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Financial allowance
The monthly amounts of financial allowances differ for applicants staying in accommodation centres where food is provided free of charge (and the allowance only covers pocket money), and applicants staying in other accommodation, where the allowance should also cover food.
In any event, beyond food, the allowance should be able to cover clothes and shoes, medical care and medicine, dental care, toiletries, other consumables and leisure activities. If asylum seekers are granted a daily allowance by the Migration Agency, they receive a bank card where the money is deposited.
The levels of financial allowance per day has not been raised since 1994 and are as follows:[1]
| Category of applicant | Allowance in accommodation centres with food provided | Allowance in private accommodation |
| Single adult | SEK 24 / € 2,09 | SEK 71 / € 6,19 |
| Adults sharing accommodation | SEK 19 / €1,65 per person | SEK 61 / € 5,32 per person |
| Child aged 0-3 | SEK 12 / € 1.04 | SEK 37 / € 3.23 |
| Child aged 4-10 | SEK 12 / € 1.04 | SEK 43 / € 3.75 |
| Child aged 11-17 | SEK 12 / € 1.04 | SEK 50 / € 4.36 |
Source: Migration Agency.
From the third child onwards, the level of financial allowance is reduced by 50%.
Some NGOs have campaigned for these levels to be adjusted to the increase in living costs and for the elimination of discrimination against third and subsequent children in relation to the amount of money that is made available, but so far nothing has changed.[2]
Asylum seekers can apply for a special grant for expenses that are necessary for a minimum living standard, such as cost of winter clothing, glasses, supplements, handicap equipment and infant equipment.[3] Asylum seekers must demonstrate that they have a strong need of the item or service and that they cannot pay for it by themselves. The Migration Agency makes an individual evaluation of the need and only grants enough for the cheapest alternative which is needed to satisfy the need. The right to a special grant may be affected if the asylum seeker moves to their own accommodation in an area that a municipality has reported as an area with social and economic challenges.
The allowance for asylum seekers is considerably lower than the allowance for settled persons in need of social assistance, which covers similar areas of support. The following table relating to the amount of the monthly social welfare allowance as of January 2024 illustrates this difference:
| Category | Asylum seekers in private accommodation | Settled persons on social welfare |
| Single adult | SEK 2,130 / € 185,97 | SEK 5,030 / € 439.18 |
| 2 adults | SEK 3,660 / € 319,56 | SEK 8,210 / € 716,84 |
| 1 adult 1 child (aged 2) | SEK 3,240 / € 282.89 | SEK 8,100 / € 707,23 |
| 1 adult 2 children (aged 2-5) | SEK 4,530 / € 395,52 | SEK 11,400 / € 995,37 |
| 2 adults 2 children (aged 5-12) | SEK 6,160 / € 537,85 | SEK 15,970 / € 1,394.39 |
| 2 adults 3 children (aged 2-5-12) | SEK 7,020 / € 612,93 | SEK 19,200 / € 1,676.41 |
| 2 adults 4 children (aged 12-14-15-17) | SEK 8,160 / € 712,47 | SEK 17,410 / € 1,520.12 |
Sources: National Social Welfare Board, 1 January 2024; Migration Agency.
[1] Migration Agency, ‘Financial support for asylum seekers’, available in English at: https://bit.ly/3uDFz4h.
[2] Some examples are Save the Children, ‘Dagersättning till flyktingar har inte höjts på 28 år – Rädda barnen: ”Den är oacceptabelt låg”’, 12 April 2022, available in Swedish at: https://bit.ly/3I49AgG and ‘rapport med nyanlända ensamstående mammors röster’, available in Swedish at: https://bit.ly/3T1EUmz. See also Swedish Red Cross, ‘Ge asylsökande en ersättning som går att leva på’, 13 July 2022, available in Swedish at: https://bit.ly/49hwGfY.
[3] Migration Agency, Financial support for asylum seekers, available at: https://bit.ly/3uDFz4h.