Asylum decision – what happens then?
After you have attended the asylum investigation the Migration Agency will make a decision.
The Swedish Migration Agency decides whether to give you asylum in Sweden by looking at everything you have said and presented and at what we know about the situation in your home country. Then this is compared with what the law says about who is to be given asylum in Sweden.
The Aliens Act (in Swedish: Utlänningslagen) is the law that includes the rules for whether you can stay in Sweden or not. The law was decided by Sweden's parliament.
There are different grounds for asylum:
Refugees
A person who may be subjected to persecution if they go back their home country can stay in Sweden as a refugee if he or she cannot obtain protection in his or her home country – and if the persecution he or she is subjected to is a result of his or her
- origin, that is, national or ethnic origin (for example skin colour)
- nationality, for example citizenship, linguistic or ethnic group
- religion
- political affiliation (for example opinions on how a country should be governed)
- belonging to a certain social group. Two examples of certain social groups are boys and girls. Other examples of social groups are transgender people or homosexual or bisexual people. The Swedish concept "hbtq-person" (in English usually "lgbt person") stands for persons who in various ways differ from the idea of how boys or girls should behave, for example how they should feel, how they should look, or that a girl should fall in love with boys instead of other girls and so on.
In order to be granted asylum, the asylum seeker must risk being persecuted for one of these reasons and be so scared that he or she can't or won't use protection in his or her home country, for example police protection. According to the law this applies no matter whether the persecution is by the country's authorities or if the country's authorities can't or won't provide protection from persecution.
Persons eligible for subsidiary protection
Persons in need of subsidiary protection are people who are not refugees as defined by the law, but who are still afraid to return to their home country.
The person risks either torture, death penalty, or other inhuman or degrading treatment if he or she returns.
A person regarded in need of subsidiary protection is given a residence permit for 13 months.
Residence permits in other cases
In certain cases an asylum seeker can get a residence permit even though they do not meet the legal requirements to be called a refugee or a person in need of subsidiary protection. When the Migration Agency makes a decision, an overall assessment is made of the person’s state of health, adaptation to Sweden and the situation in their home country.
Permits of different lengths
Those who are refugees will be granted a residence permit for three years, and those who are considered eligible for protection for another reason will be granted a residence permit for 13 months. After this time, they can apply for an extended residence permit.