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Why are highly educated foreigners more likely to leave Sweden?

Foreign-born people living in Sweden are much more likely to leave and go elsewhere if they have a university-level education, according to data from Statistics Sweden. What does the research say about this? Advertisement Of the 17,000 foreign-born people who left Sweden in 2024 to move to a specific other country, fully 57 percent had a university level education, compared to 45 percent among the general foreign-born population as a whole, according to data from Statistics Sweden cited by Sweden's public broadcaster Sveriges Radio. For Indian citizens who leave Sweden, either to return home or move to another country, the proportion with degrees was as high as 96 percent, and for Iranians it was 68 percent. Andrea Monti, a post-doctoral researcher at Mälardalen University, told The Local that the higher emigration of highly educated foreigners was not a new phenomenon, with her own PhD dissertation from 2020 citing a "rapid increase in absolute emigration over the preceding 15 years, confirming the findings of a 2006 study which found that highly educated foreigners were more likely to move onward to a third country. So what are the main reasons why highly educated foreigners are more likely to move on. Advertisement Labour Market Mismatch Samaneh Khaef, a post-doctoral researcher at Stockholm University, said that her forthcoming study on the impact of various levels of educational attainment of refugees in Sweden, had confirmed that those with university-level education were more likely to emigrate, something she said could be due to "mismatches between their qualifications and local labour market demands". Many educated foreigners find that their qualifications are not recognised in Sweden. For instance, a study by Micheline van Riemsdijk at Uppsala University found that pharmacists born abroad faced a "career-rewind" on arrival, being forced to re-take courses, re-acquire professional knowledge and skills, and get their professional certifications all over again. Policy and Immigration Rules Khaef said the decision of Sweden's new government to tighten citizenship requirements and clamp down on immigration more generally was likely to further increase re-emigration of highly educated foreigners. "The changing and insecure migration policies in Sweden make many educated foreigners uncertain about their future here," she said. "Many are considering moving to other countries with more stable migration rules, where they can plan for permanent residence without the constant worry of being forced to leave due to shifting policies, which many perceive as unwelcoming toward educated immigrants." Advertisement Language and social class Another driver for emigration was a failure to master the Swedish language, leading immigrants to move to other countries where language difficulties did not prevent them exploiting their education. "Many migrants have high education and skills that are in demand in the labor market, but the lack of fluency in Swedish is a major barrier," Khaef said in an email. "This leads some to move to English-speaking countries, where their competence is recognized and not overshadowed by language challenges." It was not only language barriers but also cultural and class ones. A qualitative study of Iranians in Sweden by Melissa Kelly, who now works at the University of the Free State in South Africa, found that many felt they had lost their middle-class identity in Sweden, which drew them to the "cultural mixing and cosmopolitan vibe" available in London, a city where they could present themselves as "citizens of the world". Iranians also told Kelly that Sweden's welfare system discouraged high levels of ambition and prevented them from distinguishing themselves from the average citizen, prompting them to seek to move to countries where ambition was more rewarded. Advertisement International Career Opportunities Monti emphasised that part of the reason why more educated migrants were more likely to leave was that they simply had "greater mobility options and labour market possibilities internationally". Those without an education, on the other hand, tended to have their choice limited to staying in Sweden or returning to their home countries. For many educated migrants, she added, Sweden was viewed from the start as a stepping stone where they could more easily obtain European citizenship and advance their education before moving on elsewhere. "Generally the reasons for emigration are tightly connected to the reasons for why a person immigrated in the first place. For example, the plan might not have been to stay permanently, or one's expectations in terms of income or labor market status relative to one's education is not fulfilled."