You have received a decision If your application has been rejected – international protection (asylum)

Your application for international protection (asylum) in Sweden has been rejected.

A rejection of your application means that the Swedish Migration Agency assesses that you do not have enough reasons to get to stay in Sweden. In that case, you will receive a return decision and have two choices: you can leave Sweden in accordance with the decision, or you can appeal. You must leave the territories of the Member States and the Schengen area.

Can I receive grants or other support when I return to my country of origin?

Depending on which country you come from, you may be able to receive financial support or other support measures to make things easier for you when you first return to your country of origin.

Support for those who are returning

Accept the decision

If you accept the decision of the Swedish Migration Agency it means that you will refrain from appealing it and that you can start to plan your outward journey. Once the decision has come into effect, you must travel to the country specified in the decision. If you can prove that another country will accept you, you may travel there instead.

If you have applied for asylum before 12 June 2026 and accept the decision of the Swedish Migration Agency, you can sign a declaration of acceptance. A declaration of acceptance means that you accept the decision and will refrain from appealing it, and that you intend to start planning your outward journey. Even if you do not sign a declaration of acceptance, the decision will take effect three weeks after you have been served (unless you choose to appeal). Once the decision has taken effect, you must leave Sweden in accordance with what is stated in the decision.

Appeal the decision

You can appeal the Swedish Migration Agency’s decision. Information about how to appeal and the deadline for doing so is provided in the decision. If you choose to appeal, a court will review the decision and your right to remain in the country. The court bases its decision on the same laws and rules as the Swedish Migration Agency, and it is therefore unusual for the court to change our decisions. For this reason, you must start planning your outward journey, even if you are appealing the decision.

If you have applied before 12 June 2026 your public counsel will help you appeal. If you have applied for international protection on or after 12 June 2026 you will need to contact your legal advisor yourself for help with how to appeal.

In some cases, you may have to leave the territories of the Member States and the Schengen area while waiting for the court’s decision. The decision states whether or not you have the right to remain in the country while your appeal is being examined.

Appeal a decision

If you have applied before 12 June 2026, the decision will take effect when it can no longer be appealed, and you must then leave Sweden in accordance with the decision. It is your responsibility to make sure you know what applies to you, so that you leave Sweden in time.

If you have applied on or after 12 June 2026, the decision will take effect when you are no longer entitled to remain in the country. The decision will state what applies to you.

If you do not leave the country voluntarily, the Swedish Migration Agency can ask the Swedish Police Authority to take over responsibility for enforcing the decision by force.

If you have received a refusal of entry decision before 12 June 2026 that must be implemented immediately

If it is clear that you do not have grounds for asylum and there is no other reason to grant you a residence permit in Sweden, you may have received a refusal of entry decision that must be implemented immediately. In that case, you must leave Sweden as soon as you have received the decision, even if you choose to appeal.

In most cases, you will be summoned to a conversation at which you and a case officer will talk about your outward journey. You will be informed of the options available and the support you can receive when you return. If you cannot arrange the trip on your own, we will make a plan together for how this will be done.

If you plan to obey the decision before you have been summoned for a conversation about your return, please contact your nearest Unit for Reception for more information.

Arrange a temporary travel document (passport)

If you do not have a valid travel document, you are responsible for applying for one from the embassy of your country of origin. The Swedish Migration Agency can also request a temporary travel document for you. In that case, we will need to provide your personal data to the authorities in your country, but we will not inform them that you applied for international protection in Sweden.

Book a ticket

You must book a ticket to the country specified in the decision. Make sure you have a valid travel document when booking your trip. Your journey may not include a stopover in another Schengen country. If you choose to book a trip with a stopover in another Schengen country, you must make sure that you have the right to stay in that country.

It is normally your responsibility to pay for your trip. If you do not have any money or other assets of your own, the Swedish Migration Agency can book and pay for your ticket.

Travel to a country other than the one specified in the decision

You can travel to a country other than the one specified in the decision, as long as you have a valid passport and can show that you have permission to live in that country. For example, having a tourist visa or being visa-free is not enough.

If you have received a decision sending you to another country in the EU

In some cases the Swedish Migration Agency may decide that you should return to another EU country, because your application for international protection is being handled there. If you would rather return to your country of origin, this is also possible, as long as it does not mean that your return will take longer or become significantly more expensive.

The Swedish Migration Agency receives information that you have left the Schengen area

In most cases, the Swedish Migration Agency will be informed that you have left the territories of the Member States and the Schengen area, as our decision to reject your application is registered in the Schengen Information System (SIS). This means that the information will be available to authorities in Sweden and in other countries that have access to this system. If you leave Sweden in accordance with the decision, the information in SIS will be deleted.

