1. The Swedish Protection System in a European Context
International EMN Conference
CEAS, a judicial reality or actual practice?
The Hague, 24 April 2013
Bernd Parusel
Swedish Migration Board
National EMN contact point

2. Harmonised and non-harmonised protection statuses in Sweden (1)
The granting of protection in Sweden is fully harmonised in accordance with the EU “Qualification Directive”, but there are also complementary national bases for protection
The granting of refugee status in accordance with the Geneva Convention and the granting of subsidiary protection are harmonised forms of protection in Sweden
As a complement to the granting of subsidiary protection in accordance with the “Qualification Directive”, there are also national forms of subsidiary/humanitarian protection covering grounds of other severe conflicts and environmental disasters
In 2012, 95.5 % of all residence permits granted for subsidiary protection were granted on grounds covered by the Qualification Directive. 4.5 % were granted on the basis of complementary national provisions

3. Harmonised and non-harmonised protection statuses in Sweden (2)
In exceptional cases, a residence permit can also be granted on grounds of exceptionally distressing circumstances (non-harmonised)
Resettlement, which can be seen as a complement to the asylum system, is undertaken on the basis of national practice, in cooperation with the UNHCR

4. Harmonised and non-harmonised protection statuses in Sweden (3)
European National
(Harmonised) (Non-harmonised)
Refugee protection
(Geneva Convention)
Subsidiary protection
Exceptionally
distressing
circumstances
Resettlement

5. Overview: Positive decisions in Sweden
Table 1: Positive decisions on asylum applications and resettlement, % for different grounds for protection
Geneva Con-vention
Subsidiary protection
Exceptionally distressing circumstances
Resettle-ment and other grounds
Total
% positive decisions of all decisions
Main countries of origin
2006
3.8 %
14.9 %
14.6 %
66.7 %
100 %
42.1 %
Iraq, Serbia Montenegro, Russia
2009
16.2 %
54.7 %
8.9 %
20.2 %
27.3 %
Somalia, Iraq, Kosovo
2011
22.6 %
48.3 %
10.6 %
18.5 %
29.9 %
Afghanistan, Somalia, Serbia
2012
26.5 %
52.2 %
7.6 %
13.6 %
34.4 %
Somalia, Syria, Afghanistan
Source: Swedish Migration Board
Note: In 2006, many positive decisions were granted on the basis of a temporary law which equaled to a regularization. Numbers for 2006 are therefore not fully comparable.

6. Towards an approximation of asylum decision-making in the EU? (1)
Table 2: % of Geneva convention status among all positive decisions taken in EU Member States (all countries of origin)
Min. EU
Max. EU
2008
0.0 %
98.3 %
2011
4.3 %
93.3 %
2012
2.4 %
87.5 %
Sweden
21.6 %
26.5%
30.2%
Source: Eurostat - First instance decisions, annual aggregated data (rounded), update
Note: Only EU Member States with more than 100 decisions were considered for this Table.
(Shares for Sweden according to Eurostat are higher than according to national statistics of the Swedish Migration Board since, among other reasons, resettlement is not included in the total number of positive decisions at Eurostat.)
Only looked at EU MS with higher numbers of decisions than 100.

7. Towards an approximation of asylum decision-making in the EU? (2)
Table 3: % of Geneva Convention status among all positive decisions taken in EU Member States in relation to applicants from Afghanistan
Min. EU
Max. EU
2008
3.0 %
92.3 %
2011
3.7 %
54.1 %
2012
11.8 %
58.6 %
Sweden
12.5 %
14.7 %
30.6 %
Only looked at EU MS with higher numbers of decisions than 100.
Source: Eurostat - First instance decisions, annual aggregated data (rounded), update
Note: Only EU Member States with more than 100 decisions were considered for this Table

8. On the other hand: Differing trends in EU Member States 2011 - 2012
New asylum applications in 2012, compared to 2011
Increase in 10 Member States, including Sweden
Stable levels (+/- 5% or less) in 3 Member States
Decrease in 6 Member States
Virtually no new asylum applicants or very small numbers (less or much less than per year) in 7 Member States
More than new asylum applicants per year in at least 5 Member States (Germany: , France: , Sweden: in 2012)
Source: Eurostat, New asylum applicants, annual data (rounded), update
Please note that there were no or incomplete Eurostat data for 6 Member States (IT, LT, HU, NL, AT, PT) at the time of making this analysis

9. Current situation
New asylum applications in Sweden and selected EU Member States January February 2013, monthly data
Source: Eurostat, New asylum applicants, Monthly data (rounded), update , complementary national statistics for Germany and Finland.

10. Thank you for your attention!
Bernd Parusel
Swedish Migration Board
National EMN contact point