Deportations of young adults have already brought the red-green parties together, despite the deadlock over forming a government.
On Wednesday last week, the parties’ migration policy spokespeople met with the Network for Young People Threatened with Deportation as Teenagers. New talks are under way, according to information provided to TT.
The parties concluded that more needs to be done. The government’s “valve” is not enough: deportations must also be stopped for people who have turned 21. A stark statement after the meeting was: “Then a new government is needed.”
The parties agree on introducing a moratorium - a stopgap law - to prevent deportations of teenagers until a permanent solution is in place.
But what such a system would look like is unclear.
Reinstate provision
The Left Party, the Centre Party and the Green Party all want to reinstate a provision on residence permits that the Riksdag (the Swedish parliament) abolished in 2023.
At the time, the provision allowing residence permits in cases of “particularly distressing circumstances” for adults with strong ties to Sweden was removed. The legislation thus became more restrictive.
“We must reintroduce the provision on particularly distressing circumstances for adults with strong ties to Sweden,” says Left Party group leader Samuel Gonzalez Westling.
Reintroducing the provision would give all affected young people the opportunity to apply for a residence permit again, according to the Green Party’s Annika Hirvonen.
However, it is unclear whether the Social Democrats support this.
“If the Social Democrats have any views on what we are proposing, we are also prepared to discuss and compromise our way towards a solution that we can all actually agree on,” says Gonzalez Westling.
Want a swift inquiry
The Social Democrats, for their part, want a new government to swiftly investigate how a person’s ties to Sweden could improve their chances of obtaining a residence permit, and whether permits could more often be granted in line with those of their parents.
“It could be that you have been in Sweden for many years, you have behaved yourself, have not committed any crimes, you know the language, you have studied here. There are many different parameters,” says Ida Karkiainen (S), the party’s migration policy spokesperson.
Sweden should continue to have a strict migration policy, according to the party.
What effect the “particularly distressing circumstances” provision has had, and could have, must first be investigated, according to Karkiainen.
“Some people believe that this provision has been very broad, almost like an amnesty, while others believe it has been very narrow,” she says.
In March 2026, the Swedish Migration Agency announced that decisions on refusals in certain cases involving young adults who had previously held residence permits based on family ties had been paused, after the government announced that new legislation was in the works. The cases concern people who had previously held residence permits based on ties to a parent but had turned 18.
The new rules that are now coming into force give young adults the opportunity to apply for an extended residence permit based on ties to their parents even after turning 18. During a transitional period, certain young adults who have already received a deportation order are also covered.
A temporary option is also being introduced to apply for a permit on other grounds without first having to leave Sweden. This applies until December 2027.
Source: Swedish Migration Agency
