Ayla, 21, Jomana, 18, and Ilya, 19, came to Sweden as children, though at different ages and under different circumstances. Today they face the same reality: all have been ordered to leave the country alone while their families remain.
These cases stem from Sweden’s increasingly restrictive migration policy, under which young people who turn 18 before obtaining permanent residency are no longer considered part of their parents’ family unit. The Swedish Migration Agency states that residency based on parental ties is granted only in exceptional cases involving “special dependency.” A normal parent-child relationship is not sufficient.
On February 17, 2025, a multiparty proposal to stop these deportations did not gain a majority in the Parliamentary Committee on Social Insurance, despite cross-party recognition that the practice separates families.
Jomana Gad, 18, arrived in Sweden at age 4 and faces deportation to Egypt. “I have my whole life here,” she told media, describing her hopes for education and work. Ayla Rostami, 21, who arrived at 15, recalls seeing Sweden as a place of freedom. Ilya Taheraki, 19, came at age 8 and applied for permanent residency at 15. He was rejected days after turning 18. He and Ayla now face deportation to Iran.
Young people cannot be deported from Sweden if they have permanent residency, but many children spend years in the country on temporary permits. Combined with long processing times and increasingly restrictive policies—including stricter family reunification rules, higher income requirements, and narrowed humanitarian protection such as limits on “particularly distressing circumstances”—the safeguards that keep families together have weakened. As a result, some “age out” at 18 and lose their right to remain in the country as they can no longer claim residency based on ties to their parents.
Sweden is a party to both the European Convention on Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, under which failing to prioritize the best interest of the child and to protect the private and family lives of children and young adults within the context of immigration is a violation of the country’s international legal obligations.
Instead, Sweden should halt deportations that separate young adults from their families and ensure children’s asylum and family reunification cases are processed without delays that cause them to age out of protection. The government should also create clear pathways to residency reflecting the years individuals have spent in Sweden, including schooling and community ties, and reintroduce humanitarian grounds for “particularly distressing circumstances.”
