Sweden in Focus

In this week’s episode The Local's Nordic editor Richard Orange interviews the Gothenburg-based immigration lawyer Tomas Fridh. 

Many of The Local’s readers have been directly affected by a law that has led to the young adult children of permanent residency applicants being forced to leave Sweden unless they’re able to fully provide for themselves.

When the government recently proposed new family reunification rules they indicated that this would effectively put an end to teen deportations.

While he believes the problem is easy to solve, Tomas Fridh fears that the new proposals will actually make the situation worse.

• Why Sweden's family reunion proposals will cause more teen deportations

Listen to the interview to find out more about why he’s sceptical of the government’s new plan and to hear what he thinks more broadly about Sweden's increasingly strict immigration policies as someone who’s dealing with their consequences on a daily basis.

READ ALSO:

• Sweden proposes tighter rules on self-sufficiency for family reunification
• 'We are devastated': Volvo engineer’s family forced out of Sweden by teen deportation law
• EXPLAINED: How to avoid Sweden's teen deportation trap

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

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In this week's episode we talk about whether immigrants will soon have to sign a contract promising to follow Swedish norms, and what's in the Swedish right's radical new plan for the next four years if it wins the 2026 election?

We also examine reactions to a bumper budget and its impact on voters.

For Membership+ subscribers we have updates on the issue of the Migration Agency not accepting some passports as a valid form of ID.

Finally, we look at what readers of The Local have been telling us about things that make life in Sweden convenient.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Moderates call for 'Sweden contract' for newly-arrived immigrants
• Ten things our version of a 'Sweden contract' would have to include

• How Sweden’s 2026 budget could affect your finances
• Can Swedish government's budget splurge win it the 2026 election?
• Swedish ruling parties mull stripping non-citizens of local vote

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In this clip from Sweden in Focus Extra, The Local's Nordic editor Richard Orange chats with Moa Bursell, a sociologist from Mälardalen University who specialises in ethnic discrimination on the labour market.

Richard caught up with the researcher recently for an article about why some immigrants change their names to sound more Swedish. 

• The immigrants who make their names more Swedish by adding -sson

They also talk about how big a role ethnicity plays in the chances of getting called for a job interview, and whether Sweden is getting more or less open to people with foreign names.

READ ALSO:

• ARCHIVE: Swedish study confirms foreign name CV bias
• 'Reassess your cultural background': Key tips for foreign job hunters in Sweden

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

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In this week's episode we talk about anti-immigrant attacks in Stockholm and why a government minister won’t answer questions in parliament on how much he knew about his son’s involvement, until recently, with an extremist group alleged to be behind the attacks.

We’ll also discuss the Swedish language and how the words we use every day gradually creep into how we speak English.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists James Savage and Richard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Swedish migration minister called to testify to parliament about relative's white supremacism links

• Eight Swedish words I now use in English

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In this clip from Sweden in Focus Extra, The Local's Richard Orange talks to Masoud Jamshidian, a solutions architect from Iran who is facing deportation from Sweden as a result of an insurance error made by his employer.

• 'Like prison for stealing a bag of chips': IT architect faces deportation from Sweden

Deportations of this kind are often referred to in the Swedish media as kompetensutvisningar, or talent deportations. They used to be relatively commonplace but a 2017 court case was supposed to have brought an end to him.

In the interview Masoud Jamshidian, also known as Farnham, tells us about the details of his case, why he and his lawyers think it qualifies as this kind of talent deportation, and how the court ruling has upended the life he has built for himself in Sweden.

READ ALSO:

• Swedish word of the day: kompetensutvisning

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

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In this week's episode we talk about Sweden’s expansive new budget and how it’s likely to affect our pockets – and next year’s election.

We'll also help hone your Swedish language skills as we explain the subtle but all-important differences between different words for the English ‘put’.

For Membership+ subscribers we look at the fallout after Sweden’s civil defence minister was pursued in the street by angry pro-Palestinian protestors.

And we examine how Sweden is planning to make it harder for the family members of immigrants to move here. 

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Sweden's government to cut taxes on work and pensions
• How much will you save in Sweden's bumper 2026 budget?

• Lägga, sätta, ställa: the different Swedish words for ‘put’

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

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In this clip from Sweden in Focus Extra, The Local's Richard Orange catches up with Douglas Thor, the head of the Moderate party’s youth wing, to talk about his ideas for combating teen deportations.

As we’ve reported quite a bit recently, Sweden is routinely deporting the young adult children of permanent residency applicants if they can’t support themselves financially, and Douglas Thor has been vocal in his criticism of how the country is essentially forcing away families who he believes have a lot to contribute to society.

He also has a lot to say about the salary threshold for work permits, how he thinks his own party has gone way too far in bending to the will of the far-right Sweden Democrats, and much more besides.

Membership+ subscribers can listen to the interview in the latest episode of Sweden in Focus Extra.

READ ALSO:

• 'A bug in the system is seeing hard-working people deported from Sweden'
• EXPLAINED: How to avoid Sweden's teen deportation trap
• 'Sweden is less appealing': How teen deportations deter foreign talent

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In this week's episode, panelists Becky Waterton and Richard Orange tell us how they've recently embellished their Swedish credentials through woodland activities and crayfish parties. 

In news, we look at how the government is planning to combat high food prices as well as what property prices and the value of the krona are telling us about the state of Sweden’s economy.

We also dive into the new Swedish cultural canon that was presented this week and we hear what people are saying about a list spanning everything from Ikea to Pippi Longstocking.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• How much money will Sweden's halving of food VAT save an average family?
• Swedish apartment prices nearing three-year high
• Swedish krona reaches strongest level in more than three years

• Pippi, Ikea and the Nobel prize: Sweden gets its first cultural canon
• FULL LIST: Everything that's in Sweden's new cultural canon

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In this clip from Sweden in Focus Extra, host Paul O'Mahony chats with Iain Forbes, a medical professional from the UK who moved to Falun shortly after the 2016 Brexit vote.

In the interview Forbes speaks in glowing terms about the integration package offered to him by the Dalarna Region, which included six months of fully paid language instruction as well as assistance with relocation and housing. 

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

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In this week's episode we talk about the government’s plans for citizenship tests and why universities want nothing to do with creating them. And when does autumn start in Sweden? Have we given up on summer already?

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton and James Savage. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Stockholm University protests Swedish citizenship test role

• Inside Sweden: When does summer in Sweden actually end?

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

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