Author
The “safe third country” concept is a ground for inadmissibility in Sweden (see Admissibility Procedure). There is no national list of safe third countries. However, following the large influx of arrivals in 2015, the (then) Swedish Government publicly announced that it would appreciate the development of common standards within the EU in this regard. The inquiry published on 24 November 2025, concerning Sweden’s implementation of the Pact, proposes that Sweden, in accordance with Article 64(1) of the Asylum Procedures Regulation, should be entitled to designate safe third countries and safe countries of origin at national level, in addition to those designated at EU level. Consequently, the existing authorisation to establish a national list of safe countries of origin should be retained and extended to also cover safe third countries. It is further proposed that an explanatory reference to the provisions on the designation of such countries contained in the Asylum Procedures Regulation be incorporated into the Aliens Act. The final Government Bill is expected to be presented on 26 March 2026.[1] Practice shows that the safe third country concept is regularly applied by the Swedish Migration Agency.[2]
Safety criteria
Chapter 5, Section 1b(3) of the Aliens Act provides that an application may be dismissed if the applicant can be returned to a country where they:
- Does not risk being subjected to persecution;
- Does not risk suffering the death penalty or being subjected to corporal punishment, torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
- Is protected against being sent on to a country where they do not have equivalent protection,
- Has the opportunity to apply for protection as a refugee.
In a legal opinion issued in April 2021, and revised in March 2025, the Swedish Migration Agency provides details on the application of the safe third country concept. The opinion details that the possibility of applying for refugee status in a third country should not only exist formally but also be observed in practice. Accordingly, the country must fulfil the requirements of a fair asylum system, effective remedies, and protection from removal where risks of refoulement are invoked, on the basis of available country information.[3]
Connection criteria
Chapter 5, Section 1b(3) of the Aliens Act also requires a connection to the country concerned that makes it reasonable for them to travel there. An application may not be dismissed if:[4]
- The applicant has a spouse, a child or a parent who is resident in Sweden and the applicant does not have equally close family ties to the country to which a refusal-of-entry or expulsion order may be enforced; or
- The applicant, because of a previous extended stay in Sweden with a residence permit or right of residence, has acquired special ties to this country and lacks such ties or ties through relatives to the country to which a refusal-of-entry or expulsion order may be enforced.
[1] Migrations- och asylpakten, DS 2025:30, vol 1, p. 377, available in Swedish here
[2] Swedish Migration Agency, Statistics, 18 January 2023, available here
Swedish Refugee Law Center, Rättsäkerheten och säkra ursprungsländer, available in Swedish with an English summary here.
[3] Migration Agency, Rättsligt ställningstagande angående avvisning av ansökan om uppehållstillstånd med stöd av 5 kap. 1 b § utlänningslagen, RS/065/2021 (version 2.0), 13 March 2025, available in Swedish here, p. 10.
[4] Chapter 5, Section 1b(3) Aliens Act. See also Migration Court of Appeal, UM 3266-14, MIG 2015:12, 20 August 2015, available here.