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http://en.globalutmaning.se/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/engelska-New-way-in-final.pdfTRANSCRIPT
NOVEMBER 2012
THE NEW WAY IN A MIGRANT PERSPECTIVE
VERONICA NORDLUND AND LISA PELLING
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................................ 4
Introduction: The project A New Way In ....................................................................................................................... 6
Background and previous research ................................................................................................................................ 8
The reform ................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Migration theories and the importance of social networks ...................................................................................... 8
What is integration? .................................................................................................................................................. 9
Migration from Iraq to Sweden - a transnational corridor ...................................................................................... 10
Ways into Sweden ................................................................................................................................................... 11
Why Sweden? .......................................................................................................................................................... 12
Information channels ............................................................................................................................................... 13
Interview study ............................................................................................................................................................ 15
Background and method ......................................................................................................................................... 15
Life as a labour migrant in Sweden: a multifaceted picture .................................................................................... 15
“A residence permit is the goal”: on the factors that steer migration .................................................................... 17
“You find out through contacts”: on the relevance of different information channels .......................................... 18
“The only ones who don’t get exploited are those with a permanent residence permit”: on how prospects for
integration are affected by different migration channels ....................................................................................... 19
“It’s only now that people are starting to find out about the work permit”: on increasing knowledge about labour
migration ................................................................................................................................................................. 20
“They could make things easier with the rules and the requirements”: on labour migration management and
improving processes at the Swedish Migration Board ............................................................................................ 21
Summary and conclusions............................................................................................................................................ 23
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................. 25
4
Executive Summary
On December 15th 2008 the Swedish Parliament passed a new law on labour migration to Sweden from
outside the EU/EES. The new legislation opened up a new way of entering Sweden, allowing employers
to recruit workers from abroad regardless of their skill level or country of origin. As a result, Sweden
went from having one of the most restrictive to one of the most liberal labour migration policies of the
OECD. At the same time, Sweden has remained one of the most important asylum countries of Europe
and there is also an extensive immigration of people coming to live with close relatives in Sweden. The
ways of coming to Sweden are numerous and Sweden has grown to become one of Europe’s top migrant
receiving countries. The share of the foreign born in the population is as high in Sweden as in the United
States. The second largest migrant group in Sweden comes from Iraq. Why have so many of the people
leaving Iraq chosen to come to Sweden?
A point of departure for the project “A New Way In” was a lack of knowledge about how well-informed
prospective migrants are about the possibilities of migrating to Sweden. How is the decision to come to
Sweden made? To what extent can migrants actively choose between coming here as asylum seekers or
as labour migrants? Where do migrants obtain their information from? A lot of the information about
Sweden as a destination and about the ways of getting here is transmitted by earlier migrants in the
same migration channel, in this case migrants who have come to Sweden from Iraq. How is the
information coloured by the experiences of relatives who have emigrated previously?
Human migration is a highly complex phenomenon. People are driven by a desire to improve living
conditions for themselves and for their families; they seek to escape violence, insecurity and meagre
future prospects. Early migrants are adventurers and risk-takers, subsequent migrants follow paths
already travelled. A comprehensive body of research reveals that individuals’ social networks of family
members, relatives, friends and compatriots are of critical importance in explaining human migration.
Our interviews with 45 Iraqi migrants confirm the significance of migrant’s social networks both as a
determinant of the destination choice and as a source of information once migrants have arrived in the
new country. Through these social networks, knowledge and information facilitating the migration
process is transmitted.
Migration to Sweden occurs through several different channels; residence permits are granted to asylum
seekers, labour migrants, students, researchers and for family reunification purposes. Different
migration channels have different implications for the integration process. Our findings show that it is
precarious to assume that all migrants are in a position to actively choose between different migration
channels. Not all who come here have had the option of choosing the, for them, “optimal” means of
migrating. While some have had time to plan ahead and consider different alternatives, others we have
spoken to have had to leave abruptly, choosing whatever means most accessible to them at the time.
An overview of previous studies exploring the factors that influence the choice of migration destination
reveal economic motives to be significant but not as dominant as previously assumed. For refugees,
geographical proximity is critical: the vast majority of the world’s refugees have simply crossed the
nearest international border. For those who choose to migrate beyond the immediately neighbouring
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countries, access to social networks is the single most important determining factor. In our sample,
economic motives play a very limited role in the decision to come to Sweden. Instead, the estimated
probability of obtaining a residence permit is given considerable weight.
When it comes to seeking information about migration channels, social networks are again of key
importance, but various forms of professional intermediaries play an increasingly significant role. These
intermediaries can be smugglers, agents or lawyers who charge money to help people migrate. Such
services are employed not just by asylum seekers who travel “illegally” to Sweden, but also by many
migrant workers who rely on intermediaries in order to obtain job offers. Once migrants have arrived in
Sweden, professional intermediaries continue to play an important role. While information provided by
government agencies and authorities is often the most up to date and reliable source of information for
migrants in and outside Sweden, this information source is not always trusted by migrants.
An objective of the project “A New Way In” is to explore whether it is possible to improve migrant
integration in Sweden by facilitating informed migrant decision making. The literature identifies Sweden
as a leader on integration policy measures. At the same time, statistics show that Sweden has not been
particularly successful in evening out the differences between immigrants and natives on the labour
market. Our work shows that it is not self-evident that labour migrants should have better prospects for
integration in Sweden than asylum seekers. Integration is a matter of reducing differences in income and
living conditions between natives and immigrants. A large share of the labour migrants coming to
Sweden from Iraq work in jobs where there is a surplus of labour and where salaries are lower and
working conditions poorer than in the labour market at large. The statistics we have looked at for this
study show that very few have so far managed to convert their temporary work passes into permanent
residence permits. The temporary work permit holders we have spoken to frequently describe
vulnerable and insecure situations. The difference between temporary and permanent residence permits
is critical and needs to be taken into consideration when it comes to protecting labour migrants from
exploitation.
Considering how recently the reform took place, it is perhaps not surprising that many of the people we
have interviewed still feel uninformed or under-informed about the possibility of labour migration and
the rules that apply. A majority did not know about the possibility of coming to Sweden via labour
migration when they left Iraq, and some claim that no information from the Swedish Migration Board on
labour migration ever reached them. Others find that the rules are unnecessarily complicated and
unequally applied. Long wait times and non-transparent processes are a common source of frustration.
