When Migration Minister Johan Forssell (M), flanked by Ludvig Aspling (SD), Ingemar Kihlström (KD) and Martin Melin (L), presented the Tidö parties' proposal for good-conduct requirements, he said that as a guest in someone's home you have to make an extra effort to behave well.
A formulation coined by John Stauffer.
"It gives an idea of how they think: that you have to be better than everyone else if you are not a Swedish citizen, otherwise it can have major consequences. It is a problem when you create different conditions for different people," he says.
Arbitrary
The good-conduct requirement is intended to make it easier to revoke a residence permit due to shortcomings in a person's lifestyle. In addition to criminality, it can cover failing to follow laws and other regulations. It can also include being a security threat or having unpaid debts.
"We are concerned," Stauffer says.
"There is a great risk of arbitrariness in its application. That means that for people covered by the law, you don't know what kinds of actions can have far-reaching consequences and which ones won't."
Stauffer is particularly concerned about what people are allowed to say. Statements in themselves should not constitute misconduct, but they can be used to confirm a person's connections to violent or extremist organizations.
"It can create a system with different levels of freedom of expression. If you are a Swedish citizen, you have greater freedom of expression than if you are not. The ambiguity means there is a risk of self-censorship."
The Swedish Migration Board will be the first to consider whether a residence permit should be refused or revoked on the grounds of poor conduct. In its consultation statement, the authority writes, among other things, that it needs clarification on which acts, in addition to crimes, should be included in the concept.
MP: "Polarizing"
The Green Party's migration policy spokesperson Annika Hirvonen writes in a comment that the proposal is polarizing.
"It only contributes to making people who come to Sweden suspicious, and it risks the conditions for exercising their freedom of expression."
The Center's migration and integration policy spokesperson Niels Paarup-Petersen writes that "It must be possible to make mistakes" without losing the residence permit.
The proposed amendment to the law will come into effect on July 13.
