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Sweden may soon change its rules for residence permit applications for international students and researchers from visa-free countries in an attempt to avoid the latter’s long-distance travel.
With the new rules approved in the country since the beginning of November last year, international students and researchers applying for residence permits in Sweden must appear at a Swedish embassy or general consulate to show their passports for identity verification, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The passport requirement was imposed to have a correct process with applications for work and residence permits in Sweden after the Swedish Migration Agency received criticism about the control of documents by Sweden’s National Audit Office.
This situation is considered troublesome by higher education institutions in the country and the Swedish Minister of Education Mats Persson, who said such rules might have “disproportionate consequences.”
As The Local reports, he pointed out that researchers from the West Coast in the United States are obliged to go to Washington DC just to confirm their identity by physically showing their original passport, which will harm Sweden.
After concerns expressed by the education sector in Sweden, the Migration Agency has been ordered to develop proposals that would help solve the issue. In the 2021/22 academic year, Swedish universities welcomed 28,197 exchange students and 11,644 freemovers – international students studying abroad without participating in any exchange programs.
Authorities are also planning to simplify the work permit process for nationals from visa-free countries who apply for work permits in Sweden and allow the country to attract more highly skilled workers.
The Minister of Migration, Maria Malmer Stenergard, said a way to simplify the process of applying for residency and work permits abroad would be mobile teams that would visit several visa-free countries where the largest universities are located, so applicants can have their passports checked. She highlighted that many people who apply to reside and work in Sweden come from large countries such as the US.
“The government does not want Sweden to lose competitiveness. We are therefore taking the necessary measures to make it easier for people who are visa-exempt to present their original passport in person,” Minister Stenergard explained.
Last month alone, Sweden issued 7,862 residence permitsan 80 per cent increase from November 2022, when 6,290 permits were issued. Authorities said that the highest number of residence permits (2,720 permits) were issued for work purposes, some others for family reunification (1,858), asylum (1,630), and study purposes (915).
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