Especially problematic is the fact that information about changing status, that is, applying for a work
permit once an asylum application has been turned down, appears to reach migrants late in the asylum
process. A very strict time limit is imposed on migrants wishing to apply for a work permit from inside
Sweden after their asylum application is denied, making it imperative that information is laid out and
clearly explained as early on in the process as possible. Given how important migrants’ family and friends
in Sweden are as an information source pre- and post-migration, we feel that these groups should be
increasingly targeted in information efforts.
6
Introduction: The project A New Way In
Why do people choose Sweden as their migration destination? What do prospective migrants know
about Sweden? From where and from whom do they acquire information? To what extent is migrant
integration influenced by the choice of migration channel? And how can Swedish authorities, such as the
Swedish Migration Board and the Swedish Public Employment Agency, more efficiently reach
prospective migrants with information about the possible ways of coming to Sweden for work? These
are some of the questions that the project “A New Way In” seeks to answer. The project is managed by
the Swedish Migration Board with financing from the European Integration Fund and with Global
Challenge (Global Utmaning) and the Swedish Public Employment Agency as project partners. The
project started in October 2011 and will be concluded in June 2013.
The project aims to facilitate the process of selecting “a new way in” to Sweden – that of labour
migration, a possibility extended to non-EU citizens regardless of skill level through a reform in
December 2008. The project wants to improve the ability of prospective migrants to choose the means
of migration that best suits their individual circumstances, without in any way undermining the
possibility of seeking refuge in Sweden. The project empirically explores what factors influence migrants’
choice of Sweden as a destination. An underlying objective is to examine whether this new knowledge
can subsequently be transformed into improved service operations and processes at the Swedish
Migration Board, in order to promote labour migration and thereby achieve faster and better integration
of immigrants. The project makes a case study of recent years’ migration between Iraq and Sweden.
We know little about the factors that impact on migrants’ decision-making process. Identifying and
analysing these factors is crucial in order to effectively communicate the different gateways to the
destination country Sweden. Communication efforts must be tailored to the needs, preferences and
behaviour of the target group in order for the information to effectively reach the people it is intended
for.
Global Challenge is an independent think tank that analyses problems and proposes solutions to global
challenges in the fields of economics, climate and migration. For this project, Global Challenge has
looked at previous research on migrant decision making and examined available knowledge and data on
the migration between Iraq and Sweden. This research overview was an attempt to compile and sum up
relevant studies and research findings from both Swedish and international sources, and constituted an
important step in the preparations of the subsequent qualitative interview study. Combined, the
research overview and the interview study form the knowledge base for the analysis of the links
between information accessibility, choice of migration channel and integration in the destination country
that the project carries out. We hope that our work will contribute towards a stimulating discussion
around the central issues that the project “A New Way In” addresses.
We have interviewed 45 Iraqi migrants. This report provides a brief overview of their stories and
experiences and summarises our findings. The findings are not easily generalised to apply to immigrant
workers from other countries. Persons born in Iraq make up the second largest immigrant group in
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Sweden today, after migrants from Finland. The immigration from Iraq has in many ways shaped and
formed migration patterns to Sweden in recent years.
The project “A New Way In” has five concrete objectives:
1. Increase knowledge about the factors influencing how people choose to migrate.
2. Increase knowledge about the role of different information channels in making this choice.
3. Increase knowledge about how the prospects for migrant integration are influenced by this
choice.
4. Increase awareness about labour migration to Sweden within the target group.
5. Investigate how the labour migration reform has been handled, and identify potential
improvements to the Swedish Migration Boards’ processes that would ensure that the possibility
of labour migration is better utilised.
This report is an abridged version of two more comprehensive reports, the research overview and the
interview study, written in Swedish by Global Challenge as part of our contribution to the project “A New
Way In”. The first part of this report relates the key elements of our research overview and summarises
the findings of earlier studies. The second part briefly describes the sample and methodology of our
interview study and relates the main results of the interviews. In the last chapter we present our
conclusions.
8
Background and previous research
The reform
On December 15th 2008 the Swedish Riksdag passed a new law on labour migration to Sweden from
outside the EU/EES. Concerns over present and future labour shortages motivated the reform. Whereas
labour migration had previously been very restricted, between 1972 and 2008 essentially limited to very
short-term employment or highly specialised occupations only, the reform created an almost completely
demand-driven system. The job offer must meet a number of criteria: the worker must be able to live on
his or her salary, and the salary, the insurance cover and other employment conditions must meet the
prevailing or collectively agreed upon standards in a particular occupation or industry. Another condition
is that the job is advertised to prospective applicants in EU countries beforehand. There are, however, no
limits imposed on the number of permits that can be issued or renewed and migrant workers can be
hired for any occupation without having to meet any particular skill requirements. This makes the
Swedish legislation uniquely open and unrestricted (OECD 2011, Ruhs 2011).
The reform also opened up for the possibility for rejected asylum seekers to change status, provided that
their job permit application is submitted within two weeks of the rejection of their asylum application. In
the OECD’s (2011) assessment of the reform, this channel for status change is deemed overly restrictive.
The OECD further assesses that the reform has made it “relatively simple, fast and inexpensive” (2011,
12) for employers to recruit from abroad and that the reform allows for migrant recruitment in firms and
occupations that were previously excluded. Potential causes for concern, according to the OECD, are that
a large share of entries are for non-shortage occupations and that labour migrants to a lesser extent than
before the reform work in higher-wage firms. The risk for over-qualification of foreign workers needs to
be monitored (OECD 2011).
Migration theories and the importance of social networks
The past 30 years of migration research have seen a shift away from the neoclassical theories on
migration and have contributed towards a recognition of migration as a highly complex social
phenomenon, not easily explained by mere push and pull factors. The neoclassical models are built on
the assumption that all migrants have perfect information about wage differences and employment
rates in different countries. In reality it is often very difficult for a migrant to judge whether or not
international migration will be beneficial to them (Castles and Miller 2009, 23). We know that people are
attracted to higher wages and better living conditions, but also that their migratory behaviour is not
motivated by a simple cost-benefit analysis alone. Security is an important factor, as well as future
prospects. Individuals seldom make migration decisions on their own, but as part of families and
households. Migrants are not passive victims of economic forces, nor are states powerless when it comes
to shaping and steering migrant flows.
