The Swedish parliament passed a law on Monday that has the power to rescind immigrants’ residency permits based on their behavior.
The country’s parliamentarians passed the “good behavior” law, which covers pending and current Swedish residents. The law targets immigrants who are affiliated with extremist groups, have unpaid debts, or are doing undeclared work.
“Anyone who doesn’t make the effort to do the right thing shouldn’t be able to count on staying,” Johan Forssell, Sweden’s minister for migration, said when he proposed the “good behavior” bill in March.
The law comes before the parliamentary election in September and is part of the Right-wing government’s crackdown on crime and high levels of immigration, issues that won the Right-wing party the 2022 election.
Human rights advocacy groups criticized the law, calling it arbitrary because residency permits can be revoked for non-criminal behavior.
“The good behavior law leaves people in uncertainty about what actions or expressions can be used against them,” said the Civil Rights Defenders, a Stockholm-based group.
Under the new law, the residency permits are reviewed by the Migration Agency, and their decisions can be appealed by the migration court.
The “good behavior” law raises controversy alongside the country’s “snitch law,” which was also passed on Monday. The so-called snitch law requires that workers of certain government agencies report any illegal immigrants they encounter to the police.
In recent years, Sweden has greatly tightened its immigration policy, shifting from being very welcoming of foreigners, including Afghans and Syrians, to now only accepting highly skilled workers. In 2016, an all-time high of over 160,000 immigrants entered Sweden, and the number was projected to stay at 100,000 immigrants entering the country annually. As of spring 2026, Sweden’s population is around 10.7 million people and the number of foreign-born inhabitants is 20% of the population.
The country’s crackdown on immigration stands in stark contrast to most of its European neighbors, which have opened their borders to millions of refugees and asylum seekers in recent years. The immigration debate has come to a boiling point in Britain and Ireland after crimes committed by migrants have gained worldwide attention.
Sweden is also facing a massive increase in violent crime. According to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, there were reportedly 769 rapes in 1975 and 10,167 rapes in 2024, which is an increase of 1,222%. In recent years, there have been rising numbers of shootings, bombings, and gang violence in Sweden’s suburbs, which have negatively affected the country’s peaceful reputation.
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