Between January and June, 3,750 asylum applications were made in Sweden. This is 30 percent fewer than the same period in 2024, according to the Migration Agency.
According to the authority, the decrease is mainly due to new limitation rules that came into force in April. Among other things, they mean that a person who has been denied, rejected or deported, must wait five years after leaving Sweden to apply for asylum again, instead of four years.
"The EU's asylum and migration pact is also expected to lead to fewer asylum seekers in the coming years," says Maria Mindhammar.
The Migration Agency also believes that the number of asylum seekers will continue to decrease.
The authority is revising its forecast down by about 500 people in 2025 to 6,500 in total, and by 1,300 in 2026 to 5,500 in total.
This does not include Ukrainian refugees who are granted protection under the EU's mass flight directive, which has been extended until March 2027. The Migration Agency estimates that 9,000 people will seek protection under the mass flight directive in Sweden this year and 7,000 next year.
The authority also estimates that 55,000 cases of citizenship will be decided this year and just as many in 2026, a decrease of 10,000. The reason is security-enhancing measures that make cases more time-consuming.