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A reason why it is difficult to formulate theories or reliable predictions about human migration is that it
is hard to quantify the value of social networks. Social networks based on close relationships with family
and friends and bonds between individuals in social communities are important components in the
analysis of migration systems, claimed Boyd in the pioneering article “Family and Personal Networks in
International Migration: Recent Developments and New Agendas” from 1989. The information
transmitted through social networks makes it both less risky and less costly to migrate. Previous migrants
can provide advice on safe and affordable routes and migration channels, and can facilitate the process
of finding work and accommodation in the new country. It is cost-saving to choose paths already
trodden, and with time these paths become migration corridors that connect one country to another. An
implication of this is that we would expect migration to increase over time, and also become gradually
less selective. The migration from a given country tends to be concentrated to a limited number of
destination countries (Collyer 2005).
There exists no uniform standard in migration theory. As Castles and Miller put it in their seminal text
book “The Age of Migration”, “no single cause is ever sufficient to explain why people decide to leave
their own country and settle in another” (Castles and Miller 2009, 30). To try and look for the optimal
migration theory would be futile, argue migration researchers Portes and de Wind in an attempt to
summarise recent years’ migration research, since such a theory would have to be formulated at such a
high level of abstraction that it would lose all practical relevance (Portes and de Wind 2004, 829).
Instead, we have to make do with sets of theories that explain various segments of the complex
phenomenon that human migration represents.
What is integration?
Integration can be regarded as a process through which differences between natives and immigrants
gradually diminish for various indicators, such as income-levels and levels of employment (Brubaker
2001; Bolt et al 2010). On the labour market, integration happens when foreign-born workers of
comparable age, education, skills and experience with time attain the same salaries and employment
rates as native-born workers (Venturini 2011).
Sweden has long been regarded as something of a role model on integration policy. The organisation
Migration Policy Group has since 2007 annually released an index on integration policy in 31 European
and North American countries, the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX). Sweden has topped the
index since the start in 2007. According to the researchers behind the index, “immigrants to Sweden will
find that rare combination of a country experienced with immigration and open to their economic
potential” otherwise only found in countries like Canada and Portugal (Huddleston et al. 2011, 190).
The Swedish integration policy has, however, not managed to prevent significant differences between
native and foreign-born Swedes on the labour market. When it comes to labour market integration,
Sweden is far from a role model (Weisbrock 2011). In 2006, only an estimated 57.4 per cent of males
from Iraq who had come to Sweden in the years 1990-1995 had a job, and only 48.3 per cent of the
women (Hedberg and Malmberg 2010, 44-45). The degree of migrant integration appears to depend to a
10
large extent on when migrants arrive in Sweden; integration happens more quickly for those who
immigrate during economic booms than for those who arrive in times of high unemployment (Hedberg
and Malmberg 2010).
It is still too early to say how the range of integration policies introduced when the so-called
“establishment reform” was adopted in 2010 will impact on new migrants’ prospects for integration.
Through this reform, asylum seekers and their families are given access to considerable “establishment
measures” such as language courses, complementary vocational training, and internships. Notably, these
measures are not extended to labour migrants.
Migration from Iraq to Sweden - a transnational corridor
Migration from Iraq to Sweden was limited up until the mid-1970s (Hedberg and Malmberg 2010). It
started to increase when Kurds from Iraq began to be granted asylum in Sweden from 1975 and onwards
(Emanuelsson 2007, 262). In the wake of the ethnic cleansing campaign waged against Kurds in Iraq at
the end of the 1980s and massacres following an uprising after the Iraqi defeat in the Gulf War, the flow
of migrants intensified; 3,355 Iraqis were granted asylum in Sweden in 1992 and 2,907 in 1993. The
migration from Iraq then slowly increased up until the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. In total 77,640
Iraqis obtained a Swedish residence permit between 1990 and 2005 (Swedish Migration Board 2012a).
Between 2004 and 2006 the number of migrants from Iraq quadrupled, from 2,035 people in 2004 to
almost 10,000 in 2006. Data shows how the large waves of asylum seekers from Iraq 1992/1993 and
2006/2007 were followed by subsequent waves of close relatives in the following years.
In 2007 Sweden received more Iraqi asylum seekers than any other industrialised country (UNHCR
2010), making Sweden the second largest refugee destination in absolute numbers of all the
industrialised countries (UNHCR 2011, 12). Almost every second asylum application made by an Iraqi
citizen in Europe was submitted in Sweden that year (Swedish Migration Board 2010). One reason why
so many Iraqis came to Sweden was the relatively generous asylum legislation that Sweden had
compared to nearby countries (Brekke and Aarset 2009). Another reason was that Sweden, and in
particular the city of Södertälje, had become an important centre for ethnic Assyrians and the Syriac
church (Röshammar 2009). UNHCR writes in a report from the same year: “It is believed that the
extensive Iraqi community and its strong social network in the country may have been driving forces
behind the concentration of Iraqi asylum-seekers in Sweden” (UNHCR 2009, 8). The fact that Södertälje,
a medium-size town of some 80,000 residents, for a while received more refugees from Iraq than all of
the United States and Canada combined attracted a lot of international attention. The Major of
Södertälje at the time, Anders Lago, was even invited to testify before the American Congress.
Today’s migration from Iraq has mixed components; Iraqis come as both labour migrants and asylum
seekers. A large portion comes to Sweden to be reunited with family members. The typical migrant from
Iraq to Sweden today is a man in his thirties. Data from the statistics unit at the Swedish Migration Board
shows that of the 11,552 residence permits granted Iraqi citizens 2007-2011, roughly three quarters
went to male migrants. Data also shows that around 36 per cent of residence permits were issued to
migrants between 30 and 39 years of age.
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Around 123,000 Iraqi-born persons live in Sweden today. Only migrants from Finland constitute a larger
portion of the foreign-born. This makes Iraq one of Sweden’s closest “neighbours", demographically
speaking. Many people born in Iraq lead their lives in both Sweden and Iraq simultaneously. Between the
countries there is a transnational corridor in which people travel back and forth, make transactions,
conduct business and share ideas and experiences. The ties created between the two countries is going
to shape the relations between Sweden and Iraq for decades to come.
