Sweden in Focus

This week's Sweden in Focus Extra podcast features an interview with Simon Montgomery, a British-American father facing expulsion from Sweden despite wanting to stay to take care of his one-year-old son.

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In this week's episode of Sweden in Focus Extra, The Local's Mandy Pipher catches up with a dad who has been fighting for the past year to be able to stay in Sweden with his baby son, despite a deportation order from the Swedish Migration Agency.

Although he's no longer together with his child's German mother, Simon Montgomery was determined to stay in Sweden to be fully present in his son't upbringing.

But he was left speechless by a migration court ruling that visa-free travel meant he could continue parenting from the UK and would not be granted leave to remain in Sweden.

Tune in to this week's podcast for the full story.

READ ALSO: 'He's the reason I'm here': Dad fights to stay in Sweden with baby son

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This week: Why are the Social Democrats acting like bit players? Why have a mother-to-be and an active father been told to leave Sweden? Are immigration laws scaring off foreign workers? And what do you need to know about All Saints' Day in Sweden?

There was a time when getting married to a Swede was an easy way to stay in Sweden. But these days it's a bit more complicated than that, host James Savage explains, citing the example of Brenda Ramström who recently had to fly to Brazil or risk a re-entry ban despite being 21 weeks pregnant.

We also saw a case this week about a British man who has been denied permission to stay despite being the father of a one-year-old child who lives in Sweden.

What's the logic behind these decisions?

To answer this and other questions, James is joined this week by panelists Mandy PipherandEmma Löfgren.

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Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Politics

Immigration

Swedish traditions

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This week's Sweden in Focus Extra podcast features an interview with Matilda Molander, head of the green and liberal Fores think tank.

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Sweden's Centre Party emerged from the 2026 election as a potential kingmaker and leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist has expressed a preference for the Social Democrats' Magdalena Andersson as Sweden's next prime minister.

But the party has also ruled out collaborating in a government that contains the Left Party, a sticking point that has left coalition-building negotiations at an impasse.

Matilda Molander from the Fores think tank recently floated the possibility of the Centre Party edging its way back into the right-wing fold it abandoned over concessions to the Sweden Democrats.

The Local's Richard Orange caught up with her recently to find out more about the Centre Party's pivotal role and what's likely to happen next in Swedish politics.

Tune in to this week's Sweden in Focus Extra for the full analysis.

READ ALSO: What would it take for Sweden's Centre Party to back Ulf Kristersson as PM?

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This week: Halloween in Sweden, Swedish media coverage of the Tidö government’s migration crackdown, our favourite Swedish children’s books, efforts to form Sweden’s next government, and a language quiz.

The last four years have seen sweeping change for immigrants in Sweden.

For many of The Local's readers, the lack of transitional rules in the new citizenship law caused untold stress. The same goes for multiple changes to the salary threshold required for a work permit.

Teen deportations hit the headlines in Sweden last year. But why did it take so long? And how come Swedish media missed so much of what was impacting the lives of people who chose to make Sweden their home?

Host Richard Orangeis joined this week by panelists Mandy PipherandEmma Löfgren.

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Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Halloween

Immigration

Politics

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This week’s Sweden in Focus Extra features an interview with Brenda and Marcus Ramström, a couple in western Sweden who speak to The Local days before she is forced to return to her native Brazil following a Migration Court ruling.

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Brenda Ramström, a former Northvolt worker, is 21 weeks pregnant as she boards a flight on Tuesday for the first leg of a gruelling 23 hour journey to Brazil.

She has no clear idea of when she will be allowed to return to Sweden.

She and her husband Marcus tell The Local's Emma Löfgren that they were shocked and devastated when they received confirmation in late September that Brenda had four weeks to leave Sweden of her own volition or risk an entry ban.

Tune in to this week's Sweden in Focus Extra for the full story.

Read also: ‘I want to be with my husband’: Pregnant woman forced to leave Sweden

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This week: First month post-election ends with no government, breakthrough on ending teen deportations, a plan to help citizenship applicants hit retroactively by the new law, and a reminder of some of the best things about living in Sweden.

More than a month has passed since Sweden’s election, and we still don’t have a government. As we were recording this week's episode, the Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson lost a vote in parliament on installing her as prime minister. So what happens now?

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Mandy PipherandEmma Löfgren.

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Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Politics

Immigration

Living in Sweden

Thumbnail photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

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This week’s Sweden in Focus Extra features an interview with AI consultant Anna Bärlund, who won an appeal last week against her Swedish citizenship rejection.

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On June 6th, Sweden rolled out major new citizenship reforms that included increasing the length of time that the partners of Swedish citizens have to live in Sweden before they become eligible for citizenship from three years to seven years.

What's more, the government didn't include transitional rules for those already in the queue despite the protestations of legal experts.

Consequently, many people who met the requirements when they applied are now being rejected. Until now Sweden's courts have sided with the Migration Agency, so when The Local's Emma Löfgren learned that Anna Bärlund had won her appeal, she was curious to find out more.

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This week: Tortuous efforts to form a government, plans to stop teen deportations, how new rules on family reunification could make life harder for university researchers, and what do The Local’s readers miss most when living in Sweden?

The four parties that claimed victory in the election are still a long way from forming a government, but there has been movement this week as they agreed to meet in person.

The parties will meet on Friday at a luxury hotel on the island of Lidingö, near Stockholm. But the plan is not to negotiate; instead they will be given a series of briefings on the problems facing Sweden.

The initiative came from the Centre Party, which has taken a lot of the blame for the lack of progress due to its insistence that the Left Party be denied ministerial posts in any coalition. But will it break the deadlock?

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Mandy PipherandRichard Orange.

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Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Politics

Immigration

Teen deportations

Living in Sweden

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Gift Blessing is only 24 years old, but has already achieved an enormous amount. He is a rapper, an author, a newspaper columnist, and a poet.

He came to Sweden as a quota refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo as a young child. He broke through to public consciousness in 2021 with a bravura rap performance in Sweden's Got Talent (Talang).

Last month he was made Sweden's official reading ambassador with a mission to get young people reading.

And this week he is releasing an anthology of writing in English from writers from all around the world, but who are based in Stockholm.

This week's Sweden in Focus Extra features Gift Blessing in conversation with The Local's James Savage.

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Thumbnail photo by Maja Brand.

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Magdalena Andersson was acclaimed as the winner of Sweden’s election. Four parties – adding up to a majority – said they wanted her to be prime minister, and she was charged by the speaker with forming a government. Yet on Monday she threw in the towel.

The immediate pretext was the decision by the Left Party to support the re-election of speaker Andreas Norlén, a Moderate, over the Social Democrats’ own candidate.

But it followed two weeks in which Andersson had failed to get the Centre Party, Left Party and Greens to so much as take a cup of coffee with each other.

Now it’s up to the speaker to find someone else willing to have a go.

