Swedish Govt Proposes Revoking Residence Permits & Passports to Foreigners Suspected of Espionage & Terrorism

The Swedish government has proposed to establish a law that would enable the country’s authorities to cancel residence permits and passports to foreigners living in Sweden who are suspected of involvement in criminal activities that threaten the security of the country, like espionage and terrorism.

The recommendations were made based on an agreement between the Sweden Democrats, the Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, while changes to the legislation are suggested to take effect on March 1, 2024, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

There must be greater scope to revoke residence permits for persons who pose a threat to Sweden’s security. The proposals form an important part of the government’s work to strengthen security in the country, where more proposals are also expected.

Maria Malmer Stenergard, the Swedish Minister of Migration

According to a statement by the Swedish Ministry of Justice, among others, the proposed legislation foresees the following changes:

• An alien’s passport must be able to be revoked due to security reasons;
• Cases when the Security Police advise that a foreigner should not be granted an alien passport or a foreigners’ alien passport should be revoked will be considered security cases, according to the Aliens Act.
• It must become possible to revoke a residence permit in specific circumstances like in cases when the foreigner is engaged in terrorism-related activities or state-controlled business espionage.

Preventing threats to Sweden’s security is a high-priority issue for the government. In order for the regulatory framework for cases with security aspects to be more effective, the government is proposing changes to the Aliens Act.

Swedish Ministry of Justice’s statement

The proposal comes at a time when Swedish authorities are struggling with cases of terrorism and espionage. Last month, two Swedish citizens were killed during a shooting in Brussels. Before this case, Swedish authorities had received criticism and threats for allowing a series of Quran burnings in Sweden. According to a statement of the government released at the time, Sweden and Swedish interests appear to have been the target of the attack that took place in Brussels on October 16, this year.

Furthermore, at the beginning of this year, two Iranian-born Swedish brothers were convicted of espionage for Russia’s military intelligence GRU. They are accused of spying for Russia for a decade, between 2011 and 2021.

Sweden also blames insecurity in the country on the arrival of irregular migrants. Recently, the Swedish government has required the European Commission to provide more border checks in the Schengen area. In addition, they have also called on the EU members to repatriate more irregular migrants and to enhance the exchange of information between the intelligence and the police services of the 27 member states.