Sweden: Update to Response to Information Request SWE19826.E of 28 February 1995 on the difference between a "social refugee" and a "permanent resident"
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 March 1995 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SWE20312.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Sweden: Update to Response to Information Request SWE19826.E of 28 February 1995 on the difference between a "social refugee" and a "permanent resident", 1 March 1995, SWE20312.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac5410.html [accessed 3 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The attached letter faxed to the DIRB on 20 March 1995 by the Embassy of Sweden in Ottawa states that the term "social refugee" could refer to a refugee on "humanitarian grounds" and that under provisions of the Aliens Ordinance dating from 1980, "permanent resident status (PUT) was granted those persons deemed to reside in Sweden on humanitarian grounds." The letter refers also to a Swedish booklet entitled Immigrant and Refugee Policy that states "a person can obtain a residence permit (but not asylum) on humanitarian grounds, e.g. if a state of war prevails in his home country" (1994, 7).
For further information on the status of refugees on "humanitarian grounds", please consult the attached extract from the presentation entitled Swedish Refugee Law in a Period of Transition by Maja Kirilova Eriksson, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law at Upsala University. For information on current regulations regarding residence permits, please refer to the attached copy of the 1989 Aliens Ordinance.
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this information request.
References
Embassy of Sweden, Ottawa. 20 March 1995. Letter faxed to the DIRB.
Sweden. 1994. Immigrant and Refugee Policy. Stockholm: The Swedish Ministry of Culture.
Attachments
Embassy of Sweden, Ottawa. 20 March 1995. Letter faxed to the DIRB.
Eriksson, Maja Kirilova. 31 July-6 August 1994. Swedish Refugee Law in a Period of Transition. Excerpt from a presentation at the 14th International Congress of Comparative Law, 31 July-6 August, Athens. N.P.
Sweden. Aliens Ordinance. 8 June 1989. This ordinance includes amendments up to and including 19 January 1993. (UNHCR/ REFLEG)
Sweden. 1994. Immigrant and Refugee Policy. Stockholm: The Swedish Ministry of Culture, p. 7.
