Over the past decades, Sweden’s family reunification policy has become increasingly conditional through requirements related to income, housing, and legal status. This development reflects a broader European trend in which access to family reunification is increasingly tied to economic resources, administrative procedures, and integration-related conditions.
This policy brief examines how changes in Sweden’s family migration policy affect opportunities for family reunification and the consequences for families living apart. It focuses in particular on how different requirements may create unequal opportunities for reunification between groups, depending on factors such as legal status, economic resources, and position in the labour and housing markets. The brief also explores how long processing times and prolonged periods of uncertainty affect family life, caregiving relationships, and the ability to plan for the future.
Drawing on recent research on policy developments, family reunification, and public attitudes toward family migration in Sweden and across Europe, the brief shows that the consequences of increased conditionality extend beyond the overall number of reunifications. They also shape which families are, in practice, able to live together.
The policy brief is authored by Anton Ahlén, researcher at the Centre for Migration and Integration Research, Stockholm School of Economics, and Hilda Gustafsson, affiliated researcher at Malmö Institute for Migration Studies, Malmö University.
Picture: Parej Richard via Unsplash.
