EU's Pact on Migration and Asylum
EU’s new Pact on Migration and Asylum reforms the asylum-seeking process in both Sweden and in the EU. Read more about the pact and how it will be implemented in Sweden here.
What is EU’s Pact on Migration and Asylum?
The Pact on Migration and Asylum is a collective term for a number of legal acts that together will regulate how asylum and migration is to be handled within and between EU Member States.
The new rules enter into force on June 12th 2026 and will mean major changes for the Swedish asylum and migration system.
Among other things, the rules will lead to an increased focus on border control and returns. A new fast track will be introduced for many asylum seekers, and asylum seekers’ freedom of movement will be restricted. Within the EU, a new system will be introduced to distribute responsibility for asylum seekers among member states, with different requirements to support countries under ‘high migration pressure’.
Directly Binding
Large parts of the EU’s pact on migration and asylum consist of regulations. This means that the rules are directly binding and apply in Sweden under EU law. However, each member state still has to make its own assessment of what national changes are needed to ensure compliance with the new legal acts.
Sweden’s Implementation
In Sweden, work on implementing the pact has been carried out through a number of government inquiries. Simultaneously, several proposals for further changes to Swedish migration law have been put forward.
Among the inquiries that deal wholly or partly with Sweden’s implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum are:
**Please note that the sources mentioned below are in Swedish
- The Pact on Migration and Asylum (Migrations- och asylpakten, DS 2025:30)
- The Reception Act (Mottagandelagen, SOU 2024:68)
- The Detention Inquiry (Förvarsutredningen, SOU 2025:16)
- The Minimum Standards Inquiry (Miniminivåutredningen, SOU 2025:31)
The Swedish Refugee Law Center has submitted comments on all inquiries. We are deeply concerned about how Sweden’s implementation of the pact will affect legal certainty in the asylum process and the protection of asylum seekers’ rights.
A New Asylum and Migration System is Taking Shape
Negotiations Within the EU
Around 2015, an unexpectedly large number of people sought asylum in Europe and many EU member states expressed the view that the cooperation regarding migration was unsatisfactory. Hence, in 2016, a proposal was put forward for a revised European asylum system, the so called CEAS (Common European Asylum System). However, the disagreements between countries remained and the proposal did not receive enough support to be passed.
The key issues included the design of a new system for the redistribution of asylum seekers between member States, relations with countries outside the EU and the protection of children’s rights.
After many years of negotiations, on 14 May 2024, the Council of the European Union, adopted ten legislative acts reforming the EU’s common asylum and migration system.
Revisions of Swedish Migration Legislation
Temporary Law Turned Permanent
While negotiations were ongoing on EU level, several member states implemented major changes to their national legislation.
In Sweden, on the 24 November 2015, the government announced at a press conference that Sweden would implement significant restrictions in the Aliens Act and place itself on an ‘EU minimum level’.
Six months later, the so-called ‘temporary law’ came into force. Short-term, temporary residence permits replaced permanent permits. The right to family reunification was severely restricted, and it became more difficult for vulnerable groups to obtain residence permits on humanitarian grounds.
The law was extended on several occasions, with some amendments, and became largely permanent in 2021.
The Swedish Refugee Law Center’s analysis of the temporary law can be found here (in Swedish).
The Tidö Agreement: Further national reforms and stricter rules
In 2022, the Tidö Agreement was concluded between the government and the Sweden Democrats. The agreement initiated several migration policy proposals and stipulates that Sweden shall in no respect ‘be more generous in its view of asylum than what follows from obligations under EU law or other legally binding international treaties’.
Several of the restrictive proposals in the Tidö Agreement have been implemented or initiated. The proposals that have not yet been implemented have, in combination with the harsh rhetoric, created great uncertainty among asylum seekers and led to already vulnerable people being driven further away from society.
The Swedish Refugee Law Center’s analysis of the Tidö Agreement can be found here (in Swedish)
Parallel Changes Creates Challenges
At the same time, as significant changes to the EU’s asylum and migration system are to be implemented in Sweden, several national reforms have entered into force or are in the process of being implemented.