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Emma LöfgrenandRichard Orange.

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Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Politics

Brexit

Thumbnail photo: Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar and Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist take part in a party leader discussion hosted by RFSL during Stockholm Pride. Photo: Stefan Jerrevång/TT

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Sweden's government tightened rules for citizenship earlier this year without transitional rules for people who had already applied. The new rules require eight years of residency instead of five for most applicants, and would-be citizens must now pass language and civics tests.

The Migration Court in Malmö looked very closely recently at a case in which an applicant appealed for their right to be awarded citizenship according to the old rules. But the court ruled against the citizenship applicant in a blow to people who had waited in the queue and were hoping to become Swedish citizens under the rules that were in place at the time of application.

Some hope was restored however when the judge told The Local's Richard Orange that an appeal to a higher court could succeed.

In this week's episode you can hear an excerpt from the interview with Judge Löndahl we well as a studio discussion about the case and what happens next.

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Emma LöfgrenandRichard Orange.

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In this week's podcast: Electoral fraud allegations, complex coalition building, Candy Crush maker faces strike action, and how do Swedes say 'Digestive biscuit'?

Negotiations between the centre-left parties are ongoing after they won a wafer thin majority in last week’s election.

But now a voter fraud scandal involving the Left Party threatens to derail the whole process.

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the election of a Left Party Member of Parliament in the Dalarna region. What do know about the allegations so far? And could the scandal lead to a revote?

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Emma LöfgrenandRichard Orange.

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Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Electoral fraud scandal

Politics

Working in Sweden

Zara Larsson clip credit: Heart Radio

Thumbnail photo: Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar. Magnus Hjalmarson Neideman/SVD/TT

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In this week’s Sweden in Focus Extra, The Local's Mandy Pipher tells us about the bureaucratic nightmare surrounding her recent trip to Canada. 

Living in Sweden on a residence permit can be a risky business, not least given that almost everyone who does so has strong connections to another country and needs to travel frequently.

But if your residency card is in the process of being renewed while you're travelling, you risk being shut out of Sweden on your return.

In this episode, host James Savage talks to podcast regular Mandy Pipher about her struggles ahead of a recent trip home to Canada.

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This week: Final election results, far right blames immigrants for loss, and what the election outcome means for foreigners in Sweden.  

200,000 foreigners who have become Swedish citizens are to blame for Sweden’s tiny swing to the left – and in particular for the losses suffered by the Sweden Democrats. That’s the claim being made by the party as it grapples with a surprise electoral reverse in Sunday’s election.

But is it accurate to say that immigrants won this election for the Left?

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Mandy PipherandRichard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

2026 Swedish election 

Thumbnail on Spotify: Social Democrat party leader Magdalena Andersson and party secretary Tobias Baudin celebrate with supporter on election night. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT

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All three parties in the governing coalition increased their vote share while the Sweden Democrats lost ground.

On the left, meanwhile, the Social Democrats had a terrible election, while all the other parties had something to celebrate.

So why did the government parties do better than expected? What went wrong for the two biggest parties on the right and left?

And what is Sweden's next government likely to look like? 

Nicholas Aylott, associate politics professor at Södertörn University, gives his views in a conversation with The Local's Richard Orange.  

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In this week’s Sweden in Focus Extra our panelists try to make sense of a dizzying election night.

Sweden’s election threw up some major surprises on Sunday night.

The Liberals cleared the parliamentary threshold by a respectable margin having languished way beneath the four percent limit ever since the last election.

The Social Democrats are seemingly on course for their worst election ever – but leader Magdalena Andersson could still be headed for a second stint as Sweden’s prime minister.

The incumbent, Ulf Kristersson, meanwhile can breathe a sigh of relief as his Moderate Party regained its position as Sweden’s second biggest party.

Their rise came at the expense of the Sweden Democrats, whose vote share dropped for the first time ever in a national election.

But what does it all mean for the business of forming a new government?

Host James Savage is joined this week by podcast regulars Emma Löfgren and Richard Orange.

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This week: Joy for Liberals as support swells, Sweden Democrats and Left Party hit by scandals, immigration in focus in TV debate, billionaires duel over which side to back, and poor school results throw a spanner in the works. 

Two of Sweden’s wealthiest people, Jacob Wallenberg and Martin Lorentzon, warned in the Financial Times this week about the risks of a left-wing government. Another, Robert Weil, shot back, saying he was more concerned about “an ethno-nationalist and authoritarian policy where the issue of migration is allowed to dominate at the expense of other issues and interests."

Meanwhile, the Liberals are poised to clear the 4 percent threshold they need to get into parliament, according to a new Novus poll showing that the party had leapt from 1.9 percent to 5.8 percent.

The poll follows others that showed significant gains for the Liberals after months in which the party has languished well under the threshold, leaving many commentators to all but write off their chances – and those of Ulf Kristersson’s government.

On Sunday we'll find out if the Prime Minister's coalition has done enough to claw their way back or if Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson gets a second bite at the top job. 

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Emma LöfgrenandRichard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

2026 Swedish election 

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Today's episode of Sweden in Focus Extra features an interview with Ludvig Aspling, migration spokesperson for the Sweden Democrats. 

This week we are turning a spotlight on the two parties most likely to shape Sweden’s immigration policy after the September 13th election.

Yesterday we heard from Ida Karkiainen, the Social Democrats’ immigration spokesperson. Today we’ll hear a conversation The Local's Richard Orange had with her counterpart from the Sweden Democrats, Ludvig Aspling. This interview took place in early August, a week before parliament voted on a so-called ‘safety valve’ to end teen deportations, which is one of the topics discussed in the episode. 

The Sweden Democrats were long a pariah in Swedish politics due to their Nazi roots. But as the largest party on the right in the 2022 election they emerged as one of the main architects of the Tidö agreement underpinning the government’s so-called paradigm shift on immigration over the past four years.

The shift has seen Sweden get much tougher on asylum immigration, work and residence permits and citizenship, with many of the policies directly impacting a lot of readers of The Local.

With that in mind, make sure to tune in to this week’s main episode of Sweden in Focus, which we expect to come out on Friday, for discussion and analysis of these interviews with the main immigration spokespeople for two of Sweden’s biggest rival parties.

So what can foreigners in Sweden expect if the right holds on to power after the election on Sunday and the Sweden Democrats receive ministerial posts for the first time, and how happy is Ludvig Aspling with how Sweden’s immigration landscape has changed over the last four years?

Tune in for the full interview. 

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This week’s episode of Sweden in Focus Extra features an interview with Ida Karkiainen, migration spokesperson for the Social Democrats. 

With the Swedish election just days away, the podcast this week features conversations The Local's Richard Orange had recently with two of the people in with a strong chance of becoming Sweden’s next migration minister: Ida Karkiainen of the Social Democrats and Ludvig Aspling of the Sweden Democrats.

