Sweden : The Immigration an Integration Experience: The Case of Sweden

Immigration to Sweden in the last three decades consists mainly of refugees and family reunion migrants. The increasing numbers of asylum seekers in the world together with a relatively liberal admission policy toward refugees and family reunion implied an increased population for Sweden due to net immigration. In the same period, various integration policies have been implemented to increase both labor market integration and political participation. Settlement policies toward newly arrived immigrants have been shifting over time according to the political and labor market context. Citizenship policies have over time changed and today include both the possibility of dual citizenship and the right to vote by noncitizens in local and provincial elections. Although intentions are good, both the employment integration and the voting participation by immigrants are substantially lower than for native Swedes and this questions the effectiveness of integration policies