Accommodation with the Migration Agency

This information is for you who are going to be living in one of the Migration Agency’s accommodation centres while you await a decision on your asylum application.

The Migration Agency offers you temporary accommodation during the time you are waiting for your decision.

The Migration Agency will pay for your accommodation if you do not have any money. However, if you have an income or your own means, you have to pay for accommodation as well as the food that is included.

You have to stay where there is space

You are not entitled to choose where you stay, instead you must be prepared to move to a location where there is vacant accommodation. During your waiting period, you must also be prepared to move to accommodation elsewhere in order to make room for further asylum seekers.

You have to share rooms

The Migration Agency’s accommodation centres are only intended for asylum seekers. If you have been offered a place in an accommodation, it applies only for you. Accommodation is often in a flat that is shared with others. Families are always given a room of their own. Single people must share a room with others of the same sex.

If you need specially adapted accommodation for any reason, speak to your Unit for Reception.

If you have special needs

You may be entitled to accommodation that is adapted to your needs if you are in a particularly vulnerable situation. Talk to your reception unit as soon as possible if you have special needs regarding your living situation. We do what we can to find a solution that feels secure and right for you.

Return centres

If you have received a refusal of entry or expulsion decision, you will be offered a place at a return centre. At the same time, this means that the Swedish Migration Agency no longer offers you any other accommodation. A return centre is an accommodation located near an international airport.

You will stay at the return centre until you leave Sweden or until you are no longer entitled to financial support and accommodation. At the return centre, you will receive advice and support to prepare for your return.

Respect for others in your accommodation

The Swedish Migration Agency wants everyone living in the home to feel secure. Therefore, all forms of alcohol and drugs are forbidden in the Swedish Migration Agency’s homes. It is important that everyone in the home respects each other and shows each other consideration, regardless of their religion, culture, sexual orientation, and regardless of whether they are women or men.

All forms of violence are forbidden and punishable according to Swedish law, and will be reported to the police. This applies outside as well as inside the family. Violence must not be used for raising children or against other family members.

If you feel you have been subjected to threats, violence or other offensive behaviour, you should talk to the staff in the home or at your reception unit. You can also talk with volunteer organisations if there are any where you live. To report a crime, you should call the police on telephone number 114 14. If you are in immediate danger, call 112.

The women’s help line provides advice and support for women subjected to threats and physical, mental or sexual violence. Call 020‑50 50 50. You can also read more at kvinnofridslinjen.se.

Stödlinjen för män (Sweden’s national support line for men) offers advice and support to men who have been subjected to threats and physical, psychological and sexual violence. Call 020‑80 80 80. You can read more on stodlinjenforman.se.

Stödlinjen för transpersoner (Sweden’s national support line for transgender or non-binary adults) offers advice and support to transgender and non-binary adults who have been subjected to threats and physical, psychological and sexual violence. Call 020‑55 00 00.

Furniture and fittings

The home is furnished with furniture and equipment that you may need. The flat, furniture and equipment belong to the Swedish Migration Agency, and any damage may be reported to the police. If anything in the home breaks or doesn’t work, it is important that you contact the Swedish Migration Agency staff as soon as possible. Staff occasionally visit the home during the time you are living here, to see if anything needs to be fixed.

Your personal things

Closets or other storage spaces there may be in the building are not included in the home. You have the use of a cupboard which you can lock, but you are responsible for your own personal belongings. The Swedish Migration Agency staff are not allowed to open the cupboard as long as you are living there.

Shared spaces

To ensure everyone feels at home and to avoid disagreement, there are rules for how common areas should be used. When you move into the home, you will be given further information about what rules apply in your building.

In all homes, you must

keep the home clean and tidy
not smoke indoors
be careful with furniture and equipment
not have any pets.

Safety

Remember

that it is forbidden to repair or try to change electricity sockets yourself, as this poses a danger to life
to contact the staff if something is broken
not to block the external door or escape route, as this would make it difficult to vacate the building in the event of a fire
it is not always permitted to put up satellite dishes - always ask the staff what the rules are in your building.

Environmental awareness

The Swedish Migration Agency wants to work with you to help improve the environment. Therefore, please consider the following:

Use water, electricity and heating sparingly.
Don’t keep windows open for long periods when it’s cold outside (as this uses more electricity and heating).
Sort your waste (recycling). There are separate waste bins for sorting your waste and refuse. You can get further information about waste arrangements in your building from the Migration Agency’s accommodation staff or the property owner.

When you move out or change accommodation

The Swedish Migration Agency staff will check the home and the furniture and equipment to ensure that everything is in place and in good condition for the next person to move in.

Remember

to clean the flat when vacating
take your personal things with you. There is no certainty that you will get things back that you have left behind after vacating or when you are discharged the Migration Agency’s reception system. Items that are left behind or forgotten may be disposed of, given away or left with the police as lost property
to hand back the key to the Migration Agency’s staff
if you need to change your accommodation, you will probably need to take a train or a bus. The amount of luggage you can take with you is limited. Contact the Migration Agency’s staff for more information about how luggage is handled during relocation between the Migration Agency’s homes.

Your right to accommodation may come to an end

The Swedish Migration Agency offers you accommodation while you are an asylum seeker. When you receive a decision on your application for a residence permit, this may also lead to the termination of your right to accommodation, or that you have must move to a return centre.

If you are allowed to stay

If you have been living in accommodation provided by the Swedish Migration Agency, then the Swedish Migration Agency can help you to find housing once you have received a residence permit. You can stay in accommodation provided by the Swedish Migration Agency until we have found new housing for you. If you decline the accommodation you are offered, you no longer have the right to continue to live in accommodation provided by the Swedish Migration Agency.

Last updated: 20 November 2023

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