SWEDEN TO OFFER IMMIGRANTS $34, 000 TO LEAVE COUNTRY. (PHOTO).

 Sweden To Offer Immigrants $34,000 To Leave Country

The Swedish government has said it will start offering certain migrants up to 350,000 Swedish kronor ($34,000) in exchange for returning to their countries of origin from 2026.

Migration Minister Johan Forssell made the announcement on Thursday commenting "we are in the midst of a paradigm shift in our migration policy."

Immigration has become increasingly controversial in Sweden over recent years, with the right-wing_populist Sweden Democrats coming second in the county's most recent general election in September 2022. While unable to form a government itself, the Sweden Democrats have since been propping up an administration led by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, from the center-right Moderate Party which came third in the election.

Forssell noted there is already a Swedish government program offering migrants funds to help them return home, but the amounts paid are much lower at a maximum of 10,000 kronor ($976) per adult and 5,000 kronor per child, with a cap of 40,000 kronor ($3,903) per family. However he said the offer is little used and was taken up by only one migrant in 2023.

Speaking to reporters, Ludvig Aspling, a lawmaker and the Sweden Democrats spokesperson on immigration, suggested the policy would most appeal to migrants who were long-term unemployed or reliant on state welfare.

Aspling also referenced the Swedish government's current scheme offering migrants much lower sums to return to their country of origin. He said: "The grant has been around since 1984, but it is relatively unknown, it is small and relatively few people use it."

It is unclear what the exact criteria to receive the new sums of money will be. 

The Swedish government's decision to dramatically increase the amount paid to migrants who leave came despite the policy being criticized last month in a report from a government appointed probe, which argued the benefits don't justify the costs.

According to the AFP news agency a number of other European countries already have schemes that pay migrants to return to their home countries, with offers of around $2,000 in Germany, $2,800 in France, $1,400 in Norway and more than $15,000 in Denmark.