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The official language of Sweden is Swedish and all official decisions and judgments are written in Swedish. The Swedish Migration Agency shall provide a one-day mandatory introduction training on the Swedish society to all asylum-seekers that are 15 years or older. The training shall include information on the asylum process, Swedish legislation, the rights of the child, democracy, gender equality and honour-related violence. Children under 15 years shall be given the same information in writing.[1] The 1994 Ordinance on the Reception of Asylum Seekers states that the Migration Agency must inform the applicants of organisations that provide services to asylum seekers.[2] There is also information in around 25 languages available through the Migration Agency on various aspects of the asylum procedure. This information is available on the website,[3] and occasionally in printed form or in booklets at reception centres. Special efforts have been made to take into account the needs of information of illiterate persons by frequently using audio-visual methods. Furthermore, there are videos providing information in sign languages. Also, the website enables persons to have the text read out to them in Swedish, English, or Arabic.
The Agency has also produced material for children both unaccompanied and in families, explaining to them the asylum procedure in seven different languages.[4] Reception centres for asylum seekers also have leaflets available in a number of languages on the various aspects of the procedure, as well as on conditions of reception. Videos explaining various procedures has been produced by the Migration Agency in cooperation with NGOs. These videos are available in 7 to 12 languages including sign language and are accessible from the Migration Agency’s website.[5] There is also written information in up to 25 languages corresponding to languages understood by the main nationalities of asylum seekers arriving in Sweden in recent years (Syria, Somalia, Eritrea, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Albania, Serbia, Ukraine, Egypt, Pakistan, Mongolia, Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Nigeria, Türkiye, Ethiopia, Morocco, Azerbaijan and Iran).[6]
The Migration Agency has held web events on Facebook or other platforms where applicants or the public may ask their questions to experts from the Migration Agency.
The Migration Agency has also produced leaflets in the above languages containing specific information on the Dublin III Regulation, namely on the Dublin criteria determining the Member State responsible,[7] as well as on Dublin procedures followed after a country other than Sweden has been deemed responsible.[8] There is also a specific leaflet for unaccompanied minors regarding the Dublin Regulation, as per Article 4(3) of the Dublin III Regulation.[9]
Furthermore, at every stage of the asylum procedure, caseworkers have a duty to explain in their meetings with applicants the next stage of the procedure to each applicant. After a refusal at the first instance, each applicant is summoned to a meeting at the nearest office of the Migration Agency to discuss their situation and to be provided with information on the possible future outcomes of their case.
In December 2021 Swedish Public Radio reported that due to a significant increase in the number of questions received by e-mail there had been a long waiting period for a reply from the Migration Agency.[10] In 2022 it has not been reported that this particular problem has continued.
Information is also provided by NGOs, notably by the Swedish Network of Refugee Support groups (FARR), which published on its website an 152-page booklet entitled Goda Råd (Good Advice), updated in May 2022, available in several languages.[11] This information on the entirety of the procedure focuses on what asylum seekers can do themselves to contribute to a fair process and contains links to other NGOs in Sweden. This information is available and can be downloaded in English, Swedish, Arabic, Russian, Spanish and Persian. The Swedish Refugee Law Center (sweref.org) and the Swedish Section of Amnesty International (amnesty.se) also provide online information in a number of languages which is of relevance to asylum seekers. The Church of Sweden has online information about asylum and migration issues on its website under the heading Migration [12]currently only in Swedish.
Information is also available at the detention centres to which UNHCR and NGOs have access. All detention centres have computers available with internet access for all detainees. Legal counsels also have an obligation to provide information on the asylum procedures to the client. A number of NGOs visit detention centres on a regular basis and are involved in a dialogue with the Migration Agency regarding the scope and routines for offering this service.
[1] Regleringsbrev 2021 Migrationsverket.
[2] Section 2a Ordinance on the reception of asylum seekers.
[3] Migration Agency, Protection and Asylum in Sweden, available at: http://bit.ly/1sHzLfA.
[4] Migration Agency, For Children, available at: http://bit.ly/1Feg3vm.
[5] Migration Agency, Alla filmer på alla språk, available at: https://bit.ly/2W4Axay.
[6] Migration Agency, Other languages, available at: https://bit.ly/2vkhMnH.
[7] Migration Agency, “I have asked for asylum in the EU – which country will handle my claim?”, available at: http://bit.ly/1PSuhgz.
[8] Migration Agency, “I am in the Dublin procedure – what does this mean?”, available at: http://bit.ly/1LRjmgH.
[9] Migration Agency, Children asking for international protection – Information for unaccompanied children who are applying for international protection pursuant to article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 604/2013, available at: https://bit.ly/3cIm8eS. See also information on the Dublin procedure on the website of the Swedish Refugee Law Centre for adults here: https://bit.ly/3wS9y4Y; and for children here: https://bit.ly/2QnNGNL. Both websites are available in many languages.
[10] On 4 December 2021 Swedish Public Radio reported that at that time the Migration Agency had more than 20 000 unanswered e-mails. https://bit.ly/3F43SaP
[11] FARR, Good Advice for Asylum Seekers in Sweden, May 2022, available in English at: https://bit.ly/3rH04FN. Other languages available at: https://bit.ly/3mmMBSF.
[12] Svenka kyrkan, ‘Migration’, available at: https://bit.ly/3RcSAc4