The Swedish Refugee Law Center sees risks that this parallel implementation can create a complex and confusing system for both asylum seekers and relevant authorities.
Risks Associated with the EU's Pact on Migration and Asylum
Compatibility of the Pact on Migration and Asylum with International Conventions
The Swedish Refugee Law Center are very concerned with the risks posed by the system established by the Migration and Asylum Pact. We are particularly concerned about the introduction of:
- screening and border procedures,
- the introduction of fast tracks with limited protection mechanisms for identifying vulnerable groups,
- the introduction of certain restrictions on the right to remain in Sweden during the appeal process,
- the introduction of a “legal fiction of non-entry”,
- proposals for expanded possibilities for restricting movement and deprivation of liberty, including for children.
We see a serious risk of unlawful deprivation of liberty and that particularly vulnerable groups are not identified or considered to a sufficient extent in the proposed fast-track and standardised procedures.
The proposals represent a significant restriction of asylum seekers’ procedural rights and entail a real risk of human rights violations.
A Rushed Implementation
Swedish migration laws have been subject to extensive changes for many years. With regards to this, it is particularly important that new laws are analysed and carefully reviewed before they are voted through, so as not to jeopardise the legal certainty of the system.
Like many other consultative bodies, the Swedish Refugee Law Center is critical of how the process of implementing the Pact on Migration and Asylum has been carried out. The main inquiry (DS 2025:30) was sent out for consultation with a very short response time and approximately six months before the rules are intended to come into force.
The short consultation period has meant that several authorities responsible for implementing the legislation have not had the opportunity to comment on or analyse the proposals sufficiently. Furthermore, the report does not answer several important questions about how the system is intended to work.
The Swedish Refugee Law Center questions whether the preparatory work meets the basic requirements for adequacy and quality, particularly given that the legislation concerns the protection of core human rights. We are concerned that that Sweden may violate its international commitments if the inquiry’s proposals enter into force without some necessary changes.
Continued Negotiations Ahead
The Pact on Migration and Asylum was intended to be voted through as a whole, but this did not happen. Regarding the proposal for a new Return Regulation, negotiations are still ongoing at EU level. As many Member States are focusing heavily on return, the regulation could have a significant impact on how the system ultimately works.
The proposals include (subject to change):
- The possibility of criminal penalties for persons who do not cooperate with a decision to return.
- The introduction of ‘return hubs’ that enable Member States to deport people to countries other than their home country. These may be third countries with which the Member State has an agreement or arrangement.
- Proposals that countries should be obliged to recognise deportation decisions made by other EU countries.
There are indications that many EU Member States are interested in expanding their cooperation with countries outside Europe in order to relocate parts of their asylum process to external countries.
The Swedish Refugee Law Center assesses that such a development entails major risks of violations of individuals’ right to a fair trial and of the principle of non-refoulement (the right not to be deported to a country where the individual risks being subjected to torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment).
The Key Regulations
Read more about the 10 legal acts in the EU’s pact on Migration and Asylum here:
The Qualification Regulation replaces the Qualification Directive and incorporates the Geneva Convention into EU law.
The Screening Regulation introduces a new procedure for registering and identifying migrants and asylum seekers at the EU’s border.
The Asylum Procedure Regulation contains rules on how the asylum process should be conducted.
The Asylum and Migration Management Regulation replaces the current Dublin Regulation.
The Reception Conditions Directive regulates minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers.
The Union Resettlement Framework creates a common framework for the resettlement of refugees and entry on humanitarian grounds.
The Return Border Procedure Regulation establishes a special return procedure for persons who are in a border procedure.
The Crisis and Force Majeure Regulation introduces special rules for the handling of asylum seekers in crisis situations.
The Eurodac Regulation contains updated rules for the database that collects information on asylum seekers.
Amendment of Regulations (EU) 2019-816 and (EU) 2019-818 in order to introduce screening for third-country nationals at external borders.
The Swedish Refugee Law Centre are Monitoring the Developments
Between the years of 2025-2027 the Swedish Refugee Law Centre are implementing the project ”From Pact to Reality: a learning initiative about EU’s new System of Asylum”. The project is co-financed by EU’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF).
