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Description:

Effective integration of newly arrived migrants is important for the legitimacy and long-term sustainability of Nordic welfare states. Recent migration and integration policies in the Nordic countries have focussed on temporary protection, with return migration (repatriation) as an explicit policy goal. Today's approach to migration can be characterised as a mixed bag. On the one hand, measures have been taken, both social and labour market-oriented, to create the conditions for integration, while on the other hand, migration policy has become tougher, including tighter border controls, more temporary residence permits instead of permanent ones, and limited opportunities for family reunification. There is also a shift in the view of responsibility for integration - from it being a societal responsibility to it being up to the individual to ‘integrate’ in various ways. These migration policies have made the migration and integration process more complex and unpredictable. Overall, this obviously affects the lives of the individuals concerned, but it also influences the way welfare and integration measures are designed by societal actors at different levels.

In this workshop, we will focus on the challenges that authorities face when dealing with temporary migration. What are the similarities and differences in the management of temporary migration between the Nordic countries and between different sectors of society/authorities? What are the challenges and what can we learn from each other? 

The aim of the workshop is to deepen the understanding of the rapidly changing development in the field of migration and the consequences it has for, among other things, schools, social services, legal systems, health and social care.

The workshop will bring together researchers, civil servants and people who live or have lived with temporary residence permits from the various Nordic countries.

There will be short presentations followed by a panel discussion. There will be opportunities for the audience to ask questions after each presentation.

Program

08.30 Coffee and registration

09.00 Short welcome

09.00-9.40 Presentation by Louise Dånge, Post doc in Sociology, Aalborg university: ”Supporting young refugees’ (temporary) resettlement during radical policy change? Insights into the experience of local integration policy workers during 2018-2020.”

This presentation draws on a longitudinal qualitative study, which followed 16 local integration policy workers from two Danish municipalities during a two-year period (2018-2020), meanwhile Danish integration policies underwent major changes with a strengthened focus on repatriation. It focuses on how these policy changes affected local integration policy workers’ possibilities for supporting the resettlement of young refugees. Particular attention will be drawn to how the political turn towards repatriation affected municipalities’ implementation practices, as well as the professional values and ethical principles of those social workers in the frontline of implementation.

09.40-10.20 Presentation by Guri Tyldum, Professor in Sociology, Fafo: “Temporal Protection and the Implementation of Integration Policies in Norway: How Rhetoric and Exemptions shape Practice.”

In 2021, Norway revised its integration policies, instructing municipalities to prioritize giving formal qualifications to refugees to support their long-term labour market integration. However, with the large influx of Ukrainian refugees under temporary collective protection, municipalities were permitted to make exceptions to the integration law if they lacked the capacity to provide full integration programs. Despite this flexibility, municipalities were still obligated to pursue the overarching goal of ensuring long-term labour market integration. Nevertheless, many municipalities offered shorter integration courses and fewer language lessons to Ukrainian refugees compared to other groups with similar educational backgrounds. This discrepancy, we argue, stemmed from municipal authorities and street-level bureaucrats interpreting central government rhetoric—particularly speeches emphasizing the importance of Norway not being too attractive for refugees and the implications of temporary protection—as signalling a reduced need to give full integration programs.

10.20-10.35 Paus

10.35-11.15 Presentation by Oksana Shmulyar Gréen, Associate Professor in Sociology, University 91̽��: ”Den ’förlängda tillfälligheten’: hur styr mottagandet av de som flyr hur de kan välja sin framtid.”

I maj 2024 rapporterade Migrationsverket att 34 000 personer från Ukraina hade fått förlängt tillfälligt skydd och att totalt 39 000 var inskrivna i mottagningssystemet i Sverige. Det tillfälliga skyddet för ukrainare förlängdes flera gånger sedan 2022 och i juni 2024 beslutade Europeiska kommissionen om ännu en förlängning av massflyktsdirektivet, denna gång fram till mars 2026. Samtidigt har också den svenska regeringen lämnat en lagrådsremiss, Förbättrade levnadsvillkor för utlänningar med tillfälligt skydd (Regeringen, 2024, Ju2024/00480). Lagförändringarna, trädde i kraft den 1 november 2024, och var tänkta att förbättra möjligheterna för skyddsökande att integrera sig i det svenska samhället. I stället, riskerar nu dessa lagförändringar att fördjupa utsattheten för flera grupper av skyddsökande.

11.15-12.30 Panel discussion ”Att integreras eller återvända. Erfarenheter av integration under tidsbegränsade uppehållstillstånd” / “To integrate or to return. Experiences of integration during temporary residence permits"

Daniela Zaia, student and asylum-seeker

Louise Dånge, Post doc in Sociology, Aalborg University and author of the dissertation ”In the midst of a paradigm shift from integration to repatriation: Insights into the experiences of young refugees and local integration policy workers during 2018 to 2020”

Mina Ghassaban, Case officer at the Swedish Migration Agency

Therese Ydrén, Unit Manager at Folkhögskoleförvaltningen, Västra Götaland Region / Project Manager for ”Helhetslyftet"

Viktoriia Svidovska, PhD in Pedagogical 91̽��, Psychologist and Mental Health Care Specialist at Help Ukraine Gothenburg (HUG)

12.30-13.30 Lunch and mingle