First up: Ida Karkiainen. She is immigration spokesperson for the Social Democrats, and with her party tipped to lead Sweden’s next government we wanted to find out what direction Sweden would take on immigration under their leadership.

The Social Democrats have been broadly on board with many of the changes to migration law ushered in by the current government but they have also been critical of a number of issues, such at how the government has handled the teen deportation scandal and its failure to allow transitional rules for citizenship applicants.

Tune in for the full interview. 

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This week: Right closing the gap on Sweden's left-wing opposition, party pledges explained, and could an extremist in Örebro get into the Riksdag? Oh, and fermented herring season is upon us.

A poll released this week showed the Sweden's government further closing the gap on the opposition. An election that looked like a foregone conclusion is now anything but. 

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Emma LöfgrenandRichard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

2026 Swedish election 

Food & Drink

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This week: Sweden in shock after school sword attack, Sweden Democrats say no to tactical voting, Migration Agency weighs in on Brexit deportations, and what do foreign parents find strange about Swedish schools?

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Emma LöfgrenandBecky Waterton. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

2026 Swedish election 

Crime

Brexit

Schools

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For a recent article on the real-life effects of Sweden's immigration laws on families in Sweden, The Local's Mandy Pipher spoke with a Swedish-American couple who are both biological scientists and living in Uppsala.

The pair met a decade ago when Anna-Karin moved to Chicago for a postdoctoral position in immunology and flu vaccine research. Chris, also a biologist, was finishing his immunology PhD at the same university. Three years later, when Anna-Karin was moving back to Sweden for another work opportunity, the two were a committed couple, and they made plans for Chris to follow to Sweden as soon as possible.

By the summer of 2021, Chris was on his way to Sweden with a job offer from Karolinska, Sweden's prestigious medical research institute in hand.

But despite have a Swedish spouse, owning a home together in Sweden, speaking Swedish, and doing years of valuable work at one of Sweden's top research institutes, Chris was given just days to leave the country or risk being served with a Schengen area entry ban. 

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In this week's episode: Sweden Democrats campaign hard, Brexit deportations, citizenship tests and the "caterpillar from hell". 

With just over three weeks to go until Sweden’s election, the campaign is intensifying. But reaching voters is trickier than usual this year thanks to new EU limits on political advertising. This might explain an explosion of political posters, sponsored buses and creative political rallies.

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Emma LöfgrenandRichard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

2026 Swedish election 

Working in Sweden

Brexit

Health

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Gustav Magnuson and Luisa Fernandez met in Costa Rica in 2018 when Gustav was there on a cycling trip of Central and South America. The two felt such a strong and immediate connection that Gustav never made it farther south on his cycling tour. Instead, he stayed with Louisa in San Jose.

A few years later the two were married and are now living in Stockholm with their one-year-old child.

In an interview with The Local's Mandy Pipher they explain how Swedish immigration law is affecting their family life and their peace of mind.

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This was the week in which the Swedish election campaign started to take some kind of shape. If the focus in 2022 was all crime and immigration, this time it looks like the economy is taking centre stage. What are the big differences between the parties, and what might all this mean for how the election develops?

We also look this week at revelations about spies’ activities in Sweden and we ask why Swedish authorities went public with this right now.

Also, Richard has been digging into teen deportations – and has discovered that the problem is more widespread that the Swedish media previously reported.

And is Hollywood actor Joel Kinnaman right to claim that Swedish attitudes to drugs are hopelessly out of date?

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Mandy PipherandRichard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

2026 Swedish election 

Teen deportations 

Drugs

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Sweden in Focus is back! James Savage, Richard Orange and Mandy Pipher look chew over the latest from Sweden, including:

Articles discussed in this episode:

'I feel shame and rage': Immigration clampdown hits Swedes close to home (interview with Gustav and Luisa)

'I felt betrayed by my country': Swedish scientist blasts treatment of US husband (Interview with Anna-Karin and Chris)

Sweden's opposition hope to vote down two-year wait for family reunion (interview with Annika Hirvonen)

Swedish Left Party MP apologises for 'accidental' support message to terrorist

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What does an American chef notice when he transplants himself to Sweden? John Klopson, known as Lost Chef in Sweden on Instagram and TikTok, talks to James Savage of his love for Swedish bread and dairy, and asks why Swedes use so much salt.

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How did Greta Gustafsson, a shop assistant born into an ordinary working family in Stockholm, transform into Greta Garbo, one of the greatest film stars of all time? And what was she really like as a person? Scott Reisfield, her great-nephew and biographer, tells James Savage that her Swedishness permeated her work and influence on Hollywood.

Link: https://scottreisfield.com/

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AI looks set to cause huge disruption to the world of work and to almost all aspects of our lives. Yet while Sweden is home to some leading AI companies, Swedish politicians are not rising to the major challenges that the technology poses, says author and AI expert Johan Falk to James Savage.

Read more:

Politics in Sweden: Why are Swedish politicians so silent on AI?

Johan Falk's English Substack

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The Local's weekly podcast with news from Sweden. This week, James Savage, Emma Löfgren and Mandy Pipher discuss a new poll of The Local's readers on the highs and lows of living in Sweden. We also talk about what the government hopes to achieve by slashing taxes on fuel and public transport, and on an interview we did with migration minister Johan Forssell.

Read more on the subjects we talk about in this episode:

Swedish migration minister: 'One day you're a Nazi, the next a left-wing activist' 

POLL: Foreign residents love Sweden, but are afraid they'll be forced out

Sweden becomes one of Europe's cheapest countries for petrol and diesel

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Sweden's Nordic editor Richard Orange was in Visby this week at the Almedalen political festival.

One of the many people he spoke to was Niels Paarup-Petersen, who is the migration, education and digitalisation spokesperson for the Centre Party.

On a walk through the city's medieval streets they discussed the chances of the government surviving after the election.

And what would a new government do about transitional rules for citizenship?

Also, are Sweden's political parties too wedded to incremental growth? Is it time to get a lot more ambitious in the age of AI?

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This week host James Savage and regular panelist Richard Orange record the podcast from Almedalen, the annual politics fest in Visby on the Baltic island of Gotland. 

They are joined for a lively politics conversation by Henrik Torehammar, a political commentator for the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper. 

Almedalen is sometime criticised as an event for Sweden's elites, but how elitist can any event really be in what Torehammar calls a "bicycle monarchy" famed for its flat hierarchies? 

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's Moderate Party is edging towards a disastrous election if polls are to be believed. Can he pull a result out of the fire at the eleventh hour? 

The opposition parties look poised to snatch power. But will some pretty major ideological differences act as a stumbling block for the Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson? 

And what issues are likely to dominate in the run-up to the September election. Immigration? Climate? Or could the rise of AI make its presence felt on the campaign trail? 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Politics

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Earlier this year the Fair Transition campaign group tried to convince Swedish decision makers to introduce transitional rules for the citizenship reforms which came into force on June 6th.

