'We need more people to come to Sweden as programmers and technicians'
Sweden's government is planning to step up its efforts to make the country more attractive to highly skilled labour migrants if it wins the next election, Migration Minister Johan Forssell has said in an interview with the Expressen newspaper.
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Asked about his priorities if the government is re-elected and he is reappointed migration minister, Johan Forssell said there would be an increased focus on the economic dimensions of migration.
"We are going to keep a grip on this strict asylum policy, but migration is about more than just asylum. It is also about competitiveness," he told the newspaper's Politikrummet podcast.
Forssell pointed to the paradox of high unemployment coexisting with acute labour shortages in key sectors.
"We have a situation today where at the same time as having an enormous number of people out of work, our world-beating Swedish companies face shortages of important groups, and I think we need more people to come to Sweden as civil engineers, programmers and technicians."
He added that the anti-immigration and protectionist policies of U.S. President Donald Trump had created an opening for Sweden to attract foreign talent.
'There's a global race for these individuals, and we see that some are beginning to question whether they want to stay in Silicon Valley,' he said. 'If they're working at a major company and looking elsewhere, why not come to Sweden? But that means we need to raise our game.'
Forssell said a recent visit to Finland had left a strong impression, particularly regarding that country's efforts to welcome top international talent.
"They have a totally different model there to welcome foreign researchers, and programmers who in reality can choose anywhere in the world as their workplace and I think it would be excellent if more of them chose to come to Sweden."
High-skilled workers in Sweden have complained that the government's plans to increase the time foreigners need to be in Sweden to qualify for Swedish citizenship from five years to eight years is making Sweden significantly less attractive, threatening to remove one of the key attractions Sweden has over other competing countries.
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The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise has also calculated that government plans to increase the salary threshold for a work permit to the national median salary would shrink Sweden's economy by about 30 billion kronor a year.
The confederation added that the current threshold, at 80 percent of the median salary, had led to labour migration "falling considerably" since it came into force in the autumn of 2023.
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