EU migration pact: what changed for asylum in Sweden

The EU migration and asylum pact has applied in Sweden since 12 June 2026. It changes how an application for protection is registered and how it is examined. It also sets a limit on how long the examination may take.

Migrationsverket (the Swedish Migration Agency) states that the date matters. If you applied before 12 June 2026, you are not affected in the same way as someone who applies on or after that date.

One change is in the words themselves. Migrationsverket now writes internationellt skydd (international protection) where it used to write asyl (asylum), so a search for the old word may lead you to older pages.

Screening comes first

Screening is a first check that happens before your case is examined. It covers identity, health, vulnerability and security.

Polismyndigheten (the Swedish Police Authority) leads the screening, and Sweden's regions, which run healthcare, carry out the health check. Migrationsverket describes the new procedure in its news item of 12 June 2026.

The work is done at the mottagnings- och återvändandecenter (reception and return centres) in Malmö, Mölndal, Boden and Märsta.

Three procedures, each with a time limit

Which procedure your case follows decides how long it may take.

• The asylum procedure. The grounds for your application are to be examined within six months.
• The asylum border procedure. It must be finished within three months. An appeal is included in that time.
• The return procedure. If your application is refused, you must return within three months.

The three procedures and their time limits are set out in Migrationsverket's answer to the question of what the new EU migration and asylum pact is about, updated 29 June 2026.

A new system replaces the Dublin rules

The Dublin Regulation, often called the Dublin rules, used to decide which country examined your application. A new system has taken its place.

Migrationsverket states that the new rules make it clearer which member state examines an application. The agency also states that the rules spread asylum seekers more fairly between countries. The rules add a common way of handling a migration crisis.

What changed in Swedish law on 12 July 2026

The Swedish rules that come from the pact took effect on 12 July 2026. Three of them change what you actually go through when you apply for protection.

• You now get two hours of free legal advice at the start of a protection case. A free offentligt biträde (a publicly funded legal representative) remains available when you appeal a Migrationsverket decision.
• Permanent uppehållstillstånd (permanent residence permit) is no longer granted in asylum-related cases. A permanent permit you already hold is not affected.
• Fingerprints and photographs can now be taken from the age of six in parts of the migration process.

The changes come from proposition 2025/26:262 (a bill from the government to the Riksdag, the Swedish parliament). The government set them out in its press release of 9 April 2026.

If your case is already open, it is worth finding out which rules it follows. That decides both the time limit and the legal help you get.

This article describes the rules. What applies in your own case is something only Migrationsverket or a qualified lawyer can answer.