The Swedish government and Sweden Democrats are pushing forward with plans to tighten the requirements for family reunion, by raising the income requirement by 30 percent, among other measures.

"This is a very significant and important change that will affect many people," Migration Minister Johan said. "We are moving away from a policy that in many ways has been virtually requirement-free, which has created major problems."

The government is sending out a proposal for consultation on raising the income requirement for people with temporary or permanent residence permits to bring a family member to Sweden.

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Forssell said that the aim of tightening the rules was to make sure that family members coming to Sweden would be able to support themselves which Forssell said would facilitate integration.

"When family members come to Sweden, they all too often end up marginalised, living in overcrowded conditions and becoming passive," he said.

Labour Market Minister Johan Britz, from the Liberal Party, said in a press release that the measure would encourage newly arriving family members to get jobs.

"By raising the income requirement, we are strengthening the incentive to establish oneself in the labour market, which reduces the risk of long-term dependence on benefits," Britz said in a press statement.

More tightening

Today, family members coming to Sweden need an income equivalent to the amount that Sweden’s national bailiff office, Kronofogden, allows bankrupt people to keep, which is a kind of minimum subsistence level in Sweden, as well as the ability to pay actual housing costs.

The government proposes increasing this minimum subsistence level by 30 percent. For a couple without children, such an increase would mean a maintenance requirement of 13,285 Swedish kronor instead of 10,219.

This would be on top of the requirement to be able to pay one’s housing costs.

The government also wants to tighten up the type of income that is approved. Income from subsidised employment, unemployment benefits, activity support and other benefits linked to unemployment will no longer be included.

Other tightening measures

The government also plans to proceed with proposals for other tightening measures presented in a report in September, such as requiring those who wish to bring a relative to Sweden to have lived in Sweden for at least two years. However, the inquiry did not advocate raising the maintenance requirement.

"It’s natural that people who have been granted a residence permit in Sweden want to be reunited with their relatives, but it is also very natural that there should be sufficient housing and sufficient means of support," says Forssell.

Those with refugee status, a small proportion of asylum seekers who are assessed as being in need of protection, will, as is currently the case, be exempt from the income requirement if they apply for family reunification within three months of arriving in Sweden.

The proposals are intended to come into force in January 2027.

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