Integration Governance in Sweden: Accommodation, Regeneration and Exclusion

This report answers questions about how accommodation for asylum seekers and refugees is constituted as a field of policy and regulation at the national level; how these policies and regulations are interpreted and adopted in their implementation at the local level, and how this is experienced by persons who are in the asylum process, or have recently received their residence permit in Sweden. The changing migration and reception regimes are import backgrounds as to how accommodation for asylum seekers and refugees is developing. Among these important changes are: o In November 2015 the government implemented ID control at the borders to Denmark and Germany in order to reduce the immigration of asylum seekers. o In March 2016 Sweden introduced a national refugee settlement dispersal scheme, the Settlement Act (Bosättningslagen), that makes it mandatory for municipalities to accept a specific number of refugees and to arrange for their accommodation for a period of at least two years. o In July 2016 the government implemented a temporary law that minimised the use of permanent residence permits in favour or temporary permits. It also minimised family reunification. On a policy level four accommodation pathways for asylum seekers and refugees can be identified: accommodation pathway for refugees via Facility Accommodationl; accommodation pathway for refugees via Own Accommodation; accommodation pathway for unaccompanied minors, and accommodation pathways for resettled refugees. The Settlement Act is not accompanied by any guidelines, and its implementation varies between municipalities, as regards, for instance, the kind of accommodation and its standards, renting costs, and the length of renting contracts. This is perceived as unfair. In the municipal management, the implementation of the Settlement Act cause tensions between the refugees assigned according to the Settlement Law, other newly arrived, and homeless, three vulnerable groups in society. Poor housing standards, abuse and violence in Facility Accommodation (Anläggningsboende, ABO) can create a push factor into Own Accommodation (Eget boende, EBO). This in turn can lead to homelessness and vulnerable situations for the individua