After years of liberal immigration policies, Sweden has a plan to make it harder for immigrants to become citizens. Now, a new proposal suggests that migrants to Sweden will need to learn Swedish if they hope to become a citizen of the country. Justice and Migration Minister Morgan Johansson believes that the country’s long-standing liberal tradition of immigration needs to find “a better balance between rights and responsibilities” for people who are seeking citizenship in Sweden.
Since 2015, Sweden has had an open-door policy for migrants seeking a better life. However, as migrants flooded Europe from various countries with poor conditions, Sweden experienced an uptick in gang violence, sex crimes, bombings, and deadly shootings that have been starkly absent from the country for years now.
As crime rates increased in Sweden, conservative anti-immigration parties have grown louder and demanded change from the Swedish Social Democratic Party. By including stricter policies to allow migrants to gain citizenship, Swedish politicians hope that they will be able to slow the spread of violence and unrest in the country.
Now, foreign nationals seeking citizenship in Sweden will need to prove their ability to speak, listen, read, and write in order to become a citizen of the Scandinavian country of Sweden. These tests cost migrants hard-earned money. The language tests amount to more than $200, while the civil component of the citizenship tests cost more than $50.
Applicants can also gain citizenship by passing Grade 9 in a Swedish high school. The new policy will apply to citizenship seekers who are between the ages of sixteen and sixty-six.
Minister Johansson said that “Language is the key to work, but also the key to society.”
But what about people who cannot pass the difficult Swedish tests? According to one report, disabled, illiterate, and stateless people will not be held to the same standards as everyone else. Instead, they will need to show proof that they tried their best to pass the various tests and explain why they were unsuccessful in doing so.
Erik Nord, Gothenburg’s chief of police, told MailOnline: “These criminal clans have a completely different culture that makes them very difficult to tackle with normal police methods. We need more police, and our courts and prisons need to be reinforced to deal with this situation urgently. Otherwise, we will turn into a gangsters’ paradise.”
Readers of Daily Mail applauded Sweden’s decision to curb immigration by making it harder for migrants to become Swedish citizens.
“Well done, Sweden. Learn from the mistakes of the UK and liberal lefties who have made decisions which see immigrants living in the UK that have NEVER learned to speak English, and that means when they need medical treatment or anything legal, we have to pay for their translators.”
“Swedish language courses are free for newcomers in Sweden. They also get a daily allowance to attend, so there is no reason not to learn, and yet some have not learned the language after 15 years.”
“Good. It should be like this in every country!”
What do you think about this decision?