Family immigration

The plan demands a humane refugee and asylum policy with generous criteria and establishes that it is through a safe and permanent existence that people take root. Strengthening protection for young adults, removing the narrow 18-year rule and restoring the last-link rule therefore aligns with the plan's direction. The plan does not name family reunification, but it explicitly rejects the line of tightening measures that the committee advocates.

• humane asylum and refugee policydecisive»en human flykting- och asylpolitik där varje asylsökande garanteras« (party programme ↗)“a humane refugee and asylum policy where every asylum seeker is guaranteed”
• safe permanent existence»Tvärtom, det är genom en trygg och permanent tillvaro i samhället som vi människor rotar oss.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“On the contrary, it is through a safe and permanent existence in society that we people take root.”
• defend refugees' rights»När rasismen växer, länder sluter sig och EU bygger murar ska Sverige agera för flyktingars rättigheter och försvara asylrätten både i Sverige och internationellt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“When racism grows, countries close themselves and the EU builds walls, Sweden should act for refugees' rights and defend asylum law both in Sweden and internationally.”
• against closed borders»EU bygger murar mot resten av världen.« (party programme ↗)“The EU builds walls against the rest of the world.”

The election manifesto establishes that migration policy has been tightened and that this line is fixed. The counter-proposal wants instead to broaden family immigration by removing the 18-year rule, reinstituting the last-link provision and otherwise strengthening the right to family reunification, which goes against that line. The party programme's generous and regulated immigration points partly the other way, but the election manifesto is the most recent expression of the party's line.

• tightened migration policy is fixeddecisive»Vi har stramat åt migrationspolitiken, och denna linje ligger fast.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We have tightened migration policy, and this line remains fixed.”
• limited immigration»Arbetskraftsinvandringen ska begränsas. I första hand ska arbetslösa i Sverige komma i arbete.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Labour immigration shall be limited. First and foremost, the unemployed in Sweden must be given work.”
• generous and regulated immigration»Vi vill ha en generös och reglerad invandring.« (party programme ↗)“We want a generous and regulated immigration.”
• haven for those in need of protection»Sverige ska erbjuda en trygg fristad åt människor som tvingas fly från förföljelse och våld.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden shall offer a safe haven to people forced to flee persecution and violence.”

The plan requires that more families can be reunited in Sweden and that no asylum-seeking children can be separated from their parents. The party programme establishes that kinship and health shall weigh more heavily than today in the assessment of residence permits and that no Sweden shall have split families. The counter-proposal's requirements for removal of the 18-year rule, reinstatement of the last link provision and strengthened family reunification are thus directly supported.

• strengthened family reunificationdecisive»att fler familjer ska kunna återförenas i Sverige. Inga asylsökande barn ska kunna skiljas från sina föräldrar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“that more families can be reunited in Sweden. No asylum-seeking children can be separated from their parents.”
• kinship shall weigh more heavily»ska anknytning och hälsa väga tyngre än det gör i« (party programme ↗)“shall kinship and health weigh more heavily than they do in”
• no split families»Vi vill ha ett samhälle där ingen tvingas leva« (party programme ↗)“We want a society where no one is forced to live”

The party programme makes a generous and humane refugee and immigration policy the party's line and sees the right to seek refuge as a human right, with the ambition to remove obstacles to people's mobility. Strengthened right to family reunification, removed 18-year age limit and reinstated last-link provision align with this. Strengthening protection for young people between 18 and 21 follows from the plan's emphasis on every young person's right.

• generous and humane migration policydecisive»Centerpartiet strävar efter öppna gränser, fri rörlighet samt en generös och human flykting- och invandringspolitik.« (party programme ↗)“The Centre Party strives for open borders, freedom of movement and a generous and humane refugee and immigration policy.”
• asylum as a human right»Att få söka sig en fristad och en försörjning, inte bara inom det land där man är född, utan också utanför landets gränser, är en mänsklig rättighet.« (party programme ↗)“The right to seek refuge and livelihood, not just within the country where one was born, but also outside its borders, is a human right.”
• fewer obstacles to mobility»Centerpartiet vill fortsätta att avlägsna de hinder som finns för enskilda människors rörlighet i världen.« (party programme ↗)“The Centre Party wants to continue removing the obstacles that exist to individual people's mobility in the world.”
• protect young people's rights»Särskilt viktigt är att värna varje barns rätt att bli respekterad och att bli sedd för den man är.« (party programme ↗)“Particularly important is to protect every child's right to be respected and to be seen for who they are.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme establishes that family reunification is an important part of asylum law, that children shall be able to be reunited with their parents and that special consideration shall be given to young people and unaccompanied minors. The counter-proposal's demand for a review of the age limits, removal of the 18-year rule and a strengthened right to family reunification follow from these commitments. The plan's demand for legislation in line with other EU countries pulls in the opposite direction, which lowers security.