Two months have now passed since the Swedish parliament voted against transitional rules by the smallest of margins after the far-right Sweden Democrats sent in two MPs who were supposed to be withheld from the vote.

So what now for the campaigners fighting on behalf of the 100,000 citizenship applicants waiting in the citizenship queue? 

The Local’s editor Emma Löfgren caught up with the group's spokesman Patrick Gallento find out more about Fair Transitions plans as they prepare to mount a legal challenge in Sweden's migration courts.  

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This week we talk about the Swedish culture of long summer holidays and how to make the most of them.

Also: parliament has passed a law that will make it possible to revoke residence permits for “poor conduct”. Now that it has passed, will you live to regret that speeding fine?

Why is the government pressing ahead with plans for mandatory ‘language preschools’ for children who don’t speak good Swedish, despite an official investigator saying that the idea was legally and practically difficult, and possibly discriminatory?

And we look at how the government is finding it ever harder to get its agenda through parliament, as their plans to let 13 year olds go to jail were defeated.

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Mandy PipherandRichard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Residency permits

Midsummer

Politics

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Sweden's teen deportations have affected young people who live in Sweden and whose parents have the right to be in Sweden, but who themselves no longer meet the requirements for a residence permit.

After sustained public outcry, media reporting and opposition pressure, Sweden's government announced relief measures on June 1st. 

These included the option for young adults who came to Sweden as dependents of their parents to no longer have to leave the country in order to apply for their own permits.

Once this law comes into effect in October, it will have a big effect on young people like 19-year-old Paola Claudio.

Despite having lived in Sweden with her family since she was 15 and being in full time studies at Stockholm's prestigious KTH University, she had to interrupt her studies at exam time in order to make a last minute round trip to Mexico or risk being issued with a deportation order.

The Local’s Mandy Pipher caught up with Paola Claudio in April to learn more about why she ended up travelling all the way to Mexico once she learned she risked being deported from Sweden. 

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This week we talk about a security scandal surrounding Prime minister Ulf Kristersson.

And with the men's football World Cup kicking off this week, we assess Sweden's chances. 

We also discuss new restrictions on permanent residency and turbulence on the left side of Swedish politics.

And we have an interview with Liz Stopka from the American Swedish Institute about the history of Swedish emigration to the United States.

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Mandy PipherandEmma Löfgren. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Politics

Sweden and the US

Football

Immigration

Work permits

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Two popular museums in Stockholm are at risk of closure because the government agency that owns the properties is now requiring the museums, which are also run by a government agency, to pay market rents that they can’t afford.

It’s currently unclear if Medelhavsmuseet and Östasiatiska museet will be able to stay open. 

Known in English as The Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities, and the East Asian Antiquities Museum, the two city centre museums are much-loved destinations for Stockholmers and visitors alike. 

To learn more about their importance, The Local’s Mandy Pipher caught up recently with Ninhursag Tadaros, an Assyriologist and curator who has previously worked with the Mesopotamian collection at Medelhavsmuseet.

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This week we look at the government’s solution to teen deportations, and we discuss the new citizenship law coming into force on Saturday, which also happens to be National Day.

We also talk about how unnerving it can be for foreigners when a young child switches to Swedish before you even properly understand it.

And for Membership+ subscribers, we talk about the Swedish community in the US and how they keep their Swedishness alive.

Host Richard Orangeis joined this week by panelists Mandy PipherandJames Savage. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Immigration

Politics

Family

Sweden and the US

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A month ago the parties on the left were poised to win a vote on transitional rules for citizenship in the Riskdag after two independents MPs sided with the opposition. But the Sweden Democrats swung the vote in the government’s favour by getting two of their parliamentarians to breach a longstanding pairing agreement that compensates for planned absences.

This week we hear from the Green Party’s immigration policy spokesperson Anna Hirvonen, who has sent an emergency motion to the speaker of the Swedish parliament in a last-ditch attempt to force lawmakers to vote again on including transitional rules in Sweden’s new citizenship law for the more than 100,000 people waiting in the queue.

In her conversation with The Local’s Nordic editor Richard Orange the increasingly high-profile Hirvonen also talks about the chokehold she believes the far-right Sweden Democrats have on Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s Moderate Party, how the immigration debate is changing after protests over teen deportations, and how she thinks the parties on the left would go about undoing some of the hardline immigration policies brought in by the current government.

Swedish terms used in the interview: 

Utskottsinitiativ - an initiative proposed to a parliamentary committee 

Ventil - a "safety clause", in this case an immigration law amendment intended to bring an end to teen deportations. 

Kvittning - The Swedish parliament's long-standing pairing agreement on how to handle votes when members have to be absent for reasons such as illness.

Händelsemotion/akutmotion - An emergency motion submitted to the parliamentary speaker, in this case aimed at forcing a revote on the inclusion of transitional rules in Sweden's new citizenship law. 

Det ska löna sig att arbeta - Working should pay. A Moderate Party slogan about the value of work. 

Skärpta krav för anhöriginvandring - A legislative proposal on tougher requirements for family reunification

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This week we are delving into the sort of jobs the Sweden Democrats could get if they join the government after the election.

With new rules for work permits coming in next week, we look at an unexpectedly short list of exempted professions. 

Is Sweden’s new status as a ‘smoke-free country’ really just be due to tobacco taxes and good public health campaigns?

Why is the government proposing to halve the cost of a monthly card for regional public transport from July 1st until the end of the year? 

And we look at how end-of-term gifts to Swedish teachers have become so extravagant in some cases that a few Swedish councils have now banned the practice altogether.

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Richard OrangeandEmma Löfgren. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Politics

Health

Immigration

Schools

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With just two weeks left until Sweden introduces a new citizenship law, how are applicants who are stuck in the queue feeling about their chances of becoming Swedish?

And what do they have to say about the government’s decision not to introduce transitional rules, meaning that they’ll be judged according to tougher new criteria, including longer residency, as well as language and knowledge requirements?

Around 100,000 applicants are currently waiting to become naturalised Swedes and The Local Sweden’s editor Emma Löfgren recently caught up with some of them.

In this week’s episode we hear from four of the people Emma spoke to: Victoria Heisler, Sigrid Holmwood, Volodymr Rubinets, and Ffion McEvoy. 

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This week we ask whether moves to stop teen deportations could help those young people who have already left, as well as discussing all the latest on the citizenship voting scandal. 

We also look at whether proposals to liberalize Systembolaget could actually lead to real change.

And why has Sweden’s new order for warships gone to France, not Sweden’s own Saab?

For membership+ subscribers we look at whether a new economic partnership between India and Sweden could help Indians wanting to move here.

