Country Report: Cessation and review of protection status Last updated: 30/11/20
Swedish legislation on cessation and revocation of status of international protection has changed since the implementation of relevant recast EU Directives. Relevant legislation can be found in Chapter 4 of the Aliens Act. There is no up-to-date English translation of the Aliens Act, but it should be noted that Sweden adheres to relevant EU legislation and national law.
According to Chapter 4, Section 5, a person ceases to be a refugee when he or she: (1) has of his or her own free will used the protection of the country of which he or she is a citizen; (2) voluntarily applies for and regains citizenship of said country; (3) applies for and gets citizenship in another country; (4) returns and resides yet again in the country where he or she used to reside. The person also ceases to be a refugee (5) when the circumstances in connection with which he or she has been recognised as a refugee have ceased to exist, or have changed to such a degree that protection is no longer required.
Chapter 4, Section 5a provides that the status of subsidiary protection status when the circumstances in connection with which the person has been recognised as a beneficiary have ceased to exist, or have changed to such a degree that protection is no longer required.
In both status cases, the law lists cases when the status should not be considered as ceased. These are connected to circumstances in the past that have led to the granting of protection status, which now leads to the inability to expect of the person to accept to move back.
With the shift from permanent to temporary residence permits through the Temporary Law, the questions of cessation and withdrawal of protection status have become much more in focus. The Migration Agency has therefore issued guidance on these topics.[1] When a beneficiary of international protection applies for an extension of his/her residence permit, the questions of cessation and withdrawal of protection status can be looked into if new information has appeared. In case law, the fact that the burden of proof lies with the Swedish authorities is pointed out.[2]
With the extension by two years of the temporary law many two-year prolongation temporary permits for those granted subsidiary status will be subject to re-examination so the issue of cessation will become more prevalent in the coming years should the country of origin situation change significantly.
If the Migration Agency considers that a situation of cessation might be at hand, e.g. following an application for extension of the residence permit by a beneficiary of international protection, a withdrawal procedure will be initiated. (see Withdrawal of protection status ).
[1] Migration Agency, Rättsligt ställningstagande angående förutsättningarna för att återkalla en skyddsstatusförklaring, SR 19/2018, available in Swedish at: https://bit.ly/3bDD7w6.
[2] Migration Court of Appeal, MIG 2011:13, 13 June 2011, available at: http://bit.ly/2n4FaA6.