2025-02-192024/25:AU5 · p.1AULabour market
The Settlement Act
The design and future of the Settlement Act for newly arrived people
What's at stake: The issue affects how newly arrived people are distributed among Sweden's municipalities and how quickly they can obtain housing and enter work and society, as well as how much influence individual municipalities should have over their own reception.
Case texts and AI reasoning are AI-translated from the Swedish originals; the Swedish text is authoritative.
What the vote decides
The Riksdag decides whether the Settlement Act, which governs how newly arrived people are distributed and received among the country's municipalities, should be reviewed and replaced with a new system, or whether the current law should be preserved unchanged pending an ongoing government inquiry.
Yes Yes — the committee proposal
The committee notes that the Settlement Act has achieved its original intentions but that challenges remain, including uneven application between municipalities and difficulties in municipalities with a housing shortage. Since a special investigator has already been tasked with proposing a new settlement system, with greater municipal influence and a time-limited establishment-housing arrangement, the committee wants to await this work and therefore rejects all the motions, both those calling for a review of the law and the one calling for preserving its current design.
No No — the reservations
Reservation 1 (S)
S holds that the Settlement Act already achieves its goals – a faster and more even distribution of reception among municipalities and better labour-market establishment for newly arrived people – according to a review by the Swedish National Audit Office. The party is concerned that allowing municipalities to opt out of receiving newly arrived people for settlement risks an uneven distribution and a return to newly arrived people being settled in municipalities without good conditions for education or employment. S believes the government should preserve the current Settlement Act and its distribution criteria.
Summarised from the committee report. Party labels in the summary come from the report, not from the vote.
What do the votes mean here?
Yes The committee proposal: rejecting the motions (keeping things as they are).
No Backing the counter-proposal: reservation 1 by S.
Abstain The party marks a position of its own that is not one of the two final alternatives.
The decision would have held
Explicit commitments that contradicted the vote: LLiberalerna, MPMiljöpartiet
Ja 179–91Ja 154–116
Counterfactual: the parties above are moved to the position their own documents explicitly point at, carrying their whole contingent present. Every other party keeps its real figures, including dissenters and absentees.
How the AI parties would have voted
For each party: what its own plan – election manifesto and party programme – argues for in this case, next to how the party actually voted. The AI can only answer Yes or No; a party can also abstain.
| AI | Vote | Confidence | Evidence | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V | No | Yes 19/0/0/5 | differs | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| S | No | No 0/90/0/16 | match | confidence: high | explicit |
| MP | No | Yes 13/0/0/5 | differsagainst own programme | confidence: high | explicit |
| C | No | Abstain 0/0/21/3 | differs | confidence: low | not addressed |
| L | No | Yes 12/0/0/4 | differsagainst own programme | confidence: medium | explicit |
| KD | Yes | Yes 14/0/0/5 | match | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| M | Yes | Yes 57/0/0/11 | match | confidence: medium | derived |
| SD | Yes | Yes 63/0/0/9 | match | confidence: high | not addressed |
Committee proposal
Parliament rejects the motions 2024/25:2949 by Jonny Cato et al. (C) requests 28 and 29, 2024/25:3025 by Anders Ygeman et al. (S) request 7, and 2024/25:3150 by Josefin Malmqvist (M).
Original (Swedish)
Riksdagen avslår motionerna 2024/25:2949 av Jonny Cato m.fl. (C) yrkandena 28 och 29, 2024/25:3025 av Anders Ygeman m.fl. (S) yrkande 7 och 2024/25:3150 av Josefin Malmqvist (M).
Riksdag decision: Parliament rejected approximately 30 proposals concerning integration in motions from the general parliamentary session 2024. The proposals concern, among other things, the Settlement Act, the target group for the establishment programme, establishment measures, and social exclusion. Parliament refers to ongoing work.