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Richard OrangeandMandy Pipher. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Immigration 

Alcohol

Military

Sweden & India

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This week’s episode is sponsored by SULF, the Swedish Association of University Teachers and Researchers.

SULF was instrumental recently in securing residence permit exemptions for academics and is consistently working hard to be as accessible as possible for English speakers in Sweden.

So if you are a PhD student or university teacher in Sweden you’ll find SULF a great place to meet like-minded people who are fighting hard for academic freedom and the rights of researchers here. 

You can find out more on theEnglish-language section of the SULF website. 

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The repercussions of the Sweden Democrats' decision to defy Swedish parliamentary convention to get new citizenship rules passed without transitional rules are continuing to be felt.

But what are the long-term consequences of the Sweden Democrats' willingness to break the rules governing Swedish politics? And could there be a price for Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's moderate party?

Moderate veteran Mikael Odenberg, a former defence minister and former group leader for the party in parliament, thinks there could. In this interview with Richard Orange, he explains why.

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This week we discuss the talk about whether the rule of law is threatened in Sweden, as many lawyers are now arguing. 

We also ask why things got heated in the Riksdag this week.

Why are some museums saying they’re being forced out of Stockholm?

And we finish up with a tricky quiz on Swedish society.  

Host James Savageis joined this week by panelists Emma LöfgrenandMandy Pipher. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Politics & law 

Politics 

Immigration

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This week’s episode is sponsored by SULF, the Swedish Association of University Teachers and Researchers.

SULF was instrumental recently in securing residence permit exemptions for academics and is consistently working hard to be as accessible as possible for English speakers in Sweden.

So if you are a PhD student or university teacher in Sweden you’ll find SULF a great place to meet like-minded people who are fighting hard for academic freedom and the rights of researchers here. 

You can find out more on theEnglish-language section of the SULF website. 

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Sweden is introducing a stricter new citizenship law from June 6th. But there will be no transitional provisions for the 100,000 people waiting in the citizenship queue.

That’s unless opposition politicians manage to force lawmakers to vote again on transitional rules after the previous vote was marred by cheating accusations at the end of last month, as The Local was first to report.

Last week our reporter Mandy Pipher caught up with Åsa Holmes, the head of the Swedish Migration Agency’s citizenship unit in Gothenburg to find out how the agency is planning to assess cases after the June changes come into force. And will applicants be able to get a refund now that Sweden has moved the goal posts?

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This week we discuss the aftershock from last week’s parliamentary vote on stricter citizenship rules.

We’ve got an interview with Åsa Holmes from the Migration Agency on how the new rules will be applied — and what it means for people already in the system.

We also look at the new civics test for citizenship.

For Membership+ subscribers, we look at the TISUS exam — which now counts towards the language requirement for citizenship.

And finally we look a why – if you notice a Swedish person staring at you and then looking away – they’re not necessarily being rude.

Host Richard Orange is joined this week by panelists Becky WatertonandMandy Pipher. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Swedish citizenship

Swedish habits

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Public opinion in Sweden is increasingly at odds with the government's restrictive immigration policies, a new survey has found.

The study, commissioned by non-profit organisation Globeknot and carried out by Novus, found that 81 per cent of respondents thought that foreigners who follow the law and support themselves should be allowed to stay in Sweden.

The Local's Richard Orange caught up with Globeknot's Andreas Bergh, who is also Associate Professor of Economics at Lund University, to find out more about the survey.

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This week we spend most of the episode looking at Wednesday’s controversial vote in parliament to pass stricter citizenship laws.

We also talk about King Carl Gustaf’s 80th birthday celebrations, Sweden’s bonfire night and May Day celebrations.

Host James Savage is joined this week by panelists Emma LöfgrenandRichard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Swedish citizenship vote

Swedish traditions

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Sweden is heading to an election in less than five months and the left of centre parties are leading consistently in the polls.

But the question everyone's asking i:, could this disparate group of parties form a government?

Will the Centre Party or the Left Party drop some of their red lines to make this happen? And what could the alternatives be? 

Richard Orange caught up with Nicholas Aylott, Associate Professor of Political Science at Södertörn University in the south of Stockholm, to ask him what might happen. 

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This week we look at a new survey in which skilled workers say what they like most and least about Sweden.

We ask which parts of some of Sweden’s big cities are best for foreigners.

And we look at whether the next government could unite parties of the left and right.

And in exclusive material for Membership+ subscribers we look at whether your flights home could be disrupted this summer as fuel costs soar.

Host James Savage is joined this week by panelists Mandy PipherandRichard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Working in Sweden

Reader insights

Politics

Travel

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Many people might think that someone working on a PhD funded by the Swedish state at a Swedish university would get an easy ride from migration authorities.

That hasn’t been the case for Fahima Ayub Khan, a linguistics and cognitive science researcher studying for a PhD at the University of Gothenburg.

She was denied a permit renewal and issued a deportation order just as she entered the final stretch of her doctoral studies.

In this week’s episode of Sweden in Focus Extra, she tells The Local's Mandy Pipher about how her battle with Swedish bureaucracy has affected her life.

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This week we ask how new curbs on permanent residency will hit immigrants.

As the Wallenberg family rescues a groundbreaking green steel project in northern Sweden, we examine whether the Swedish green transition has reached a fork in the road.

We also have a look at what goodies the government is showering over the electorate in the last budget before the election.

And in exclusive material for Membership+ subscribers we discuss Swedes’ favourite word – and we ask if our panelists can come up with a better one.

Host James Savage is joined this week by panelists Mandy PipherandEmma Löfgren. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Immigration

Politics

Business

Swedish language

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Applicants for work permits in Sweden will soon have to earn 90 percent of the median wage, or just over 33,000 kronor a month, to qualify.

But some key professions will be exempted from the requirement. No decision has yet been made on exactly which jobs will be exempted, but The Local recently obtained lists of the professions provided to the government by the Migration Agency for consideration.

The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, a lobby group representing Swedish businesses, has long sought to maintain Sweden's liberal work permit rules.

In this week’s episode, The Local's Richard Orange catches up with Amelie Berg, the organisation's expert on immigration and labour mobility issues, to get her take on the latest updates. 

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This week we ask whether the new deal between Ulf Kristersson and Jimmie Åkesson is a capitulation or a masterstroke by the prime minister. And what a Sweden Democrat migration minister might mean.

We look at what it's really like inside one of Sweden’s deportation centres – and why being articulate might lead to you getting forced onto a deportation flight earlier than you’d like.

And we examine how high-skilled workers are reacting to the newest migration laws.

In exclusive material for Membership+ subscribers we discuss whether the Swedish culture of shielding kids from competition is progressive or constraining.

Host James Savage is joined this week by panelists Mandy PipherandRichard Orange.