Ways into Sweden
Sweden issues residence permits to migrants from non-EU countries for a number of different reasons.
Residence permits are given to asylum seekers deemed to be in need of protection, to labour migrants,
to persons coming to be reunited with close relatives or a spouse, as well as to students, researchers and
adopted children. Consequently, there are many ways into Sweden.
It is not possible to apply for asylum from Swedish embassies abroad. Through the Dublin Convention,
the EU countries have implemented a system by which asylum applications typically have to be
examined by the Member State through which the asylum seeker first entered the EU. In order to apply
for asylum in Sweden an Iraqi citizen must consequently first cross the border into Sweden.
For a person with an Iraqi passport it is normally very difficult to obtain a visa to Sweden. The Embassy of
Sweden in Baghdad does not currently issue visas, instead Iraqis must travel to one of the Swedish
embassies in, for example, Damascus or Amman. The visa applications have a high rejection rate and it is
very probable that the majority of today’s Iraqi asylum seekers have entered Europe and Sweden
without valid travel documents. This form of travel is often risky and difficult, and associated with
considerable costs for the migrant. There are many intermediaries demanding to be paid along the way.
It is difficult to say exactly how much an Iraqi migrant must pay to reach Sweden. According to the
Secretary-General for AGEF, a free-standing German organisation with offices in Erbil, a journey to
Sweden without valid travel documents costs between ten and twenty thousand US dollars (Interview
with Director Dünnhaupt 2009-12-12).
The vast majority of people coming to Sweden from Iraq come as asylum seekers or to be reunited with
family members. But a growing number are also entering Sweden as labour migrants and in 2011 Iraqi
citizens made up the sixth largest group of labour migrants to Sweden. The labour migration from Iraq
has since the reform of 2008 largely been concentrated to unskilled jobs.
Unlike asylum seekers who often have to use risky and costly means in travelling to Sweden, labour
migrants can travel legally and by regular means once a work permit has been granted. There are,
however, indications that many labour migrants pay considerable sums of money for their job offers.
Data from the Swedish Migration Board also shows that a large share of the work permits are issued to
Iraqi citizens already in Sweden. Up to as many as half of all Iraqi work permit applications come from
former asylum applicants, so-called “track-changers” (Jonsson 2012). The Swedish Migration Board also
indicates that a lot of the recruitment of Iraqi citizens is done by Iraqi compatriots.
12
Whereas asylum seekers are subject to a range of measures intended to facilitate their integration in
Sweden, these measures have not been extended to labour migrants who, for instance, receive no
financial support for attending Swedish language classes. Another important difference is that asylum
seekers often are granted permanent residency from the start whereas work permits never are granted
for more than two years at a time, with the eligibility for permanent residency arising only after a
migrant has lived four of the previous five consecutive years in Sweden on a work permit. In its 2011
report, the OECD drew attention to the fact that the Swedish legislation has not been able to guarantee
that labour migrants effectively obtain the salary and the terms outlined in their employment contracts.
Why Sweden?
What distinguishes Sweden? Trying to form an idea of what characterises Sweden in the eyes of non-
Swedes is easier said than done. In the publication “The Nordic Way”, Global Challenge has tried to
explain the economic success of the Nordic countries. Underlying success factors presented in the report
are political stability, transparent institutions, a high capacity for adopting new technology, a high level
of education and flexible open markets (Berggren and Trädgårdh 2011). Sweden is generally considered
successful also by non-Nordic analysts and will often be found in the top ten in international rankings
such as the UNDP’s Human Development Index.
The image of Sweden differs somewhat depending on where in the world you are, however. A report
written for the Swedish Institute shows that the view of Sweden is vaguer and less positive in the MENA-
region than in many other parts of the world (Bergman 2008). Even if the image of Sweden as a country
of democracy, equality and high regard for human rights exists in this region as well, knowledge of
Sweden is limited and Sweden is described as a less attractive place for work and studies than, for
example, Canada (Bergman 2008).
There is plenty of research on migration to Sweden but surprisingly little on the reasons why people
choose to come here instead of going elsewhere. Moore and Shellman (2007) have tried to answer the
question of what makes people choose one country over another. They show that refugees do not
primarily look for places with better economic prospects, rather geographical proximity is the single
most influential factor; most refugees just cross the nearest international border. The few that continue
beyond the directly neighbouring countries tend to follow colonial patterns. Robinson and Segrott (2002)
show that asylum seekers take factors such as whether a country is democratic and wealthy into account
in their migration process, but will tend to not distinguish between Western countries as it is assumed
they are all rich and democratic. After that, the most important factor is having family or friends in the
destination country.
In previous studies, a commonly cited reason for the choice of Sweden as a destination is that the risk of
being forced to return home is perceived as low. But many asylum seekers also describe their coming to
Sweden as the result of chance rather than an active choice. They chose to leave their home country but
not to come to Sweden, they “ended up” here. Many refugees have to leave their homes abruptly
13
without much time for consideration. This does not mean, however, that they are passive victims of
circumstance. There is a level of consensus among researchers, says Moore and Shellman (2007), that
refugees do make active and conscious choices even if it is done under very restrained conditions.
Information channels
Research indicates that asking migrants about the information sources used in the migration process
might be less straight-forward than it seems. In a report on the importance of social networks for
information transmission to asylum seekers, Koser and Pinkerton note that there is an unwillingness
among asylum seeker representatives (support groups, lawyers and so on) to talk about where migrants
get their information from. This unwillingness stems from a concern that knowledge about the
information channels used can but turned against future migrants and make it more difficult for them to
leave their countries (Koser and Pinkerton 2002, 7).
The importance of social networks in the migration process cannot be under-emphasised. Compared to
other information sources, such as government authorities or different forms of smugglers and agents,
migrants trust their social network the most (Koser and Pinkerton 2002). This does not necessarily mean
that the information spread via social networks is necessarily correct or up to date. Often a prospective
migrant’s friends and relatives may have spent a long time in the destination country, and may find it
difficult to judge what sort of information is currently most relevant for somebody considering moving
there. Previous migrants can also have a tendency to exaggerate the positive aspects of life in the new
country. There is a built-in paradox here: authorities have a clear information advantage and are better
able to provide correct and up to date information than almost any other actor, but in the migrants’ eyes
they are not credible.
