Sweden has ended several strict migration policies that have led to the deportation of foreign-born healthcare workers, putting pressure on the country’s healthcare capacity.
Following media reports on the impact of migration policies, the Swedish government announced changes to control the outflow of skilled workers as a result. The salary requirement for a work permit is being reduced for specific healthcare and nursing roles.
Another measure affects asylum seekers who have become labor migrants (the legal route known as “route change”), they will no longer need to return to their countries of origin to request an extension of their work permits.
“This has had disproportionate consequences, particularly within the health care sector,” said Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch.
Uncertain future
Pending the publication of the new regulations, the Migration Agency is suspending any new deportation decisions. As the agency’s head of press, Jesper Tengroth, told Euractiv, however, this means that migrants with deportation orders will have to leave the country.
As Johan Kaarme, pediatrician and head of the health and social care department at the Swedish Association of Local and Regional Authorities (SKR), told Euractiv, “there are still many unknown factors in the new package of changes.”
Sweden has long faced a shortage of specialist doctors and nurses, who have returned for help abroad. “Over the past ten years, Sweden has benefited from a valuable influx of around 4,000 foreign doctors, 2,000 nurses and 33,000 nursing assistants,” said Kaarme.
today, 37 percent of specialist doctors working in Sweden (7800) were born in other countries. Although generally considered an attractive destination for foreign health workers, Sweden’s stricter migration policies have hit the country hard.
“I now know many international doctors who have been expelled from Sweden after a change of track,” Mario González Estrada, President of Sweden’s International Medical Association (IFL), told Euractiv. IFL represents a network of more than 2000 international doctors in Sweden.
“For example, the vice president of the ILF. He was doing specialist training in family medicine and had been in Sweden for three years when he was deported to Iran and was not allowed to return.”
There are no exact figures on how many doctors, nurses, midwives and nurse’s aides are out of business in 2025.
But from April 1, when “track changers” were forced to apply for new work permits from their countries of origin, and until December 1, 2025, about 650 eviction orders were issuedmany of which involved people working in health care. Ultimately, two thirds did not get a new work permit in Sweden.
The current salary requirement for obtaining a work permit in Sweden is €2,770 per month, but it will increase to €2,850 per month on June 1.
Health care and nursing professions are expected to be among the exceptions for in-demand jobs in Sweden, which will have a lower salary requirement, according to Ebba Busch.
“We are pleased that the salary requirement will be reduced, as many foreign-born nursing assistants, as well as doctors and nurse auscultators, would not be able to reach the higher salary level. However, we would like to know exactly which groups will be included and what the new salary level will be,” said Kaarme.
González Estrada also welcomed the pause, but noted that it is far from a solution.
He says Sweden’s stricter migration policy has made the country less attractive. “Unfortunately, for many international doctors, the migration process is perceived as a barrier rather than a gateway to the Swedish healthcare system.”
Kaarme is also concerned about the unrest, fearing it will prevent more healthcare workers from seeking work in Sweden.
Separated families
So-called ‘deportations of teenagers’ have also affected healthcare workers, as families are separated when children turn 18, when, under Swedish family law, the children’s right to stay in Sweden is reassessed.
Davood Javid, a consultant and specialist in internal medicine and cardiology at NU Healthcare in Trollhättan, without his grandchildren, two sisters who have lived in Sweden for more than seven years and were studying to become nurses, were deported to Iran in October.
As he pointed out, Sweden is risking “a slow exhaustion of expertise”.
“There is a perception that specialists will come here anyway, as Sweden offers a high standard of medical care and a good working environment. But in reality, the competition is much stronger. Countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Canada are often seen as clear and predictable for families who settle there for a long time. When the uncertainty in Sweden is perceived as some other even greater factors in our work. favor,” he wrote in a part of the opinion.
Shifting the burden
Sineva Ribeiro, President of the Swedish Association of Health Professionals, also has concerns about Swedish evictions of health care staff, saying they place a heavier burden on other health workers.
“I’m glad that the government is finally responding to our demands, but I find it difficult to comment on what will actually be the result of these promised changes,” she told Euractiv.
Meanwhile, stricter migration rules could still be introduced if the current ruling parties win the general election.
A government inquiry has proposed legislation that would convert permanent residence visas already approved for certain groups into temporary ones, a move it says encourages immigrants to seek Swedish citizenship. However, the proposal has been rejected by the vast majority of bodies consulted and is now said to be investigated further.
According to the Swedish Migration Agency, such a regulation would affect around 185,000 immigrants in Sweden.
(VA, BM)