Counter-proposals
- The counter-proposal wants to maintain the settlement law without giving municipalities the ability to choose not to receive newly arrived immigrants. (S) — Reservation 1
Plan vs actual vote
Every party, in chamber order: what its own plan pointed to, how it voted, and the reasoning behind both. Highlighted rows are where the two differ — but a vote that follows the plan is a result too, so the reasoning is there for every party.
The plan states that income and costs should be distributed solidaristically across the country and that full employment, housing and welfare are tools to break up segregation.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The plan states that income and costs should be distributed solidaristically across the country and that full employment, housing and welfare are tools to break up segregation. To protect the distribution criteria of the Housing Placement Act, instead of allowing municipalities to opt out of receiving, follows from the solidaristic distribution principle. The plan also sees Sweden as a country with good conditions to let more people build good lives here.
Original (Swedish)
Planen slår fast att inkomster och kostnader ska fördelas solidariskt över landet och att full sysselsättning, bostäder och välfärd är verktyg för att bryta upp segregationen. Att värna bosättningslagens fördelningskriterier, i stället för att låta kommuner välja bort mottagande, följer av den solidariska fördelningsprincipen. Planen ser också Sverige som ett land med goda förutsättningar att låta fler bygga goda liv här.
- solidaristic distribution between municipalitiesdecisive»Inkomster och kostnader behöver fördelas solidariskt över landet.« (party programme ↗)“Income and costs need to be distributed solidaristically across the country.”
- break up segregation»Vi vill bryta upp segregationen och skapa en blandning av hustyper och« (party programme ↗)“We want to break up segregation and create a mix of house types and”
- solidaristic refugee reception»Sverige är ett land med goda förutsättningar att låta fler människor« (party programme ↗)“Sweden is a country with good conditions to let more people”
- secure establishment»det är genom en trygg och permanent tillvaro i samhället som vi människor rotar oss« (2022 manifesto ↗)“it is through a secure and permanent life in society that we people put down roots”
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 explicitly states that all municipalities, even the well-off, should take their share of responsibility for reception and that asylum seekers should no longer be able to choose where they live.
Plan documents: 2022 manifesto · party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan explicitly states that all municipalities, even the well-off, should take their share of responsibility for reception and that asylum seekers should no longer be able to choose where they live. This is exactly the distribution principle the counter-proposal wants to protect, and the plan warns that segregation is not broken through special solutions. The party programme places the same responsibility on all municipalities.
Original (Swedish)
Planen säger uttryckligen att alla kommuner, även de välbeställda, ska ta sin del av ansvaret för mottagandet och att asylsökande inte längre ska kunna välja var de bor. Det är precis den fördelningsprincip motförslaget vill värna, och planen varnar för att segregationen inte bryts genom särlösningar. Partiprogrammet lägger samma ansvar på alla kommuner.
- all municipalities take responsibilitydecisive»Alla kommuner, även de välbeställda, ska ta sin del av ansvaret.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“All municipalities, even the well-off, should take their share of responsibility.”
- municipal responsibility for reception»Alla kommuner har ett ansvar att ta emot« (party programme ↗)“All municipalities have a responsibility to receive”
- directed settlement»Asylsökande ska inte längre ha möjlighet att själva välja var de ska bo.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Asylum seekers should no longer be able to choose where they live.”
- better establishment and integration»Integrationen måste förbättras och samhörigheten öka.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Integration must be improved and solidarity increased.”
The party programme establishes that all municipalities must have a generous and equivalent refugee reception and that the state and municipalities have joint responsibility for giving anyone who comes to Sweden a good start.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The party programme establishes that all municipalities must have a generous and equivalent refugee reception and that the state and municipalities have joint responsibility for giving anyone who comes to Sweden a good start. The election manifesto wants to strengthen establishment so that more quickly enter work, and housing policy must counteract segregation. Protecting the settlement law's distribution criteria and rejecting that municipalities opt out of reception is precisely what the plan demands.
