Asylum rules

Safeguarding the possibility for fleeing people to seek a safe refuge in Sweden is an important and integral part of the work for human rights. People who need and seek protection must know that they are welcome here, in accordance with Swedish laws and the conventions to which Sweden is a signatory.

Asylum seekers
Grounds for Asylum
Other reasons
Residence permit
The Dublin Regulation
Asylum seeking children

Asylum seekers

Asylum seekers are those who come to Sweden and apply for protection (asylum) here, but who have not yet had their application assessed.

Grounds for Asylum

Sweden has signed the UN Refugee Convention. That means that Sweden will examine every asylum application that is received. Sweden must provide asylum — a residence permit — to you if you are a refugee according to the Convention or otherwise in need of protection. Sweden is also under the common rules of the EU.

It is important that all asylum seekers are heard, and that their asylum applications are examined individually. The individual examination includes consideration to gender, i.e. having a gender perspective and taking into account LGBT issues.

Refugee status

According to the Refugee Convention, Swedish law and the EU rules, you are a refugee if you have good reasons to be afraid of attacks or persecution because of:

race;
nationality;
religious or political beliefs;
sex;
sexual orientation; or
belonging to a certain social group.

Persecution could come from the authorities in your home country, or it could also be that the authorities cannot or will not protect you from persecution from individual people or groups of people.

The Refugee Convention is included in Swedish law together with rules for the declaration of refugee status. Refugee status declaration is an international concept based on the UN Refugee Convention and EU rules.

Even if you are not a refugee, you might still have the right to be given a residence permit because you need protection. As a person needing protection, you can get a residence permit as a person eligible for subsidiary protection or a person otherwise in need of protection.

Subsidiary protection status declaration

The law states that you are eligible for subsidiary protection if you are in danger of:

being punished by death;
being punished physically, tortured or exposed to other inhuman or humiliating treatment or punishment; or
as a civilian, being hurt because of armed conflict.

Subsidiary protection status is internationally recognised and is based on EU rules.

Other reasons

Status declaration as a person otherwise in need of protection

Rhe law states that you are a person otherwise in need of protection f you need protection because:

of external or internal armed conflict or because of other severe tension in your home country;
of well-grounded fear of being subjected to serious abuse; or
you cannot return to your home country because of natural disaster;

Status declaration as a person otherwise in need of protection is a Swedish concept that applies only in Sweden.

Residence permit

A person who is given a status declaration as a refugee or a person eligible for subsidiary protection or a person otherwise in need of protection will be granted a permanent residence permit or a temporary residence permit that is valid for at least three years. In exceptional cases the validity is limited, but the permit is never granted for a period less than one year.

The Dublin Regulation

The Dublin Regulation applies in the EU's Member States and in Norway and Iceland. The Dublin regulation helps countries regulate which country will be responsible for the asylum case. This means that an asylum seeker does not have the right to choose the country to examine and analyse his/her reasons for asylum. Here you can read more about the Dublin Regulation.

Asylum seeking children

The Aliens Act states that the Migration Board must pay particular attention to the interests of children. All children, that are able and willing, have the right to be heard. Children's grounds for asylum should be tried separately - a child may have different grounds for asylum than his or her parents have. When a child's grounds for asylum are tried the case officer will, to the greatest extent possible, adapt the investigation to fit the child's age, health and other circumstances. The child has the right to have an adult present during the interviews. This adult can be a parent, a legal guardian, custodian and/or a public council.

Read more about children in the asylum process.

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