immigrants Up to $37,000 to Leave the Country

Sweden is offering some immigrants as much as 350,000 Swedish kronor, or about US$37,000, to voluntarily leave the country, marking one of Europe’s sharpest reversals on migration policy after years in which the Nordic country was known for relatively generous asylum rules.

The expanded “repatriation grant,” which took effect Jan. 1, applies to certain people with temporary or permanent residence permits who agree to move to their country of origin or another country where they have the right to live. Adults can receive up to 350,000 kronor, children 25,000 kronor, couples up to 500,000 kronor and households as much as 600,000 kronor, according to the Swedish Migration Agency. 

Sweden dramatically raises incentive to leave

The program itself is not new — Sweden has offered financial support for voluntary repatriation since 1984 — but the size of the payment has increased dramatically under Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s government.

Migration Minister Johan Forssell said the program gives people who have struggled to integrate an “opportunity for a fresh start in their country of origin,” according to the Swedish government. The government has also expanded checks aimed at preventing fraudulent claims and improper payments. 

Swedish Migration Agency Director-General Maria Mindhammar said the new rules provide “stronger support for those who wish to start fresh” outside Sweden. The agency said applicants must have the right to settle in their destination country and cannot use the grant to relocate elsewhere in the European Union, European Economic Area or Switzerland. 

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The policy reflects a much broader transformation in Sweden’s approach to immigration. The country accepted about 163,000 asylum seekers during the European migration crisis in 2015, the second-highest rate per capita in Europe. By 2025, arrivals had fallen by about 96 percent, according to a Reuters report published Sept. 8. 

Few immigrants have taken Sweden’s offer

Despite the size of the payments, uptake has been limited. Only 171 people had accepted the offer so far this year, Reuters reported, even though the government allocated 1.3 billion kronor to the program. 

Critics say that suggests the initiative is as much a political signal as a practical migration tool. Bram Frouws, director of the Mixed Migration Centre, told  Reuters there was little evidence such programs cause large increases in voluntary departures, describing Sweden’s approach as “mainly symbolic.” 

The Sweden Democrats, which support Kristersson’s government in parliament, want to go further. The party has proposed extending financial incentives to some immigrants who have already become Swedish citizens if they voluntarily renounce their citizenship and leave the country. Sweden Democrats migration spokesman Ludvig Aspling said the country has immigrants who “have not successfully found their place in Sweden,” arguing that repatriation could give them a chance to rebuild their lives elsewhere. 

Many immigrants interviewed by Reuters, however, said they had no intention of leaving. Elena Ibrahim, a Sudanese woman who fled to Sweden eight years ago and now works as an artist, said she wanted freedom and the ability to work and build a stable life.

“I will not go back,” she said.