Sweden is set to pay Kenyans and other migrants Ksh 4.3 million to go back home following an influx of migrants into their country.
The announcement comes at a time when the Scandinavian country is struggling to accommodate more immigrants due to the huge number of immigrants witnessed in previous years.
In a bid to reduce the strain on the country, the current government proposes paying the amount to migrants, including Kenyans, Ksh 4.3 million (about USD 30,000) as an incentive to return to their home countries.
This plan is part of a broader attempt to lower the number of migrants, particularly those unemployed or involved in activities that threaten Swedish values.
About Swedish grant to Kenyans
“We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in our migration policy,” Migration Minister Johan Forssell told reporters, as the government presented its latest move to crack down on migration.
The amount proposed would only be awarded to those immigrants who voluntarily return to their home countries as of 2026 as suggested by an anti-immigration Sweden government official while addressing a press conference.
Currently, Kenyans and other immigrants can receive up to Ksh 126,204 per adult and Ksh 62,600 per child, with a cap of Ksh 504, 816.
A Swedish politician belonging to the democratic party revealed that the issuing of grants to immigrants by the Swedish government has been there for a long time but very few people have knowledge about it.
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Sweden grant appeal
He added that if more people were aware of the grant and its size was increased more people would likely take the money and leave.
He further said the incentive would most likely appeal to those migrants including Kenyans who have resided in the country for a long time without employment or are in the cadre of those migrants earning a low income.
“That’s the group we think would be interested,” the democrat politician said.
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Sweden’s plan to repatriate immigrants began in 2015 when there was a migration crisis with the then government announcing that it was no longer able to continue its open-door policies.
During that year, 160,000 people sought asylum in the Scandinavian country which was the highest per capita in the European Union (EU).
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