Intermediaries, such as smugglers, play an important role in passing on information. “Some asylum
seekers have effectively lost control of their own migration, with their destinations being dictated by
smugglers rather than, for example, by the location of friends and family” (Koser and Pinkerton 2002, 3).
Evidence suggests that intermediaries play a role not just for refugees but for labour migrants trying to
obtain a work permit as well.
As many migrants have to spend extended periods of time in transit countries before tickets and travel
documents can be arranged for onward travel, information channels in major transit destinations are
highly relevant in reaching migrants with information. Finally, the role of information and
communication technology and the printed and electronic media should not be underestimated. When
Sweden received a large share of the Iraqi refugees that came to Europe and North America 2006-2007,
this was picked up and reported by the international media. Hansen (2009) describes how Canadian
radio proclaimed “generous Sweden” to be the country outside the Middle East that had been most
welcoming to Iraqi immigrants. This type of publicity can prompt further migration to Sweden.
We cannot understand today’s international migration without understanding the information flows that
shape it, state Ros et al., saying that migration today, more than ever, is characterised by that “potential
14
migrants take informed decisions” (2007, 17). The record high information availability that we see today
does not necessarily contribute to more well-grounded decisions, however. Television and internet can
spread a skewed and embellished view of life in the West and an abundance of migrant-targeted
internet forums serve to transmit both correct and misguiding information (Schapendouk and Van
Moppes 2007).
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Interview study
Background and method
Global Challenge has conducted the interview study. We have produced an interview guide and selected
criteria for the selection of respondents. Joanna Teglund recruited respondents and conducted the
interviews with Salwa Barsoun interpreting from and to Arabic. All interviews were later transcribed in
Swedish. Interviews were carried out in the Swedish cities of Södertälje and Halmstad. Lisa Pelling and
Veronica Nordlund have collected and analysed the material.
We have talked to 45 respondents in total. Of these 45, fifteen are labour migrants: four came to
Sweden directly with a work permit and eleven changed status, that is, applied for a work permit when
their asylum application was turned down. An additional four have come to Sweden as close relatives of
labour migrants. Twelve have been granted asylum and two obtained their residence permit as close
relatives of asylum seekers. The remaining twelve are either still waiting for a decision on their asylum
application or have remained in Sweden after their application was turned down. All have come to
Sweden during the period 2006-2012.
Both focus group and in-depth interviews were built up in sequences using an inductive, conversational
approach that was intended to allow respondents to speak freely without too much steering from the
interviewer. This meant that interviews varied in length, from around 45 minutes to up to 3,5 hours.
Life as a labour migrant in Sweden: a multifaceted picture
What is life as a labour migrant in Sweden like? The picture our respondents draw up has many layers.
We have heard storied of vulnerability and exploitation, but also tales of people who have quickly been
able to create a good life for themselves in Sweden. These contrasts are illustrated by the experiences of
two of our respondents below.
Nadir, 23, came to Sweden having never worked before. His parents and younger siblings were granted
asylum but Nadir was told he was a grown-up now and could make his own living in Iraq. Shortly after his
asylum application was turned down he heard about the possibility of obtaining a work permit in
Sweden. He found a job and was granted a temporary residence permit. Nadir started out wiping tables
at a fast food chain. “You could say that the first week or month, I couldn’t speak at all.” Soon Nadir was
allowed to start working in the kitchen, serving customers and supervising new employees. He picked up
Swedish and when his talent for repairing broken equipment in the restaurant was discovered, he was
sent away on training. He has been promised additional supervisor training and says he has hopes of one
day becoming restaurant manager. For Nadir, work proved a far more effective way of learning Swedish
than taking classes:
16
I went to two classes, everyone was as old as my mum and dad. And they talked all the time. A
man behind me was saying how he didn’t understand anything. And two women kept talking
about what they were cooking. I learnt nothing. I became really tired. I only went twice, then I
started working at the fast food restaurant. […] I learn Swedish at work.
But not everyone has the good fortune of finding a work place where the colleagues speak Swedish and
there are opportunities to gradually advance to more qualified tasks. In stark contrast to Nadir’s story is
the story of George, 43.
George had his own business in Iraq, and never seriously considered migrating until the security situation
grew untenable in February 2006. He left Iraq and lived and worked for a few years in the United Arab
Emirates as a project leader in the field of radio and television security systems, with a good salary and
his own chauffeur. But the knowledge that the slightest slip-up could cost him his job and have him
immediately sent back to Iraq grated on him, and the rents in the UAE were high. So when friends in
Sweden started urging him to come here he eventually gave in.
I had to find a solution that would give me stability somewhere. I heard from many that in Europe
one could live well. So I came here. It’s not like you come specifically to Sweden, you look for
places where there are people who can receive you.
George came to Sweden on a visa purchased for US$5,000. In Sweden he initially applied for asylum even
though he knew his chances were probably small and was prepared to have his application denied. After
his asylum application was turned down, George eventually obtained a work permit that allowed him to
stay in Sweden.
Today George works as a cleaner at a company run by other Iraqis. “I have no contact with Swedes” he
says. George works long hours and earns very little, but feels that there is nothing he can do to improve
his situation. He has to work for four years in Sweden before he can apply for permanent residency.
I am aware that my residence permit is temporary. If it was permanent, maybe I could complain
about something at work. But I don’t dare to, because I live in uncertainty.
Our interviews with George and others show that the weak status of labour migrants on the Swedish
labour market is rooted in a combination of circumstances. Some of them apply to all new arrivals in a
country, such as not knowing the language and finding oneself in a new, unfamiliar environment. For
labour migrants from an insecure country such as Iraq this sense of vulnerability is further reinforced by
the perception of not having anything to return to. Many have had to pay their way to a job in Sweden
and arrive here indebted. Those who cannot or have not had the time to get their qualifications
validated find themselves working in unskilled jobs. And on top of this the residence permit is temporary.
George says:
If I had a permanent residence permit I could maybe learn the language, get an education and
then maybe develop my skills so that I could get a better job. Now I have to concentrate on the
work, on doing a good job, on keeping my employer pleased so that I can keep the job.