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Sign up here for their live Q&A sessions on working in Sweden

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Politics

Detained in Sweden

Immigration

Swedish traditions

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Our sponsor this week is Sveriges Ingenjörer (Engineers of Sweden) 

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How are constant changes to Sweden’s immigration rules, most recently the citizenship rules, affecting tech workers? 

What does Sweden need to do to stay attractive to international talent?

And how is the AI shift affecting workers at Spotify?

In this week’s episode, The Local Sweden’s editor Emma Löfgren speaks with Péter Tóth, who is a data engineer and chairperson of Spotify Workers Unionen.

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This week we ask whether the campaign for transitional rules for citizenship applicants has a chance. 

And is Sweden really guilty of democratic backsliding, as a new report claims?

Also, why is snus is causing ructions between Sweden and France? 

And anyone who has experienced the past few days will know, April in Sweden is notorious for its unreliable weather. So – for Membership+ subscribers – we put our panelists through their paces with a quiz about Swedish weather folklore.

Host James Savage is joined this week by regular panelists Emma LöfgrenandRichard Orange.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Citizenship

Politics

Swedish traditions

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How are tougher immigration laws affecting Swedish companies and their ability to recruit the people they need to be able to compete internationally in a fast-changing labour market? 

How important are immigration rules in attracting foreign workers? 

And what do Swedish trade unions think about the lack of transitional rules in new citizenship legislation? 

In this week’s episode, The Local Sweden’s editor Emma Löfgren speaks with Therese Svanström, chairperson of TCO, the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees.

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This week we talk about why some Swedish trade unions are pushing back against Sweden’s stricter immigration laws.

Also, with Easter around the corner we look at how the holiday is celebrated in Sweden.

For Membership+ subscribers we discuss the government’s plan to eject foreigners from Sweden for ‘bristande vandel’ or poor conduct.

Finally, we examine the 1,000-day backlog at the Swedish Migration Agency, and ask what – if anything – is being done to shorten it.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Emma LöfgrenandRichard Orange.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Citizenship

Easter

Immigration 

Migration Agency 

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In this week’s episode we’ll hear a conversation The Local’s Nordic editor Richard Orange had recently with Fredrik Kopsch, chief economist at the right-wing think tank Timbro. 

The interview was carried out before Sweden’s government held a press conference in which they u-turned on policies leading to the deportation of well-integrated young adults and foreign workers. 

This is a subject close to Kopsch’s heart. He released a book last year called Utvisad, or deported, which tackles these questions and he spoke in depth with Richard about what he thinks Sweden should be doing differently on immigration and integration, and how the government’s so-called paradigm shift on immigration has left him disillusioned with right-wing politics in Sweden. 

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This week we talk about the latest on Sweden’s new citizenship law as we enter a crunch period for possible amendments before it’s enacted.

Also, with six months left to the election we examine the state of play after a dramatic week in Swedish politics.

For Membership+ subscribers we’ take a closer look at the Tisus Swedish language test which some prospective citizens hope will be their gateway to completing the new language requirement. And we talk more generally about how to get into a Swedish university after applications opened earlier this week.

Finally, we get our teeth into Sweden’s Waffle Day tradition ahead of the annual celebration of the humble våffla next week.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton andEmma Löfgren.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Citizenship

Politics

Education

Swedish traditions

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The smallest party in Sweden's three-party coalition government faces a battle for survival, with opinion polls consistently showing the Liberals way below the four-percent support required to enter the Riksdag. 

It was against this backdrop that party leader Simona Mohamsson held a joint press conference on Friday with Jimmie Åkesson, the leader of the Sweden Democrat party on which the coalition is so for support. 

At a meeting that ended with a hug in front of press photographers, Mohamsson revealed that her party was abandoning its long-standing opposition to going into government with the far right. 

The Local's James Savage is our guest this week to analyse what it means for Swedish politics now that the Liberals have broken a key pledge to their voters.

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This week we talk about the government backtracking on some of its most heavily criticised immigration reforms and what it means for immigrants in Sweden.

We also discuss this year’s winner of Melodifestivalen, Felicia, an artist with a colourful back story who’s set to represent Sweden at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

For Membership+ subscribers we look at why April could be a good month for your personal finances in Sweden.

Finally we’ll bring you the latest on what we know about which professions are going to be exempted from increased work permit salary requirements.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton andRichard Orange.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Immigration

Music

Money

Swedish citizenship

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In this week’s episode The Local’s editor Emma Löfgren speaks with Johanna Nylander, acting head of the Swedish Games Industry Association (Dataspelsbranschen).

Games are one of Sweden’s biggest exports and a lot of skilled foreign workers have made their way to Sweden to work in the industry.

But with the government pushing through citizenship reforms without transitional rules, does Sweden risk becoming a less attractive destination for the international workers the games industry needs?

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 This week we talk about how Sweden’s government – and Iranians in Sweden – have been reacting to ongoing US and Israeli attacks in Iran.

We also discuss increasing rumblings of discontent on the Swedish right over strict immigration policies that some feel have gone too far.

For Membership+ subscribers we ask how much your personality changes when you switch to Swedish. 

Finally we examine if it’s possible for citizenship applicants to prove their Swedish civics knowledge before a new law comes into force in June.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton andJames Savage.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Middle East crisis

Immigration

Lots has happened since we recorded the podcast. Here are the latest updates: 

And here are the interviews with Douglas Thor and Fredrik Kopsch: 

Swedish language

Swedish citizenship

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This week’s episode features an interview about the lack of transitional rules in Sweden’s proposed new citizenship law.

The Local’s deputy editor Becky Waterton speaks to Patrick Gallen, a spokesperson for the grassroots organisation Fair Transition. 

Why is the group so adamant that Sweden should not move the goalposts for citizenship applicants who applied long before the Swedish government decided to revamp the citizenship law,?

And why does he believe that the lack of transition rules risks making Sweden less competitive.

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This week we talk about whether the recent Swedish media pushback against teen deportations is affecting how the government is approaching immigration in the last few months before the election.

We also discuss heavy criticism of Sweden’s planned new citizenship law by a legal oversight body.

For Membership+ subscribers we explain how Swedish birthday traditions work.

Finally we ask what the government’s plan to restrict benefits for immigrants means for newcomers to the country.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky WatertonandRichard Orange.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Teen deportations

Swedish citizenship

Swedish traditions

Immigration

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In this week’s episode The Local’s Nordic editor Richard Orange interviews Ximena Ramos Salas and her husband Nelson Loyola about the pending deportation of their son Andres.

Ximena grew up in Sweden and the family moved back from Canada in 2018 to be with her terminally ill mother in Skåne.

Her son, who has severe ADHD, has dropped out of his adult education classes as a result of the stress and anxiety brought on by the decision to deport him.

"There's no way we're gonna send him back alone. He is fully dependent on us."

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This week we talk about a deportation order issued to an eight-year-old infant that has shocked Sweden.

