Sweden’s government, Thursday, announced that it will significantly increase grants for immigrants who voluntarily return to their home countries, aiming to encourage more migrants to do so.

Starting in 2026, immigrants who choose to return will be eligible for up to 350,000 Swedish kronor ($34,000), according to the right-wing government supported by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats.

“We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in our migration policy,” Migration Minister Johan Forssell said at a press conference.

Currently, immigrants can receive up to 10,000 kronor per adult and 5,000 kronor per child, with a maximum of 40,000 kronor per family.

“This grant has been available since 1984, but it is relatively unknown, small, and used by few people,” Ludvig Aspling of the Sweden Democrats noted.

Aspling added that increased awareness of the grant and its larger size would likely lead to more people accepting the offer.

The announcement came despite a recent government-appointed probe advising against a significant increase, arguing that the expected benefits did not justify the potential costs.

Conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who assumed office in 2022 with a minority coalition supported by the Sweden Democrats, has pledged to address immigration and crime.

Sweden has welcomed many migrants since the 1990s from conflict-ridden countries such as the former Yugoslavia, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran, and Iraq, but has faced challenges integrating them.

Over 250,000 Africans immigrants reside in Sweden with Somalia leading the pack with about 70, 000 while Nigerian accounted for about 8,000 behind Eritrean, Ethiopia, Morocco, Egypt and Sudan.

AFP