The Swedish migration board decided today that all Syrian refugees coming to Sweden could become permanent residents due to the deteriorating conditions in Syria, reports Xinhua.
The Swedish migration board decided today that all Syrian refugees coming to Sweden could become permanent residents due to the deteriorating conditions in Syria, reports Xinhua.
“The conflicts, to put it mildly, have been obviously worse. We believe that it is not going to end within the foreseeable future, so we have made a conventional change,” Anders Danielsson, general director of the migration board, was quoted as saying by the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter.
“According to international law, they should have permanent residence permits and that is the decision we have made,” said Danielsson.
The decision also meant that around 8,000 Syrians who had temporary Swedish residence permits could stay permanently and also bring their families to Sweden.
Sweden has become the first country in the European Union to give permanent residence permits to Syrian refugees, the local media said.
One year ago, Sweden gave Syrian refugees a three-year residence permit. But as Sweden has no diplomatic mission in Syria, the relatives of the refugees had to go to a neighbouring country. About 1,600 Syrian refugees had applied to bring their families to Sweden, the report added.
The number of refugees who will be offered protection in Sweden is decided every year by the Swedish government, which has given the Swedish migration board the task of making decisions about settlement and permanent residence permits.
IANS
