The Riksdag will vote on Thursday on tighter requirements for family immigration. S, V, MP and C have agreed to reject two important parts of the government's bill.
In order for a residence permit to be granted due to a connection to a foreigner with a temporary residence permit, it is proposed that the so-called connected person must have lived in Sweden with a permit for at least two years.
It is cruel to force people to live apart for several years, says Hirvonen.
S, V, C and MP want to shorten the time to one year and for the waiting period to start counting from the time the dependent person has applied for a residence permit.
Have hope
The opposition also says no to the requirement that the support requirements apply every time the dependent person needs to extend their temporary residence permit.
The consequence is that families live with constant worry that one or more family members will be thrown out of the country if, for example, they become unemployed, or if the family grows, says Hirvonen.
However, Migration Minister Johan Forssell (M) is critical of the opposition's objections.
"Family immigration has long been characterised by low requirements. Over the past 10 years, more than half a million residence permits have been granted," he says in a statement.
The Tidö parties have a majority of two votes if all members are present in parliament on Thursday. But Hirvonen believes that there are members, especially Liberals and Christian Democrats, who may switch sides.
Traditionally, there have been parties that have stood up for families to be able to live together.
Tough decisions
The government's bill on family immigration will be debated on Wednesday but decided on Thursday. At that time, the extraordinary summer parliament will also decide on seven other bills.
The most notable proposal is to abolish the current penalty discount when a criminal is convicted of multiple crimes at the same time, the so-called quantity discount. The opposition is also expected to vote no on this.
Other proposals to be discussed include lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 14, reducing the penalty discount for young people between 15 and 17 years of age, and the possibility for social services to electronically monitor children on their way to crime. However, the opposition is not expected to be able to agree on a common line on these issues.
The Riksdag will also decide on a new authority, the Swedish Foreign Intelligence Service (UND), and on stricter conditions for independent schools.
