Temporary Change In The Law For Asylum Seekers : A Qualitative Study About HVB-staff´s Perceptions On The Consequences Of The Law Affecting Unaccompanied minors.

The aim of our study was to investigate HVB-home staff's perceptions of the temporary asylum law's impact on unaccompanied minors’ motivation for integration into Swedish society. On 24 November 2015, the government presented a temporary law to reduce the number of asylum seekers. The temporary law was intended to apply for three years and meant that Sweden went from having generous asylum legislation to following the EU's line for a minimum level for receiving asylum seekers. All asylum-seeking groups, such as refugees and people in need of protection, would receive temporary residence permits, except that there were exceptions for quota refugees who could obtain permanent residence permits. In the study, we used a qualitative method and conducted semi-structured interviews with five staff who had previously worked with unaccompanied children. Results from both interviews and previous research show that there are several factors that affect the mood of unaccompanied children and their integration into Swedish society. The study showed that previous psychological trauma, long waiting times for information about residence permits, loneliness and lack of meaningful activity had a negative impact on unaccompanied children's mood and motivation for integration