Cooperation with others

Working on migration issues involves a range of different operators within Sweden. Read more about how the Swedish Migration Agency cooperates with other authorities in Sweden within the area of migration.

The Migration Agency works as far as possible to ensure the good reception of applicants. Several authorities and organisations are involved in the migration chain, and it is part of the mission of the Migration Agency to function as the authority which holds this chain together.

In addition to receiving and considering applications from persons who want to come to Sweden for various reasons, we also work on the basis of a special regulatory mandate to assign municipal housing spaces to asylum seekers who have received residence permits. We also assign municipal housing spaces to children that have come to Sweden to seek protection without a parent/legal guardian. The responsibility for the reception of applicants is divided between municipalities, county councils and several other authorities.

The responsibility of other authorities in the migration process

The Migration Agency is not only a link in the migration chain – our mission is also to keep that chain intact. The authorities in Sweden which are affected by migration work in different ways are primarily:

• the Swedish embassies and consulates abroad, which receive applications for visas, work and residence permits
• the Police, who are responsible for border control and for persons who refuse to leave the country on their own accord
• the Migration Courts and the Migration Court of Appeal, where the decisions of the Swedish Migration Agency can be appealed
• the county administrative boards, which must work to ensure that municipalities are prepared and have the capacity to receive new arrivals and unaccompanied minors. The county administrative boards are also assigned to coordinate the work undertaken with early efforts for asylum seekers in order to make waiting times more meaningful
• the municipalities, who receive asylum-seekers that have been granted residence permits, and who are responsible for receiving unaccompanied minors who seek asylum and children who have been granted residence permits
• the county councils, in matters concerning healthcare for asylum seekers
• volunteer organisations and aid agencies, which can provide support for asylum-seekers, among other things
• the Ombudsman for Children, the county administrative boards, the National Board of Health and Welfare, and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR), which all cooperate in the reception of unaccompanied minors.
• Sweden's universities and university colleges which, in a collaboration with the Swedish Migration Agency, work on issues related to residence permits for students and doctoral students. The group also works to prevent misuse of residence permits for studies in higher education.

National collaboration based on the needs and abilities of applicants

Together with eight other authorities, the Swedish Migration Agency has signed a joint declaration of intent to develop collaboration within the area of migration and integration. The purpose of this declaration of intent is to strengthen coordination in matters concerning migration to Sweden. Together, we want to do what we can to make it easier and simpler for new arrivals, asylum seekers and other migrants to have their needs met. Beyond making things simpler for the individual, we also hope at the same time to create an increased level of benefit for society as a whole by acting in a more coordinated manner nationally, regionally and locally. Persons who have their applications rejected shall also benefit from better conditions to return to their country of origin in a safe and secure manner.