Despite the law being tightened as recently as 2022, the number of deportation sentences due to crime has not increased.
Now, the government's investigator Ola Sjöstrand is presenting new proposals for tightening. The assessment is that they will lead to an increase in the number of people sentenced to deportation due to crime, from around 3,000 per year to 3,000.
Sjöstrand emphasizes, however, that there are many uncertainty factors surrounding the calculation.
For more crimes
One of the proposals is that deportation should be able to be sentenced for all crimes that carry stricter penalties than fines. Today, a minimum of six months' imprisonment is required.
There should also be no requirements for recidivism risk.
In addition, prosecutors should always request deportation when the crime leads to imprisonment. Today, they do not always make such requests. One reason may be that prosecutors assess that the courts will anyway come to the conclusion that the connection to Sweden is so strong that the person should be allowed to stay after serving their sentence.
The courts will still need to make that assessment in the future. However, it will happen in significantly more cases than today.
According to Sjöstrand, the assessment, as a result of the proposed legislative tightening, will take place at a "tightened level" compared to today. The tightened level will correspond to the EU's minimum level.
Obstacles may exist
Even if the number of deportation sentences becomes significantly higher than today, it is unclear whether the same number will actually leave Sweden. Enforcement obstacles may prevent deportation sentences from being carried out.
It may, for example, concern countries where the deported person's life would be in danger. It may also concern that the receiving countries do not accept them, if the deportation is against the person's will.
The police have testified about problems with enforcing deportations to a number of countries, and Somalia.
Migration Minister Forssell believes, however, that the proposed legislative tightening will result in more foreign criminals actually leaving Sweden. And he emphasizes that the government is working to get more countries to accept deported individuals from Sweden.
The investigator proposes that the legislative changes should come into force on January 1, 2027.
Sweden will now get the toughest regulations for deportation in the whole of the Nordic region, says Johan Forssell.
Lowered threshold for deportation can take place from a minimum of six months' imprisonment to all imprisonment sentences.
Obligation for prosecutors to request deportation when the requirements are met.
Deportation shall, instead of may, be sentenced when the requirements are met.
Courts should no longer take into account whether there are enforcement obstacles when they consider deportation sentences. That will be for the Migration Agency to assess when the prison sentence has been served.
The higher requirements for foreigners who arrived in Sweden before the age of 15 are being removed.
Stricter penalties for crimes against re-entry bans.
Longer re-entry bans:
Five years when the prison sentence is less than six months
Ten years when the sentence is between six months and one and a half years
Permanent re-entry ban for sentences over one and a half years
Source: SOU 2025:54