17
“A residence permit is the goal”: on the factors that steer migration
The vast majority of Iraqi migrants still come as asylum seekers or as relatives of asylum seekers. As
might therefore be expected, the majority of our respondents have not felt that they were presented
with a choice in selecting a way into Sweden to any greater extent. It is probable that this will change as
the reform on labour migration becomes more well-known, and as the situation in Iraq stabilises and the
level of violence drops. But there are also practical factors that may impede labour migration today. It is
currently not possible to apply for a work permit from the Embassy of Sweden in Baghdad. The difficulty
of obtaining a job in Sweden is another practical difficulty that our respondents often mention.
Several of our respondents describe a situation where a planned migration has not been possible, and
where the migrant and his or her family have felt compelled to leave as soon as possible. In such a
situation, the option of going as a labour migrant is virtually eliminated, and the choice of migration path
and destination country is also severely constrained. To the extent that our respondents describe a
choice between different ways of migrating, it is often presented as a choice between a cheaper and
riskier alternative – being smuggled – and a more expensive but safer way – obtaining a visa on the black
market. A number of respondents underline that “legal” ways are to be preferred from “illegal” ways of
migrating.
Our empirical findings clearly show that the estimated probability of obtaining a residence permit and
being allowed to stay in the country of destination is an important determinant of the choice of
destination. In motivating the choice of Sweden as a destination, almost all respondents referred either
to the presence of family members or other close acquaintances here, or to the fact that Sweden was
deemed to be the country most likely to let them stay, or both. Other complementary motives were that
Sweden is a safe country and a country with good future prospects for the family’s children.
Others underline that they could just as well have ended up elsewhere.
Respondent 23: But really, you can’t choose. You can’t say I want to go here or there. It all
depends on what opportunities you get or which way is the easiest. We never discussed if one
country was better to go to than another. We just wanted to leave the country and get to the
safe shore.
Most of our respondents have used some form of intermediary that have charged for helping them
travel to Sweden, either via smuggling or through visa arrangements. Sometimes the smugglers got the
final say in the choice of destination, sometimes the migrants themselves got to choose.
Of the few that have come to Sweden directly as labour migrants, none cite economic motives and all
refer to menacing or difficult circumstances that forced them to leave Iraq. Labour migration is not seen
as a way to raise the migrant’s living standard, instead other advantages with this way of migrating are
presented: it allows for legal, safe travel into Sweden and the outcome is less unpredictable than when
applying for asylum. The migrants in our sample coming directly from Iraq with a work permit have all
had help from relatives in Sweden with obtaining a job offer.
18
Many respondents are sceptical of Sweden being a country to which Iraqis would travel primarily to
work. The possibility of getting a good job is perceived as smaller in Sweden than in for example Canada
or the United States. A common perception is that Sweden is a good country for children and the old, but
that other countries offer better opportunities for people of working age. Countries where English is
spoken are seen as particularly attractive – mostly because of the language but also because migrants via
television and mass media have a better image of what life in these countries is like.
Respondent 23: If I could have chosen I would have gone to Australia or the US. The situation
there is different. I have relatives there who tell me that the living standard is much better
considering my age, since I’m young. When it comes to Sweden you think about the economic
situation, that here you get help if you don’t work, if you’re sick and if you’re old. But since I’m
young and able to work this doesn’t matter. I can go to other countries.
“You find out through contacts”: on the relevance of different information
channels
What role do different information sources play in the migration process? Our respondents were asked
about how they collected information about getting to Sweden and about the possibility of obtaining a
residence permit here. The most commonly cited source of information was, again, friends and family.
Respondent 24: I knew very little. My relatives told me to come, there is life here, there is safety,
a good life, rights. Then you think that they’ve lived here a long time they know what it’s like in
this country. You trust them because they have experience.
Several of our respondents stress that they knew very little about Sweden before coming here.
Respondent 22: I had no idea what Sweden was like as a country. I had no information either
about Sweden or about Europe. Because you hadn’t thought of going to Europe. But when I got
to Sweden I was surprised. Here was a life you could live. Life here is like a movie: simplicity, joy,
nature and security. It’s nice.
Once in Sweden, relatives and friends continue to be an important source of information, for example in
finding a job or obtaining a work permit. And for migrants coming to Sweden directly with a work permit,
the presence of personal contacts in Sweden appears to be critical:
Respondent 17: The Iraqis who come here directly from Iraq with a work permit are those with
family here. Some close relative with their own business or who knows somebody with a business
that will help a relative with a work permit. Never otherwise.
Only a few references to sources other than the social networks are made. One respondent heard about
labour migration to Sweden on some television show. A couple of others consulted the Internet, but
remark that not everything they read on the Internet turned out to be correct. Only one respondent
refers to the information on work permits available on the Swedish Migration Board’s website.
19
“The only ones who don’t get exploited are those with a permanent residence
permit”: on how prospects for integration are affected by different migration
channels
There are many reasons as to why labour migrants find themselves in a more exposed position on the
labour market than other wage earners. To an extent, this vulnerability is something that will inevitably
characterise an individual’s first period in a new country – a result of not speaking the language, not
being familiar with rules and regulations, and not knowing where to turn for help. The fact that work
permits are temporary, limited to two years at a time, adds to this vulnerability. As employers are in a
position to withdraw or extend work permits, they exert a direct influence on the right of a migrant
worker to live legally in Sweden. As a result, migrants who feel that they for various reasons cannot
return to their home country are particularly susceptible to exploitation. Among our respondents there
are several who feel that they cannot return to Iraq, not feeling safe there. Others have “burned their
bridges” and cannot return because they have sold everything they owned or have incurred large debts.
Another particularly susceptible group are labour migrants working in sectors where there is a labour
surplus. A large portion of the work permit holders from Iraq work in low-skilled jobs where they are
easily replaceable and where finding a new job is likely to be difficult.
Our respondents are overall quite sceptical as to how the system of labour migration is intended to
function. Their perspectives serve to illustrate how difficult it can be to come to Sweden on a work
permit if you lack the specialist or professional competences that are high in demand.
Respondent 10: Iraqis applying for a work permit and coming here, that’s pure fantasy. It’s not
logical. Because even Iraqis already living here, even those with Swedish citizenship can’t get a
job here. And how should Iraqis living in Iraq even know about the possibility of getting a work
permit if those already living here as Swedish citizens can’t get this information? How should
others know?
