Sweden risks missing 900-refugee quota target

Sweden is due to receive 900 quota refugees this year, but the target is now at risk because the Migration Agency is still waiting for a decision from the Ministry of Justice, SVT reports.

“If we do not receive an answer next week, we will not be able to receive the 900 quota refugees,” said Velibor Ljepoja, a business expert at the Migration Agency.

A quota refugee is someone who has fled their country and whom the UN refugee agency UNHCR considers in need of protection in another country.

Under the Tidö Agreement, Sweden is to receive 900 quota refugees each year. The Migration Agency works with UNHCR to propose which refugees should be given places. The agency must then consult the Ministry of Justice about the proposal.

However, the ministry has still not responded to a proposal submitted by the Migration Agency in December 2025, according to the agency. The delay was first reported by Dagens Nyheter.

“It has probably never taken this long,” Ljepoja said.

The government gave its decision in February last year. This year’s delay has prevented the Migration Agency from continuing preparations to bring the refugees to Sweden.

“For us, this means that we do not have a mandate to travel to the countries where the quota refugees are staying and carry out our assessments. For the quota refugees, it means that they have to wait,” Ljepoja said.

In a written response to SVT, Migration Minister Johan Forssell (M) said the government was still working on the issue.

“Preparations for this year’s selection are continuing within the Government Offices, and a decision will be made as soon as possible,” he wrote.

Forssell also said that women and children had been prioritised during the current parliamentary term, and that decisions on quota refugees had been issued at different times of the year.

The Migration Agency’s proposal mainly concerns Congolese and Sudanese refugees living in Uganda and Rwanda.

The agency said it risks being unable to fulfil its assignment to place 900 quota refugees in Sweden in 2026 because the time available for preparations is running short.

“If we do not receive an answer next week, we will not be able to transfer 900. There is a small chance that we could resettle at least half of them if we receive an answer two or three weeks later,” Ljepoja said.

Sweden’s refugee quota was created after the Second World War. Each year, the government decides, with the support of Parliament, how many places the quota will include. Resettlement allows refugees to travel safely from their first country of asylum to another country that has agreed to receive them, with the process administered by UNHCR.