Sweden

The twinning project  "Support to the National Asylum System in the Republic of Serbia“ is funded by the European Union and implemented by the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration and Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia in partnership with the Swedish Migration Agency, Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Netherlands and Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Slovenia.

The Swedish government finances a national price comparison on line service “Money from Sweden” (www.moneyfromsweden.se) with a view to increase transparency and lower the transfer costs for remittances sent from Sweden. The online service is totally independent of all market players and is run by the Swedish Consumer Agency. Money from Sweden is certified by the World Bank to meet the mandatory requirements of a national price database for remittance services.

Diversity Barometer is an attitude survey first presented at Uppsala University in 2005. Data collection has been carried out annually since then. The purpose of this project is to study the attitudes that exist and are developing towards ethnic diversity in the Swedish population from a longitudinal perspective.  Both interviews and surveys have been used to collect data. Even though this project highlights in what ways social positions affect the attitudes in question, the focus is mainly on the consequences of these attitudes for social interaction within Swedish society.

The Swedish Minister for migration has created the "Swedish migration network" meeting that take places on regular basis in an informal setting. The meeting is chaired by the Minister for migration. He invites colleagues working on migration issues from civil society, government agencies, trade unions, employer organizations, faith based organizations, diaspora organizations, the Red Cross and think tanks to put forward criticisms, experience sharing and suggestions from different points of views.

In Sweden, a three-year programme to promote entrepreneurship among people with a foreign background was initiated in 2008 by the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications and implemented by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional growth (NUTEK). It includes specific measures to increase banks’ awareness of the needs of migrant business owners in order to facilitate the extension of loans to those clients.

The EU Immigration Portal serves as a first point of entry to reliable, practical and up-to-date information on immigration issues. It provides useful basic information written in user-friendly language and gives rapid and direct access to relevant external websites for further information. In concrete terms, the portal helps potential migrants to:

- Better understand the EU admission rules and procedures;

- Identify job and study opportunities;

- Find information on the rights of non-EU citizens who are in the EU;

This language training programme improves the possibilities of migrants to enter the labour market and to work in profession that fit their educational background.  In many parts of Sweden, language courses, or so called SFX educations – “Swedish for professionals” are organised at municipality level aiming at migrants with different professional backgrounds. The teaching of the Swedish language focuses on the development of the professional language.

This practice comprises initiatives with the aim of integrating individuals with foreign degrees into the Swedish higher education system and labour market. For instance, the Government has allocated resources for complementary education, aimed at immigrants with higher education qualifications and degrees  in law, medicine, nursing, dentistry and teacher education from a third country who need complementary education so as to engage in professional activities in Sweden.

In 2009 the Swedish government appointed an independent Parliamentary Committee on Circular Migration and Development, with the task of examining the link between circular migration and development by mapping circular migration to and from Sweden and identifing factors that influence migrants’ opportunities to circulate.

The Swedish Public Employment Service leads a 3-year project 2012-2014 aiming to strengthening the capacity of Moldovan authorities to manage return migration and supporting social and economic reintegration of returning Moldovan citizens, informing the Moldovan population on the possibilities of working and living legally in the EU and enhancing the capacity of Moldovan Diaspora Associations to better maximize the links between migration and labour market development in destination countries and in Moldova.