Sweden to pay migrants more than $34,000 to return home

Sweden, which has long been known for its welcoming policies toward migrants, plans to increase its $978 cash offer to about $34,000 for those who return home voluntarily.

Last week, the Swedish government announced it would increase the 10,000 kronor ($978) per adult to 350,000 kronor ($34,000) and simplify the application process for the subsidy.

According to the government, this is intended to encourage migrants to return home.

This increase is expected to take effect in 2026.

Sweden is one of the European countries that has taken a tougher approach to immigration.

Sweden, with a population of 10.6 million, had more than 250,000 refugees as of mid-2023.

A politician, Ludvig Aspling, recently said in an interview that only 70 people applied for the subsidy last year and only one person received it.

However, last year 16,000 migrants from Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East left Sweden voluntarily, without the subsidy.

At a press conference last week, Sweden’s Migration Minister Johan Forssell described the new policy as a “paradigm shift” in the Scandinavian country, which opened its borders to 162,877 asylum seekers, mainly of Syrian, Afghan and Iraqi descent, in 2015, as a “humanitarian superpower.”

According to the AFP news agency, a number of other European countries already have schemes in place where migrants are paid to return to their home countries. In Germany, there are offers of around $2,000, in France of $2,800, in Norway of $1,400 and in Denmark of more than $15,000.

However, Sweden’s move sparked widespread condemnation in the country, with Swedes taking to social media to voice their objections.

A social media user identified only as user-cb3l said: “They (migrants) will take the money but never leave. It’s too late for band-aid solutions.”

Somali78 was very candid about what he would do, saying:

“I will take it and I will never leave again.”

Susann Leinonen said: “Now more people come to my country for the money and I have to work longer.”

Featherface01 meanwhile said on social media that “they will take that $34,000, leave Sweden and show up in the UK a week later.”

Tehmudjinkhan2207 wondered if this was a good idea. He said: “I’m Swedish, I don’t understand why we have to throw money at everyone in the world. If you give away free money, every scammer in the world will come here to abuse it. Criminal gangs will find ways to abuse it easily.”

But Johnmash327 warned, “I am in Africa, if our brothers hear this, you will regret this bad idea I am telling you.”

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