In lighter news, we’ll ask why one Swedish town wants more of its inhabitants to get intimate during work hours.

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For Membership+ subscribers we dig into the first figures on voluntary repatriation after the government offered a large grant to get more people who came to Sweden as refugees to leave the country.

Finally we look at the history of sportlov, Sweden’s annual spring break, and we give advice on how to make best use of the holiday.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky WatertonandRichard Orange,as well as a late cameo from Richard's children. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Immigration

Working in Sweden

Work permits

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In this week’s episode we talk about the latest development on teen deportations, as the issue continues to dominate the headlines in Sweden.

The Local’s Nordic editor Richard Orangeexplains why Sweden is deporting the 18-year-old children of permanent residency applicants. And what are the government's plans now that pressure is mounting to take action to stop the deportation of high school students. 

Richard also speaks to Besnik Barani, a software developer from Kosovo who has appealed a Migration Agency decision to deport his daughter. Like many other parents The Local has spoken to recently, Barani is hoping for an end to what he describes as an absurd situation. 

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This week we have a heavy focus on immigration after the government revealed the details of a proposed new law tightening up citizenship requirement which sparked anger among many readers of The Local, mainly because the new rules will even apply to people who have been waiting years for their applications to be processed.

For Membership+ subscribers we also look at the latest on teen deportations as the government comes under pressure to halt the expulsion of the young adult children of permanent residency holders.

Finally we focus on work visas after we learned more this week about the government’s plans to allow limited exemptions to salary requirements for permit holders.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists James Savageand Becky Waterton. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Swedish citizenship 

Teen deportations 

Work permits

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In this week’s episode we shine a light on teen deportations, an issue that has jumped to the top of Sweden’s political agenda.

The Local’s Nordic editor Richard Orange caught up recently with the migration policy spokespeople for the Green and Centre parties, two of three parties backing an initiative to end the deportation of the 18 year old children of permanent residency applicants.

Annika Hirvonen from the Green Party explains why the Greens and the Left Party have filed a parliamentary initiative calling to reinstate a legal clause that previously stopped young adults being split from their families when they lost their residency permits as a dependent.

Niels Paarup-Petersen from the Centre Party talks about the challenges of trying to get the Social Democrats on board with the initiative. 

In the studio, Richard gives more background on an issue that's affecting many foreigners in Sweden, and we look ahead at what's likely to happen next. 

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In this week's episode we talk about the Swedish government’s pledge to drive through 12 new immigration laws before the September election.

With the Winter Olympics underway, we assess Sweden’s chances and answer the big question: what's biathlon?

For Membership+ subscribers we explain why the Migration Agency has been tasked with creating a new list of professions to be exempted from work permit salary requirements.

We also hear from a disgruntled panelist who’s had to attend one too many Swedish parent-teacher meetings and wonders if there’s any way to fix them.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists James Savageand Richard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Immigration

Sport

Work permits

Education

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In this week’s episode the immigration lawyer Tomas Fridh chats with The Local’s Nordic editor Richard Orange about the government’s plan to revoke permanent residency permits from foreign citizens in Sweden.

What are the criticisms of the proposal, who would be affected, and how likely is it that the government will push it through?

Fridh explains that the Swedish Bar Association has given five reason that each would constitute grounds to ditch the plan. 

"I believe that in both Swedish and European law, it is forbidden to have random reasons for laws where the state uses force against individuals," he says. 

"Where you take rights away from individuals you cannot be discriminatory, and you cannot be random,"

Tune in to this week's episode for the full interview with Tomas Fridh. 

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In this week's episode we talk about how exposed Sweden’s economy is to tariff threats from the US and wider global turbulence. And why has the finance minister reawakened the euro debate? 

We also look at some of the new words that have made it into the Swedish dictionary and how the English plural s is gaining more acceptance in Swedish.

For Membership+ subscribers we examine why Sweden is making it much harder for high school pupils from non-EU countries to come here on exchange programmes.

We also dig into an investigation on systematic abuse of Sweden's student visa system and what the country is doing to crack down.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Watertonand Richard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Economy 

Swedish language

Immigration 

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In this week’s episode we hear from Abhi Nag Balasubramanya, a former Northvolt worker who successfully launched a microgreens company in Skellefteå whose products have been enthusiastically received locally.

But his future in Sweden is in serious doubt after he got a letter from the Migration Agency warning him that he wasn’t eligible for a residency permit.

The Local’s Nordic editor Richard Orange caught up with Balasubramanya recently to hear more about how he ended up in Sweden, why he set up a business here, and how he’s responding to a letter that threatens to bring his stay in Sweden to a premature close.

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In this week's episode we talk about what a difference it makes when the Swedish media start reporting on immigration policies that force foreign workers to leave Sweden. 

We also get into how Sweden has been reacting first to tariff threats and then their withdrawal by US President Donald Trump.

For Membership+ subscribers we look at what readers of The Local are telling us about how their food habits have changed since moving to Sweden.

Finally we discuss why women in Sweden tend to vote left while men lean more to the right.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Watertonand James Savage.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Immigration 

Sweden and the US 

Food and drink

Politics in Sweden

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In this week’s episode Sweden’s Minister for EU Affairs Jessica Rosencrantz speaks with The Local’s publisher James Savage. 

James caught up with the minister on Thursday the 15th of January, a day after Danish and Greenlandic officials attended a meeting at the White House over the future of the Arctic island that US President Donald Trump said the United States wants to acquire. 

In the days following this interview Trump announced that the US was planning to impose additional tariffs on eight European countries that sent military personnel to Greenland on Denmark’s request. 

Sweden is one of the countries affected and the Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson reacted by saying that Europe would not let itself be blackmailed. 

Jessica Rosencrantz also speaks in the interview about what the EU can do to bolster its own defensive capability. 

And do Sweden’s plans to tighten citizenship requirements make it harder to compete for highly skilled workers with other EU countries.

Tune in to this week's episode for the full interview with Jessica Rosencrantz. 

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In this week's episode we talk about brand new figures from the Migration Agency showing a steep drop in work permit and citizenship approvals in 2025 and we look at what some readers are telling us about why they’re choosing to leave Sweden.

We also dig into the many ways the Swedish language lets us talk about wintry weather.

For Membership+ subscribers we sink our teeth into the Swedish foods with geographical names that have earned official EU protected status from Scanian spettekaka to the polka pigs of Gränna.

Finally we discuss how to choose a school for your child now that the application period is underway.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Richard Orange and Becky Waterton. The episode also features an excerpt from a conversation with Sweden's migration minister Johan Forssell. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Immigration 

Learning Swedish

Food and drink

Schools

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This week’s episode of Sweden in Focus Extra features an interview with Niels Paarup-Petersen, the Centre Party's immigration spokesperson.

Paarup-Petersen is a Danish-born, Malmö-based politician who became a Swedish citizen in 2010 in order to be able to vote in the country he moved to with his Swedish partner.