Original (Swedish)
Partiprogrammet slår fast att alla kommuner ska ha ett generöst och likvärdigt flyktingmottagande och att staten och kommunerna har ett gemensamt ansvar för att den som kommer till Sverige får en bra start. Valmanifestet vill stärka etableringen så att fler snabbare kommer i arbete, och bostadspolitiken ska motverka segregation. Att värna bosättningslagens fördelningskriterier och avvisa att kommuner väljer bort mottagande är precis det planen kräver.
- equivalent reception in all municipalitiesdecisive»Alla kommuner ska ha ett generöst och likvärdigt flyktingmottagande.« (party programme ↗)“All municipalities must have a generous and equivalent refugee reception.”
- shared responsibility for reception»Staten och kommunerna har ett gemensamt ansvar« (party programme ↗)“The state and municipalities have joint responsibility”
- better establishment for newly arrived»förlänga etableringsprogrammet för nyanlända till minst fyra år för att skapa bättre förutsättningar för etablering, så att fler kommer i arbete snabbare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“extend the establishment programme for newly arrived to at least four years to create better conditions for establishment, so that more enter work faster.”
- counteract housing segregation»bostadspolitik ska motverka segregation« (party programme ↗)“housing policy must counteract segregation”
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.
The plan's integration line is built on the principle that those who receive residence permits shall quickly be established and be able to support themselves, and that segregation between native-born and foreign-born shall be broken with a more open housing market.
Plan documents: 2022 manifesto · party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan's integration line is built on the principle that those who receive residence permits shall quickly be established and be able to support themselves, and that segregation between native-born and foreign-born shall be broken with a more open housing market. This supports valuing allocation criteria that place newcomers where there are opportunities for education and work. At the same time, the party programme wants to give municipalities greater opportunities to take responsibility, which pulls toward the opposite conclusion and makes certainty low.
Original (Swedish)
Planens integrationslinje bygger på att den som får uppehållstillstånd snabbt ska etableras och kunna försörja sig själv, och att segregationen mellan inrikes och utrikes födda ska brytas med en öppnare bostadsmarknad. Det talar för att värna fördelningskriterier som placerar nyanlända där det finns förutsättningar för utbildning och arbete. Samtidigt vill partiprogrammet ge kommunerna större möjligheter att ta ansvar, vilket drar mot motsatt slutsats och gör säkerheten låg.
- quick establishment in workdecisive»Skapa ett intensivår för snabbare integration. Den som får uppehållstillstånd ska snabbt integreras och ges möjlighet att försörja sig själv.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Create an intensive year for faster integration. Those who receive a residence permit shall quickly be integrated and given the opportunity to support themselves.”
- break segregation»Sverige är segregerat mellan dem med och utan jobb, mellan de som är födda här och i andra länder, mellan dem med och utan utbildning. Att vända detta måste vara en huvudprioritet inför nästa mandatperiod.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden is segregated between those with and without jobs, between those born here and abroad, between those with and without education. Reversing this must be a main priority for the next term.”
- more open housing market»Även bostadsmarknaden måste bli öppnare.« (party programme ↗)“The housing market must also become more open.”
- municipal responsibility»Kommunerna måste få större möjligheter att ta ansvar för dessa utmaningar.« (party programme ↗)“Municipalities must be given greater opportunities to take responsibility for these challenges.”
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 all municipalities shall be able to receive newly arrived and that newly arrived shall have conditions and incentives to live in municipalities with good labor markets – precisely what the counter-proposal wishes to protect when it warns that municipalities get to opt out of receiving.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The party programme establishes that all municipalities shall be able to receive newly arrived and that newly arrived shall have conditions and incentives to live in municipalities with good labor markets – precisely what the counter-proposal wishes to protect when it warns that municipalities get to opt out of receiving. The same segregation argument carries the plan's demand that asylum seekers' own housing be abolished. The plan therefore supports keeping distribution criteria that steer toward municipalities with good settlement conditions.
