Author
Housing provided by the Swedish Migration Agency is, as a general rule, accommodation in reception centres. In certain cases, however, accommodation may be arranged in other forms of housing. Previously, accommodation was primarily provided in apartments within ordinary housing areas, but the Government has introduced a reform of the reception system under which the main rule going forward is that accommodation for all categories, except unaccompanied minors, is to be organised in reception centres. The accommodation often consists of a room that is shared with others. Families are always given their own room. Single people will share a room with other people of the same sex.[1] If an asylum seeker choses to live at a centre, they might need to move to a town where the Swedish Migration Agency can offer them a place. There are differences in the way material reception conditions are provided depending on the procedure (“track”) in which asylum seekers are in. For applicants in the Dublin procedure (“Track 5A”) and the Accelerated Procedure (“Track 4”), for example, accommodation is located close to airports, with the aim of speeding up a potential removal from Sweden.
If asylum seekers have financial means, although they can still access the accommodation system, they must pay for it themselves. If not, accommodation at a centre is free. The accommodation often consists of a room that is shared with others. Families are always given their own room. Single people will share a room with other people of the same sex. It is possible that asylum seekers are moved around within the centre or to another centre during the processing period.
Asylum seekers may also choose to opt for private accommodation with friends or relatives.
Should the asylum seeker choose to settle in so-called socio-economically challenged areas, the rules foresee that these persons are no longer entitled to a daily allowance (see Criteria and restrictions to access reception conditions).[2]
The total number of asylum seekers and Temporary Protection beneficiaries registered in the reception system in average during 2025 was 18,126 (down from 45,661 in 2024), of which 3,314 were living in Swedish Migration Agency accommodation, 11,483 in private accommodation and 3,329 in other forms of accommodation.[3] The large decrease compared to the previous year is due to the reform of the reception system and the increased possibility for individuals holding residence permits under the Temporary Protection Directive to register in the population register, thereby no longer falling within the Swedish Migration Agency’s reception system.
The number of places in Swedish Migration Agency accommodation decreased from 13,979 in 2024 to 12,013 in 2025.[4]
The Swedish Migration Agency also operates “departure centres” for persons who have agreed to voluntary depart to their country of origin or for Dublin cases. In 2023, the Migration Agency started a new kind of departure centre (återvändandecenter). Persons with a deportation order that has become final are offered places at a departure centre. Upon refusal to move to a departure centre one needs to arrange private accommodation.[5] At the end of 2024, the centres had about 1,848 places in total and are situated in Burlöv, Märsta, Malmö, Mölndal and Stockholm.. It is only persons that are still in the reception system that are entitled to a place in a departure centre, in practice meaning that it is mainly families with minor children that are entitled to a place in a departure centre.[6] Only few places in the departure centres are used, but the numbers are predicted to rise when the option to arrange private accommodation, due to announced changes (see Housing), is no longer available.[7]
[1] The Swedish Migration Agency, ‘Accommodation for asylum-seekers’, available in Swedish here.
[2] Section 10a, Law on Reception of Asylum Seekers and Others, 1994:137.
[3] The Swedish Migration Agency, Annual Report 2024, Dnr: 1.3.2-2025-1844, available in Swedish at https://www.migrationsverket.se/download/18.2cd2e409193b84c506a346f2/1744638139545/Migrationsverkets_arsredovisning_2024.pdf.
[4] The Swedish Migration Agency information provided via e-mail from the statistical unit, April 2026..
[5] The Swedish Migration Agency, ’Your application has been rejected – asylum’, available in Swedish here.
[6] Migration Agency, ‘’Your application has been rejected – asylum, available in Swedish here.
[7] Migration Agency, Annual Report 2024, Dnr: 1.3.2-2025-1844, available in Swedish here.