Several respondents describe situations where they are exploited by their employers and feel they are
treated differently to colleagues with a permanent residence permit. Others insist that they are not
being exploited but that they perceive their situation as insecure.
Respondent 14: We are really worried about the work permit, if we’ll get it extended or what’s
going to happen. And with all the suffering we’ve been through we still don’t feel that we have a
stable life. […] I often pray for this employer that God will give him good income, that everything
will go well for his business so that he can continue offering this position and I can stay working
for him. To us, work is a blessing. It’s important to work and make your own living.
Data from the Swedish Migration Board shows that Iraqi work permit holders to a large extent are hired
by their compatriots (Swedish Migration Board 2012b). Our findings suggest that this may have
implications for their integration prospects, in particular because it might be difficult to learn Swedish in
a work place where Swedish is not the working language.
20
Respondent 19: But it’s hard with the language. I work from seven to five. When should I learn
the language? […] To live and work here you need to speak the language. It’s important. In Iraq
English is enough, at work and everywhere. Here you need to speak Swedish. When we work long
days we have no chance to go to school to learn the language. It’s a problem.
Respondent 23: Of those I know that have a work permit the only one that doesn’t get exploited
is someone who works at Lidl. The ones that get exploited work for immigrants, in restaurants
and bakeries. Instead of hiring three, four people they hire one on a work permit and say you
have to work.
“It’s only now that people are starting to find out about the work permit”: on
increasing knowledge about labour migration
A majority of respondents in our interview study claim they did not know about the possibility to apply
for a work permit before coming to Sweden. Many also assert that the Swedish Migration Board did not
provide them with any information about this possibility when they first came here, or that the
information came very late in the asylum process. Overall, the Swedish Migration Board does not seem
to be the primary source of information on labour migration to Sweden. In those cases where the
Swedish Migration Board has actively provided migrants with this information, it has generally been after
the respondent’s asylum application has been turned down. That information reaches migrants this late
in the process is a problem for those who are not granted asylum, as they only have two weeks to
“change tracks” and apply for a work permit. After two weeks, they are required to leave the country
and can only apply from abroad.
Respondents’ social networks of friends and family in Sweden are important information sources as
migrants try to find out how the labour migration process works. These contacts are also important
when it comes to finding an employer and obtaining a job offer. The hypothetical scenario where a
person in Iraq, unaided, contacts Swedish employers and obtains a job offer from afar is generally
regarded as unrealistic by the respondents.
Respondent 13: It’s a problem that we don’t know the rules about work permits. And we don’t
know who to ask about these rules. If I get a chance to go to university to get an education, for
example, I don’t know if I’m allowed to do that or if I will lose my work permit if I do. Or what will
happen to my family, if they will lose their residence permits if I got to university because their
permits are tied to mine.
Respondent 11: What I found out from my friends and relatives in Sweden was that if you find a
job here you can apply for a work permit and then it’s valid for two years and then two more
years and then after four years you get permanent residency. And when you come here you have
the same rights as everybody else so there’s no difference. When I got this information I started
looking for a job through my friends. We Iraqis, we have many friends and acquaintances and
you can get help from them. And when I found a job I started my application. It took about seven
21
months and then I got the permit and then I came here. There was a person here who helped me
since I wasn’t in the country. I didn’t find out from this person that you could apply on your own
on the Internet but I read about it on the Swedish Migration Board website in English. But it’s not
easy. I think it’s important to have someone in Sweden who can help out.
“They could make things easier with the rules and the requirements”: on labour
migration management and improving processes at the Swedish Migration Board
From a migrant perspective, the process of obtaining a work permit is often seen as costly and
complicated. Some of the regulations are met with complete incomprehension on the part of our
respondents, such as the fact that the application for a work permit nowadays has to be submitted in a
country where the applicant has a valid residence permit. Previously, it was common for former asylum
seekers to go to one of the neighbouring countries, often Norway, to apply for a work permit once their
asylum application was rejected. This possibility has now been removed.
Respondent 6: I heard that to apply for a work permit we have to return to our home country.
But how can we do that, we’ve fled from there? We can’t. When they tell us this they just
completely close that door. Before you might have had some hope, that you could look for a job
and get a work permit. But now that they say you have to return to your home country you
almost lose the motivation to look for a job.
There is a widespread notion among our respondents that many cannot “afford” a work permit. The
reasoning behind this varied, but one reason was that labour migrants sometimes are required by the
employer to cover their own payroll taxes and social security contributions. Others buy themselves a job
offer and only work on paper.
Respondent 15: Whether you pay for smuggling or for a job offer, it’s the same. I’m not saying
everyone, but some people do this. And it’s expensive. I don’t know if everybody pays 10,000 SEK
but normally you pay both tax and social security contributions and give money to the employer
for him to fix this. […] I know nine, ten people who do this. The employer puts money in their
accounts and they take it out and pay it back to the employer.
Some respondents complain about long wait times as their applications are processed and a number also
express frustration over what they perceive as arbitrary and non-transparent treatment of their work
permit applications.
Respondent 23: I don’t know what the law says. If they don’t follow the law it’s better to not
have a law. They apply the law to some people but not to others. I had to wait five and a half
years. Where has the law been all this time?
Respondent in focus group 3: The same person who gave my daughter a job offer gave me an
offer too. It was fifteen days between her application results and mine. Hers was granted and
mine was turned down. Because they didn’t accept that I was in Denmark. And my daughter’s
22
work permit was granted without her having to leave the country. We had two different
administrators.
Finally, there is a great deal of frustration about the difficulty of obtaining a residence permit in Sweden
as self-employed.
Respondent 24: I have asked many lawyers and they all say the same thing; it’s very hard and it’s
like banging your head against a wall. I asked one who said it can’t be done. I asked another and
he said it’s really difficult, it will cost you a lot of money. So I haven’t even tried. I got information
from a friend via e-mail one time. He said I have to have 200,000 SEK as a bank deposit and I
have to own at least fifty per cent of the business. Then you have to have a balance sheet,
accounts and a business plan. It’s too complicated and they say it will take time, maybe eight
months, a year, maybe more. Nobody knows.
