02 Jan 2022; MEMO: Sweden granted citizenship to over 27,000 Syrian refugees in 2021, remaining one of the most welcoming European countries for asylum seekers and migrants.
According to a report by the Swedish Migration Agency, a total of 85,000 people were granted Swedish citizenship last year. 27, 340 of them were Syrians, 4,067 were Somalis and 3,471 were Eritreans.
Under the country's immigration system, migrants and refugees with residence and work permits are entitled to naturalisation within five years of their living in the country.
Since the bulk of Syrian refugees arrived in Sweden in 2015 and after, the number of them who attained those permits have increased up to around 150,000, enabling more Syrians to be set to gain citizenship in the coming year.
Despite Sweden having long been a country more welcoming of refugees than others in Europe, in recent years the Swedish government has revoked some Syrian refugees of their residency permits in efforts to deport them, including some who are wanted by the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Upon their return to Syria, the deported refugees are often detained, disappeared, and tortured by the security services.
