The Swedish Migration Agency needs the municipalities’ evacuation sites
The Swedish Migration Agency has a major need for more housing places. The reason is the rapid increase in people from Ukraine who are now seeking to come to Sweden to escape the war in their country of origin. According to a request submitted to the county administrative boards, 3,000 new places are needed immediately, as well as an additional 9,000 places as a matter of urgency.
The request to the county administrative boards, which was sent on 8 March, states that the Swedish Migration Agency wishes to use the municipalities’ evacuation sites. The need for space is distributed as follows:
- 4,000 places (of which 1,000 are needed immediately) in Stockholm County, Uppsala County, Södermanland County and Västmanland County,
- 4,000 places (of which 1,000 are needed immediately) in Västra Götaland County, and
- 4,000 places (of which 1,000 are needed immediately) in Skåne County.
These places are distributed according to where the need is greatest. According to the request, 3,000 places are needed immediately and 9,000 are urgently needed.
“Our assessment is that the result of the efforts we’ve already started to procure new housing places is not yielding results fast enough to keep up with the increasing need. That’s why we’re turning to the municipalities for help,” says Magnus Önnestig, Operations Manager at the Swedish Migration Agency.
The Swedish Migration Agency also used municipal evacuation sites during the refugee situation in 2015, among them the one in Sundbyberg. Examples of evacuation sites include campsites, schools and gymnasiums.
The need for evacuation sites is expected to decrease over time as new housing places are directly procured and can be used.