“People from Ukraine who are in Sweden should not have to return to Ukraine considering the current situation. Those from Ukraine in need of protection will now be able to stay in Sweden with temporary protection,” says Minister for Migration Maria Malmer Stenergard.

Due to the war in Ukraine, the EU Temporary Protection Directive was activated by decision of the Council of the European Union on 4 March 2022. The decision provides certain Ukrainian citizens and their family members with the right to temporary protection if they were forced to flee Ukraine on 24 February 2022 or later as a result of the military invasion by the Russian armed forces. In April 2022, the Government adopted a legislative amendment that extended the protection for this group of people to also apply to those who entered and stayed in Sweden from 30 October 2021. 

The previous regulation meant that some people in need of protection risked not being granted protection and therefore sometimes had to return to Ukraine. To make it easier for them to stay in Sweden, the Government has adopted a new legislative amendment. 

This legislative amendment entered into force on 22 December 2023.