If you do not leave Sweden and the Schengen area within the deadline stated in the decision, you will be in the country illegally. You will then no longer be entitled to accommodation and financial aid from the Swedish Migration Agency. Families with children retain their right to accommodation; the adults may receive a reduced daily allowance if they fail to cooperate in preparations for them to leave the country.

If you do not leave the country in accordance with the decision, you may be subject to a re-entry ban. A re-entry ban usually applies for two years from the date on which you left the territories of the Member States and the Schengen area, and means that you do not have the right to return during that time. It is therefore important that you plan for your return, for example by making sure you have a valid travel document, even before the decision takes effect.

Supervision or detention

If the Swedish Migration Agency considers that there is a risk that you will abscond or otherwise fail to cooperate in preparations for you to leave the country, we can issue a supervision or detention decision. Being placed under supervision means that you must register with the Swedish Migration Agency or the police at certain times while waiting to start your journey home. If you are placed in detention, you will stay in a locked accommodation until your return journey.

Supervision and detention

Your case can be handed over to the police

If you stay away or if you don’t leave the country voluntarily, the Swedish Migration Agency can ask the police to take over responsibility for enforcing the decision by force.

If you do not leave the country in accordance with the decision, you may be subject to a re-entry ban. A re-entry ban means that you are not allowed to enter Sweden, the territories of the Member States, or the Schengen area for at least two years from the time you left Sweden.

You may also be subject to a re-entry ban if the Swedish Migration Agency assesses that there is a risk that you will abscond. Such a re-entry ban is usually valid for between two and five years, and may be issued if, for example,

  • you have absconded in the past
  • you have said that you do not intend to leave Sweden
  • you have used a false identity or have refused to help the Swedish Migration Agency determine your identity
  • you have deliberately provided incorrect information.

In exceptional cases, the Swedish Migration Agency may suspend the implementation of the decision that you should be refused entry or expelled, and grant you a temporary permit to stay in Sweden. We can do this if there are new circumstances that prevent you from travelling to the country in the decision. This may arise if the Swedish Migration Agency realise the existence of the new circumstances ourselves, or if you notify us of them.

Circumstances that may constitute impediments to enforcement include that you have become too ill to complete the trip, or a plausible assumption that the country to which you are supposed to travel will not receive you.

If you want the Swedish Migration Agency to examine whether the new circumstances constitute an impediment to the implementation of the decision, you can write us a letter. In the letter, please indicate

  • your case number (the case number can be found on your application card or LMA card)
  • what is new and why it means that you cannot leave Sweden in accordance with the decision
  • your address.

If you have documents that support the new circumstances, you should send them to us, preferably in original form.

You should sign the letter with your name. Please write in Swedish or English. This will ensure a faster response.

If you are unable to write the letter yourself, ask someone else to do it for you. In that case, you need to submit a power of attorney to the Swedish Migration Agency.

Read more about power of attorney

Send the letter to:

Migrationsverket
601 70 Norrköping

Need for protection

If you believe that you cannot travel to the country specified in the decision because your life or health would be at risk if you travelled there, you can apply for a subsequent application for international protection at the Swedish Migration Agency. If you submit such an application, the Swedish Migration Agency will assess whether any new circumstances have arisen regarding your need for protection, and whether you are entitled to remain in Sweden while your application is being considered.

Find out how to apply for international protection in Sweden

If you are not entitled to remain, you must leave Sweden in accordance with the previous decision, even if the Swedish Migration Agency has not yet made a decision regarding your subsequent application.

You must continue to plan for your outward journey

Even if we decide that the return decision cannot be enforced, the decision still applies. This means that you only get a temporary permit to stay in Sweden and that you should continue to prepare to leave the country. For example, you are responsible for arranging a passport or temporary travel document and anything else you need to do in order to return to your country of origin or to another country where you have a right to live. You may still be summoned to the Swedish Migration Agency for a conversation or notification about the decision.

Enforcement halt

In some cases, the Swedish Migration Agency can decide to temporarily halt all refusals of entry, expulsions or returns to a country for a limited period of time. This is known as an enforcement halt.

Read more about enforcement halts

News

2026-06-12

The migration pact is introduced on the 12 June

On 12 June 2026, the EU's Pact on migration and asylum is introduced. Among other things, this means that the EU will have common rules about how migrants will be controlled at the border, and what the procedure is when somebody applies for international protection (asylum).

2026-06-01

New levels of reintegration assistance from 1 June 2026

The EU Reintegration Programme (EURP) provides support for people returning to their country of origin after their application for asylum has been rejected or when they no longer have the right to remain in the EU. The levels of assistance available under the programme are now being revised.

The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for considering applications from people who want to live in Sweden, seek protection or become Swedish citizens. Our work is based on Swedish laws and international conventions, with a focus on legal certainty and effective reception and return.