Sweden to pay immigrants $34,000 to return home

Sweden plans to boost payments to up to $34,000 to immigrants who leave the nation that has been a haven for the war-weary and persecuted, the right-wing government said Thursday.

The Scandinavian country was for decades seen as a “humanitarian superpower”, but over the years has struggled to integrate many of its newcomers.

Immigrants who voluntarily return to their countries of origin from 2026 would be eligible to receive up to 350,000 Swedish kronor ($34,000), the government, which is propped up by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, told a press conference.

“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.

Currently immigrants can receive up to 10,000 kronor per adult and 5,000 kronor per child, with a cap of 40,000 kronor per family.

Immigrants groups could not immediately be reached for comment on the change.

“The grant has been around since 1984, but it is relatively unknown, it is small and relatively few people use it,” Ludvig Aspling of the Sweden Democrats told reporters.