• family reunification in asylum lawdecisive»Familjeåterförening är en viktig del av asylrätten.« (party programme ↗)“Family reunification is an important part of asylum law.”
• children's right to reunification»Barn ska kunna återförenas med sina föräldrar.« (party programme ↗)“Children shall be able to be reunited with their parents.”
• young people specially protected»till barns egna asylskäl, och ensamkommande barn ska särskilt värnas.« (party programme ↗)“to children's own asylum grounds, and unaccompanied children shall be specially protected.”
• EU-aligned migration policy»Ska integrationen lyckas måste Sverige få en migrationspolitik med en lagstiftning i linje med andra EU-länder.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“If integration is to succeed, Sweden must have a migration policy with legislation in line with other EU countries.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's explicit commitment is that migration policy must not lead to family members being separated and that the family has the right to society's and the state's protection. Removing a narrow 18-year-old rule, reinstating the last-country provision and strengthening the right to family reunification is in substance exactly this. That the election manifesto requires strict migration policy pulls in the opposite direction, but does not express itself on relatives' right to be reunited.

• no family separationdecisive»Migrationspolitiken får inte leda till att familjemedlemmar skiljs från varandra.« (party programme ↗)“Migration policy must not lead to family members being separated.”
• family's right to protection»Familjen är den naturliga och grundläggande enheten i samhället och har rätt till samhällets och statens« (party programme ↗)“The family is the natural and fundamental unit in society and has the right to society's and the state's”
• child perspective in migration matters»Barnperspektivet ska alltid finnas med i migrations« (party programme ↗)“The child perspective shall always be included in migration”
• strict migration policy»Stram migrationspolitik krävs för att ta itu med integrationsproblem och utanförskap.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strict migration policy is required to address integration problems and exclusion.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan wants to adapt asylum legislation to the legal minimum level under EU law and let integration capacity guide the level of immigration, with a volume target at Nordic levels. Taking away the 18-year rule, reinstating the last-country provision and otherwise strengthening family reunification rights widens family immigration. Therefore, the plan speaks against the counter-proposal's demands.

• legislation at EU's minimum leveldecisive»Anpassa asyllagstiftningen efter den rättsliga miniminivån enligt EU-rätten« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Adapt asylum legislation to the legal minimum level under EU law”
• integration capacity guides level»Vår integrationsförmåga ska vara styrande för nivån på invandringen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our integration capacity should be guiding for the level of immigration.”
• volume target for reception»Införa ett volymmål för asylmottagandet på nordiska nivåer« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce a volume target for asylum reception at Nordic levels”
• regulated and orderly immigration»Vår öppenhet mot omvärlden ska alltid bygga på ordnade« (party programme ↗)“Our openness to the world should always be built on orderly”

The plan's decisive commitment is that family reunification immigration shall be limited as far as possible and combined with strict requirements, and that the Aliens Act shall be tightened to the strictest possible level. The counter-proposal's demands for removal of the 18-year rule, reinstatement of the closest relative provision and otherwise strengthened rights to family reunification go in the opposite direction. The plan explicitly addresses in substance the tightened conditions for family reunification immigration, which is the committee's reason.

• limited family reunificationdecisive»Dessutom måste anhöriginvandringen, som står för den större delen av den asylrelaterade invandringen, begränsas så långt det är möjligt och förenas med strikta krav.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Moreover, family reunification immigration, which accounts for the larger part of asylum-related immigration, must be limited as far as possible and combined with strict requirements.”
• tightened family requirements»Skärpa kraven för anhöriginvandring« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Tighten the requirements for family reunification”
• strictest possible Aliens Act»Skärpa reglerna i utlänningslagen till striktas möjliga nivå enligt EU-rätten« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Tighten the rules in the Aliens Act to the strictest possible level according to EU law”
• family rules against segregation»Reglerna för anhöriginvandring måste vara utformade på ett sådant sätt att de inte bidrar till att skapa« (party programme ↗)“The rules for family reunification must be formulated in such a way that they do not contribute to creating”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.