STOCKHOLM: Sweden plans to boost payments to up to $34,000 to immigrants who leave the nation that has been a haven for the war-weary and persecuted, the right-wing government said on Thursday.

The Scandinavian country was for decades seen as a “humanitarian sup­erpower”, but over the years has struggled to integrate many of its newcomers. Immigrants who voluntarily return to their countries of origin from 2026 would be eligible to receive up to 350,000 Swedish kronor, the government, which is prop­ped up by the anti-immigration Swe­d­en Democrats, told a press conference.

“We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in our migration policy,” Migration Minister Johan Forssell told reporters, as the government presented its latest move to crack down on migration.

Currently immigrants can receive up to 10,000 kronor per adult and 5,000 kronor per child, with a cap of 40,000 kronor per family. Immigr­ants groups could not immediately be reached for comment on the change.

“The grant has been around since 1984, but it is relatively unknown, it is small and relatively few people use it,” Ludvig Aspling of the Sweden Democrats told reporters.

Forssell said only one person had accepted the offer last year. Aspling added that if more people were aware of the grant and its size was increased, more would likely take the money and leave.

He said the incentive would most likely appeal to the several hundred thousand migrants who were either long-term unemployed, jobless or whose incomes were so low they needed state benefits to make ends meet. “That’s the group we think would be interested,” Aspling said.

A government-appointed probe last month advised the government against significantly hiking the amount of the grant, saying the expected effectiveness did not justify the potential costs.

The Nordic nation has struggled for years to integrate immigrants, and the head of the inquiry, Joakim Ruist, said that a sizeable financial inc­rease would send a signal that mig­rants were undesirable, further hampering integration efforts. Other European cou­ntries also offer grants as an ince­ntive for migrants to return home.

Denmark pays more than $15,000 per person, compared to around $1,400 in Norway, $2,800 in France and $2,000 in Germany.

Sweden’s Prime Min­i­ster Ulf Kris­t­e­r­sson came to power in 2022 with a minority government propped up by the Sweden Democrats, vowing to get tough on immigration and crime. The Sweden Democrats emerged as the second-largest party. Sweden has offered generous foreign development aid since the 1970s and has taken in large numbers of migrants since the 1990s.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2024