Original (Swedish)
Partiprogrammet slår fast att alla kommuner ska kunna ta emot nyanlända och att nyanlända ska ha förutsättningar och drivkrafter att bo i kommuner med god arbetsmarknad – precis det som motförslaget vill värna när det varnar för att kommuner får välja bort mottagande. Samma segregationsargument bär planens krav på att asylsökandes eget boende avskaffas. Planen stöder därför att fördelningskriterier som styr mot kommuner med goda etableringsvillkor behålls.
- all municipalities receivedecisive»Alla kommuner ska kunna ta emot nyanlända.« (party programme ↗)“All municipalities shall be able to receive newly arrived.”
- settlement where jobs exist»och drivkrafter att bo i kommuner med god arbetsmarknad.« (party programme ↗)“and incentives to live in municipalities with good labor markets.”
- counteract housing segregation»För att motverka trångboddhet och segregation ska asylsökandes möjlighet till eget boende (EBO)« (party programme ↗)“To counteract overcrowding and segregation, asylum seekers' possibility of own housing (EBO)”
- lower barriers for newly arrived»Reformer som sänker trösklarna till arbets- och bostadsmarknaden stärker också möjligheten för« (party programme ↗)“Reforms that lower barriers to the labor and housing markets also strengthen the possibility for”
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.
The party programme states that the state shall facilitate but not plan and take control of people's lives, that municipal self-governance shall be strong and that immigrants have the right to settle where they wish.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The party programme states that the state shall facilitate but not plan and take control of people's lives, that municipal self-governance shall be strong and that immigrants have the right to settle where they wish. To protect a state allocation key that binds municipalities goes against the subsidiarity principle. The election manifesto's demand for strict migration policy also does not point towards a continued forced settlement system.
Original (Swedish)
Partiprogrammet slår fast att staten ska underlätta men inte planera och ta kontroll över människors liv, att den kommunala självstyrelsen ska vara stark och att invandrare har rätt att bosätta sig var de vill. Att värna en statlig fördelningsnyckel som binder kommunerna strider mot subsidiaritetsprincipen. Valmanifestets krav på stram migrationspolitik pekar inte heller mot ett fortsatt tvingande bosättningssystem.
- the state shall not direct life choicesdecisive»Staten ska medverka till att underlätta och skapa förutsättningar, men inte planera och ta kontroll« (party programme ↗)“The state shall contribute to facilitating and creating conditions, but not plan and take control”
- strong municipal self-governance»Den kommunala självstyrelsen ska vara stark« (party programme ↗)“Strong municipal self-governance shall be”
- free settlement right»medborgare och ha rätt att bosätta sig var de vill« (party programme ↗)“citizens and have the right to settle where they wish”
- 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 makes integration capacity governing for reception and wants newcomers to qualify for welfare through work and activity requirements, while decisions should be taken at the lowest possible level.
Plan documents: 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The plan makes integration capacity governing for reception and wants newcomers to qualify for welfare through work and activity requirements, while decisions should be taken at the lowest possible level. Defending the current mandatory allocation criteria of the housing law and opposing increased municipal influence contradicts that line. The plan does not defend a centrally mandated housing model.
Original (Swedish)
Planen gör integrationsförmågan styrande för mottagandet och vill att nyanlända kvalificerar sig till välfärden genom arbete och krav på aktivitet, samtidigt som beslut ska fattas på lägsta möjliga nivå. Att värna bosättningslagens nuvarande tvingande fördelningskriterier och motsätta sig ökat kommunalt inflytande går emot den linjen. Planen försvarar inte en central anvisningsmodell.
- integration capacity governs receptiondecisive»Vår integrationsförmåga ska vara styrande för nivån på invandringen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our integration capacity shall govern the level of immigration.”
- qualification for welfare»Införa kvalificering till välfärden för nyanlända genom eget arbete eller genom permanent och laglig bosättning i landet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce qualification for welfare for newly arrived through own work or through permanent and lawful residence in the country”
- decisions at lowest possible level»Beslut ska fattas på lägsta möjliga nivå, så nära medborgarna som möjligt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Decisions shall be taken at the lowest possible level, as close to citizens as possible.”
