Supervision and detention

A person whose application for a residence permit has been rejected must leave Sweden. If the Swedish Migration Agency considers that there is a risk that the person will abscond or otherwise fail to cooperate about leaving the country, they may receive a supervision decision. If the Swedish Migration Agency considers that supervision will be insufficient, the person can be placed in detention.

If you are 18 years of age or older, you may be supervised or placed in detention if it is necessary to investigate, for example, your identity or your right to reside in Sweden. You can also be supervised or placed in detention if you have received, or are likely to receive, a refusal of entry or expulsion decision and the Swedish Migration Agency assesses that there is a risk that you will commit crimes in Sweden, abscond, hide, or otherwise prevent or hinder the enforcement of the decision.

Supervision

Supervision is a way for the Swedish Migration Agency to make sure that you are available to leave Sweden. If you receive a supervision decision, you are obliged to report at certain times to either the police or the Swedish Migration Agency in a certain location. You may also be required to surrender your passport or other identity documents.

Time limitation

A supervision decision is valid for six months and may be extended.

Appeal a supervision decision

A supervision decision may be appealed to the Migration Court at any time.

Detention

The Swedish Migration Agency may place you in detention if we believe that supervision is not sufficient for you to be available to leave the country. This can happen, for example, if you have received a supervision decision but fail to appear when you are supposed to report to the police or Swedish Migration Agency, or if you otherwise fail to cooperate with us.

Being placed in detention means that you live in a locked accommodation that you are not allowed to leave. The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for these accommodations.

People who are placed in detention have the right to receive visitors, provided that it does not hamper the detention centre’s activities. The Swedish Migration Agency may decide to monitor visits.

If your application for asylum has been rejected and you are placed in detention, you can apply for a daily allowance if you do not have your own money.

Confidentiality and security

For reasons of confidentiality, the Swedish Migration Agency’s staff are not allowed to tell anyone who is being kept in detention and where they live. This means that the Swedish Migration Agency cannot tell your family and friends where you are, but you have the opportunity to contact them yourself, from the detention centre.

The people living in the detention centre have phone and internet access. To protect the privacy of residents, no cameras or phones with cameras are allowed in the detention centre. You can borrow a mobile phone without a camera if you need one. There are also other items that you are forbidden to take with you into detention, for safety reasons. If the Swedish Migration Agency suspects that you have an item that is not permitted (contraband), the staff has the right to visit you and dispose of items that are not allowed.

The Swedish Migration Agency’s detention centres house men, women and children. However, in some cases there are specific parts of the detention centre where men are not allowed to go. If it is necessary for order and security, the Swedish Migration Agency may decide that you should be kept separate from the other residents of the detention centre.

Time limitation

A detention decision can last for different lengths of time: two weeks or two months. The length is determined by the reason you have been placed in detention. The decision can be renewed for up to a maximum of 12 months. However, anyone who has been sentenced to deportation as punishment for having committed a crime may be kept in detention for more than twelve months.

Appeal a detention decision

A detention decision can be appealed to a migration court at any time. Decisions made by the Swedish Migration Agency’s staff at the detention centre (for example to subject you to a body search or that you should be kept separate from others) can also be appealed to a migration court within three weeks from the date on which you received the decision. People in detention usually have the right to a public counsel.

If you are under the age of 18 and you have received a refusal of entry or expulsion decision, the Swedish Migration Agency may decide to supervise you. If you fail to fulfil the requirements of your supervision when it is time to prepare your departure from the country, the Swedish Migration Agency may decide to place you in detention instead.

The Swedish Migration Agency may also decide to supervise you if you have received, or if it is likely that you will receive, a refusal of entry decision that is to be implemented immediately and there is a clear risk that you may abscond/go into hiding. If the Swedish Migration Agency considers that supervision is not enough to prevent you from absconding/hiding from us, we can place you in detention instead.

Children may never be separated from both their parents/legal guardians. A child may be kept in detention for a maximum of 72 hours. If exceptional grounds exist, this time can be extended by another 72 hours, but never for longer than that.

When you are placed in detention, we may decide that instead of living in a Swedish Migration Agency detention centre, you should be placed in a police gaol or in one of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service’s remand centres or prisons. This only applies to people aged 18 or older.

The Swedish Migration Agency may make such a decision in the following situations:

  • You have been sentenced to deportation as punishment for having committed a crime, and it is not appropriate for you to be housed in a detention centre.
  • You are being kept separate from other detention centre residents and pose a security threat.
  • This is necessary for technical reasons related to transport. In such instances, the decision will apply for a maximum of 72 hours.
  • Exceptional grounds exist, for example prior to an imminent journey enforcing a refusal of entry/expulsion/deportation decision.

Appeal a decision to place you elsewhere

If you are placed in a correctional institution, remand centre or police gaol, you can appeal this decision to a migration court. You must submit your appeal to the Swedish Migration Agency no more than three weeks from the date on which you received the decision.

All visits must be booked in advance. You must contact the person you are going to visit at the detention centre, as only they can book an appointment for the visit. The Swedish Migration Agency normally allows a maximum of two adult visitors at a time. In some cases, we may decide that the visit should be monitored. This means that the Swedish Migration Agency's staff will be present during the visit. In some cases, we may refuse to allow the person to receive visits.

At the detention centre, there are lockable lockers in which visitors must leave any outerwear, bags or other items before your visit can begin. You will receive information about the detention centre’s local rules and procedures.

Everything you bring with you must be approved

Everything you take with you to give to someone who is being kept in detention must be approved by the Swedish Migration Agency. A person who is being kept in detention is not allowed to have alcoholic beverages, other intoxicants, or objects that can be used to harm someone else or injure themselves.

The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for considering applications from people who want to live in Sweden, seek protection or become Swedish citizens. Our work is based on Swedish laws and international conventions, with a focus on legal certainty and effective reception and return.