Sweden widens criminal deportation rules from 1 September

Sweden will widen its rules on deportation after criminal convictions from 1 September, lowering the main threshold to offences punished more severely than a fine.

Under the enacted law, courts must still weigh the offence and risk of further crime against the person’s ties to Sweden, including children and family circumstances. Separate safeguards apply to refugees, people needing subsidiary protection, EEA citizens and long-term residents.

Prosecutors must request deportation when the statutory conditions are met. The new substantive thresholds generally apply to offences committed from 1 September, while the prosecutor duty applies when charges are filed from that date, even for earlier conduct, the government bill says.

Return bans will normally last five years for offences with a sentence value below six months, 10 years from six months to under 18 months, and have no time limit at higher levels. A residence or work permit will normally end once a criminal-deportation order becomes final.

The Riksdag decision also moves practical barriers to removal out of the criminal court’s decision and into the enforcement stage. Sweden’s ban on sending someone to persecution or other prohibited treatment remains in the law.

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