- activity requirements»Ställa krav på heltidsaktiviteter för att få bidrag« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Set requirements for full-time activities to receive benefits”
The plan requires that positive discrimination of newly arrived in terms of jobs and housing stops and explicitly criticizes that newly arrived get priority in the housing queue.
Plan documents: 2022 manifesto · party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan requires that positive discrimination of newly arrived in terms of jobs and housing stops and explicitly criticizes that newly arrived get priority in the housing queue. It wants to reduce migration's pressure on the housing market and protect municipal self-determination. The counter-proposal's requirement that the resettlement law's distribution criteria be preserved and that municipalities should not be able to opt out of reception conflicts with the plan.
Original (Swedish)
Planen kräver att den positiva särbehandlingen av nyanlända vad gäller jobb och lägenheter stoppas och kritiserar uttryckligen att nyanlända ges förtur i bostadskön. Den vill minska migrationens påfrestning på bostadsmarknaden och värnar det kommunala självbestämmandet. Motförslagets krav på att bosättningslagens fördelningskriterier värnas och att kommuner inte ska kunna välja bort mottagande strider därmed mot planen.
- no priority for newly arriveddecisive»Stoppa den positiva särbehandlingen av nyanlända vad gäller jobb och lägenheter« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop positive discrimination of newly arrived with regard to jobs and housing”
- criticism of housing priority»Detta på grund av att staten subventionerar invandrares anställningar och låter nyanlända få förtur i bostadskön.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“This because the state subsidizes immigrants' employment and lets newly arrived get priority in the housing queue.”
- reduced pressure on housing»Minska migrationens påfrestning på bostadsmarknaden genom återvandring« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduce migration's pressure on the housing market through return migration”
- municipal self-determination»Vi betraktar det kommunala självbestämmandet som en central del av demokratin« (party programme ↗)“We regard municipal self-determination as a central part of democracy”
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Sources and documents
- The committee report on riksdagen.se (2024/25:AU5)
- Committee report full text (HC01AU5)
- Per-MP voting data (API)
- Case status (API)
Documents under consideration
- Motion 2024/25:1152 — Införande av ett integrationskontrakt för personer som beviljas uppehållstillstånd av Charlotte Nordström (M)
- Motion 2024/25:140 — Kommunernas ansvar för integrationen av Nima Gholam Ali Pour (SD)
- Motion 2024/25:158 — Nationell integrationsplikt för invandrare av Nima Gholam Ali Pour (SD)
- Motion 2024/25:1653 — Anhöriginvandrares isolering av Lawen Redar (S)
- Motion 2024/25:1713 — Humanitet av Jamal El-Haj (-)
- Motion 2024/25:1714 — Sverige är ett mångkulturellt land av Jamal El-Haj (-)
- Motion 2024/25:1719 — En nyanserad bild av invandring av Jamal El-Haj (-)
- Motion 2024/25:1720 — Utpekande av vissa grupper av människor av Jamal El-Haj (-)
- Motion 2024/25:1799 — Kontaktpersoner för nyanlända av Eva Lindh m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2024/25:2628 — Förstärkta insatser för kompetensutveckling av Leila Ali Elmi m.fl. (MP)
- Motion 2024/25:2949 — Migration och integration av Jonny Cato m.fl. (C)
- Motion 2024/25:3025 — Utgiftsområde 8 Migration av Anders Ygeman m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2024/25:3069 — Jämställdhet och mäns våld mot kvinnor av Ardalan Shekarabi m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2024/25:3072 — Utgiftsområde 13 Integration och jämställdhet av Ardalan Shekarabi m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2024/25:3140 — Reformering av samhällsorienteringen av Josefin Malmqvist (M)
- Motion 2024/25:3150 — Lika för alla på bostadsmarknaden av Josefin Malmqvist (M)
- Motion 2024/25:508 — Åtgärder mot institutioner som stärker eller främjar parallella samhällen av Nima Gholam Ali Pour (SD)
Source: The Swedish Parliament