23
Summary and conclusions
This report summarises the results from a research overview and a qualitative interview study that
constitute Global Challenge’s contribution to the project “A New Way In”. Two longer, more
comprehensive reports are available in Swedish. The goal of the study was to accumulate knowledge
relevant for the project’s objectives: to increase knowledge about the factors that determine the choice
of migration channels, about different information sources’ impact on this choice, and about how the
prospects for integration are affected by this choice. The project also aims to increase knowledge about
labour migration to Sweden in the target group and suggest improvements to the Swedish Migration
Board’s labour migration processes.
Choosing how to migrate
It is difficult, at least when it comes to the migration from Iraq, to describe the decision of how to
migrate as one founded on a free and active choice. Many of our respondents have not felt that they had
a choice; they had to leave Iraq, and they came to Sweden through whatever means were available to
them at the time. Many recount how the decision to leave Iraq was taken at short notice and under
extreme pressure. A majority did not know of the possibility to apply for a work permit in Sweden at all.
This project has conducted a case study among migrants from Iraq. The results cannot necessarily be
generalised to other migrant groups coming to Sweden. It is probable that the factors influencing the
migration decisions of persons in countries with less violence and insecurity are very different. Our
respondents’ experiences also differ greatly from those of migrants whose academic and professional
qualifications can more easily be validated and put to use in Sweden, and who are therefore more
attractive to Swedish employers.
The significance of information channels
Our interviews confirm the importance of migrants’ social networks as a source of information. With few
exceptions our respondents attest to having asked family members, friends and acquaintances for advice
prior to migrating. We have, however, also found indications that professional intermediaries are a
common source of information. Our respondents have accepted advice from smugglers on the way to
Sweden, and having arrived, have consulted different types of “lawyers” who play an important role in
transmitting information.
For asylum seekers the information they receive from Swedish Migration Board officials is likely to be of
decisive importance. The results of our interview study serve as a reminder that information transmitted
at the beginning of an asylum process spreads through the asylum seeker’s personal network, in Sweden
as well as the migrant-sending country.
Most of our respondents did not know about the possibility of coming to Sweden via labour migration
before leaving Iraq. That individual migrants lack knowledge about the rules pertaining to labour
migration is perhaps unsurprising given how recently the new legislation came into effect. We can in
most cases assume that professional intermediaries charging for their services during the migration
24
process are better informed about the legal frameworks than the migrants themselves. This does not,
however, make them reliable sources of information for prospective migrants – it may not always be in
the intermediaries’ own interest to convey correct information. It is further likely that the apparent lack
of knowledge about labour migration reflects a shortage of information about how the new rules apply
“in practice”, yet another result of the relative newness of the legislation.
The integration impact
Our findings confirm that integration in Sweden can be impeded by the insecurity and vulnerability that
characterises a labour migrant’s first period in Sweden. This vulnerability stems from various different
sources, and it is important to consider the context and individual circumstances that a labour migrant
encounters after coming here. For migrants who for various reasons cannot or will not return to the
home country, the fact that permanent residency is only obtained after four years on work permits can
have strong implications for their status on the labour market. The dependency on the employer is high,
and several of our respondents describe how they have felt compelled to accept terms and wages they
would never have agreed to unless continued employment had not been the only thing standing
between them and permanent residency. This vulnerability particularly applies to migrants working in
occupations with a labour surplus, as this makes changing employers more difficult.
A conclusion from both the research overview and the interview findings is that the duration of the
residence permit affects the labour migrant’s prospects for integration on the Swedish labour market
and in society at large.
We have spoken to fifteen Iraqi citizens living in Sweden with work permits. Several of them are highly
educated, in Iraq they worked as doctors, teachers, engineers. In Sweden none of them have qualified
jobs. They work as cleaners, on construction sites, in restaurants or in auto repair shops. Their
experiences of labour migration are likely to be very different to those of labour migrants working in
sectors requiring a higher level of qualification.
During the first three years of the new legislation, nearly 43,000 work permits were issued in Sweden1. In
2011, about a third of these permits pertained to “jobs requiring specialised theoretical competences”.
This applies to permits issued to persons working in Sweden as for example doctors, engineers or IT-
professionals. Their status on the labour market and prospects for integration are of an entirely different
nature than those described by our Iraqi respondents. Labour migrants recruited abroad for their unique
competences or expertise normally have many options apart from working in Sweden, which is
something their employers must take into consideration. This affects the salaries and terms that they
can negotiate for.
Increasing knowledge about labour migration
The single most important information channel for a person considering migration is the migrants’
network of family and friends in Sweden. This is consequently a group that should be targeted for
information efforts about the labour migration scheme. One respondent reports that information about
1 14,491 permits were issued in 2009, 13,612 in 2010 and 14,722 in 2011. (Swedish Migration Board 2012a)
25
the possibility to apply for a work permit in Sweden reached him through a television programme. That
TV-channels broadcasting programs targeted at Iraqis in exile can be an important source of information
was a finding reiterated by representatives at a meeting held with Iraqi diaspora organisations on
September 26th 2012. Printed media, conversely, appear to be of no particular relevance for information
diffusion within this particular group.
Suggested improvements to the Swedish Migration Board’s processes
A conclusion from our respondents’ stories is that information about the possibility of “changing tracks”
from seeking asylum to applying for a work permit is transmitted late in the migration process. In order
to facilitate for a migrant whose asylum application is denied to obtain a work permit, the rules
regarding a status change should be laid out and explained as early on in the asylum process as possible.
The respondents particularly stress a need for information about the rules that apply when a person on a
work permit wants to change jobs, have several jobs at the same time or combine work with studies. Our
respondents also report finding it very difficult to find good information about the requirements that
apply when migrating to Sweden as self-employed. Many expressed frustration about having to return to
the Middle East to apply for a work permit when their asylum application was turned down.
Our material reveals that for certain, the work permit comes at a high cost. Migrants who have had to
incur debt in order to cover these costs become even more vulnerable vis-à-vis the employer. Many of
today’s labour migrants would in all probability be able to find a job that would qualify them for a work
permit without paying expensive intermediaries if they were able to spend some time in Sweden looking
for employment. The introduction of some form of job search permit could likely improve working
conditions for many labour migrants in Sweden today.
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