The Local's Nordic editor Richard Orange caught up with him recently to get his analysis of what’s likely to happen with Sweden’s many immigration reforms in 2026 and whether immigration will be a big issue for voters in this year’s general election.

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Read more about Membership+ in our help centre.

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In this week's episode we talk about growing protests over the deportation from Sweden of foreign workers and whether people taking to the streets is likely to have any impact on government policy.

We also look at how Sweden is reacting to the capture of Venezuela’s president in a US military operation as well as US President Donald Trump’s renewed calls for his country to take control of Greenland.

For Membership+ subscribers we highlight new laws that will impact our lives in Sweden in 2026, and we examine the state of play for the political parties at the start of election year.

Finally we explain why Swedes traditionally wait until 20 days after Christmas before throwing out their Christmas trees.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Richard Orange and Becky Waterton. The episode also features an excerpts from interviews with the Centre Party's immigration policy spokesperson Niels Paarup-Petersen and Stockholm University politics professor Jan Teorell. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Immigration 

Sweden and the US

Sweden in 2026

20th day of Christmas 

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Instead of a news roundup Sweden in Focus this week consists of a conversation with a journalist who has contributed several articles to The Local recently charting the immigrant experience. 

Faisal Khan ended up in Sweden after life in Afghanistan became "unbearable" for him and his family. It was a country he knew little about but soon came to appreciate. Despite a rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric he's hopeful Sweden can "correct course" and focus on finding solutions to real societal problems without seeking scapegoats. 

"I love everything about Sweden. I love its bad weather. I love its bad jokes, even though I don't understand most of them. My body doesn't accept the cold weather but I'm still optimistic," he says. 

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Join us for an end-of-year quiz as we look back at the stories that shaped Sweden in 2025. 

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by The Local's Becky Waterton, Richard OrangeandJames Savage. 

The year kicked off with revelations that Sweden's national security advisor had mislaid highly sensitive documents and ended with the country's right-wing leaders meeting in the Prime Minister's home to hatch plans for election year.

But how much do our contestants remember? And can you outperform them?

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In this week's episode we talk about Christmas and how to celebrate like a Swede.

We also discuss why prominent Moderate Party politicians are arguing amongst themselves about the merits of government policies that are forcing immigrants with jobs to leave the country.

For Membership+ subscribers we look at the economic forecast for Sweden in 2026, which will also be a useful barometer to gauge the government’s chances of securing reelection. 

Finally we explain why a court has called off this year’s controversial wolf hunt and why a prominent commentator is linking anti-wolf sentiment to right-wing extremism. 

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Richard Orange and Becky Waterton. The episode also features an excerpt from an interview with Moderate Party youth leader Douglas Thor. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Christmas

Politics

Economy

Wolves

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Voters in Sweden will decide next year whether to keep the current coalition government bolstered by the far-right Sweden Democrats or switch to a more left-leaning alternative.

The Local’s Nordic editor Richard Orange caught up recently with Jonas Hinnfors, a political science professor at Lund University, to get his predictions for the year ahead.  

Can the right-wing parties claw back the percentage points they need to surpass a potential Social Democrat-led coalition in the polls? 

What are the topics likely to dominate the debate in 2026? Will immigration take centre stage again? 

Which leaders risk getting the boot, and will all current parties meet the four-percent parliamentary threshold?

Tune in to this week's episode for the full interview.

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In this week's episode we talk about why immigrants in Sweden are often lumped into categories and what needs to be done to forge real connections, and we look at what Indian readers are telling us about their relationship with Sweden.

Also, after the United States released a national security strategy that sent shockwaves through Europe, we examine what commentators are saying about the potential ramifications here in Sweden.

For Membership+ subscribers we discuss what it takes to get a gymnasium, or upper secondary level, qualification in Swedish.

And with Princess Sofia in the news over meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, we talk through her rise to prominence from Paradise Hotel contest to Duchess of Värmland.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Richard Orange and James Savage. The episode also features an interview with our contributor Faisal Khan. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Immigration

Language

Royals

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In this week’s episode of Sweden in Focus Extra, we hear from the Umeå-based Canadian writer. Mandy Pipher about what it's been like moving to Umeå in northern Sweden. 

Mandy wrote recently in an article for The Local about the ignorance and prejudices people from Norrland often face about a region that makes up more than half of Sweden’s surface area. 

We wanted to catch up with her to find out more about why she moved to Umeå and what kind of reactions she has had when telling people about her move to northern Sweden. 

She also talks about the complicated history underpinning many southerners' preconceived notions about a part of the country she describes as 'magical' in many respects. 

Tune in to this week's episode for the full interview with Mandy Pipher. 

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In this week's episode we talk about why northern Sweden doesn’t get the recognition it deserves from southerners, and we prepare for the annual Lucia festivities by getting to know some of the most common songs that are sung to mark the day.

For membership+ subscribers we find out why Swedish publishers have reported Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to the police.

Finally we examine how new Swedish migration rules could affect foreign residents in 2026.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton and James Savage.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Northern Sweden

Lucia

Crime

The link we mention for reporting scam ads isn't live yet. We'll add it here once it's up. 

Immigration  

Politics in Sweden

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Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

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Can our panelists pass the vocabulary section of högskoleprovet, the Swedish university entrance exam?

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by The Local's Becky Waterton and James Savage.

Do you know what a nässeldjur is? None of our panelists did. Tune in to see how you fare in our multiple-choice quiz. 

Already a Membership+ subscriber? Make sure to activate Sweden in Focus Extra via the podcast tab on your account page. 

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Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcasts

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

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In this week's episode we talk about Sweden’s immigrant deportation centres and why reports of miserable conditions there should concern everyone in Sweden.

We also discuss the two-decades old murder in a religious sect of a pastor’s wife in a case that gripped Sweden for months at the time. 

With 2026 nearly upon us, we hear some of The Local’s readers’ predictions for what next will bring.

Finally, a Sweden Democrat youth leader argued at the weekend that Islam has no place in Sweden. Is this kind of extreme comment a harbinger of what’s to come if the far-right party gets its first ever ministerial appointments after next year’s election?

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Richard Orange and James Savage.

____

Black Friday sale

Here's the Black Friday deal mentioned in the introduction. 

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And here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Detained in Sweden

Knutby

Sweden in 2026

Sweden Democrats 

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In this week’s episode we hear a conversation our Nordic editor Richard Orange had recently with Sasan Kazemian, an Iranian doctor who quit his job and left Sweden for Iran in September after he was refused a work permit extension.

We’ve spoken to him previously for the podcast and wanted to catch up again to find out about his application to return to Sweden on a Blue Card visa.

But any hopes he had of coming back to his girlfriend and apartment in Huddinge have been put on hold after the Migration Agency deemed him a “threat to public order”.

Having spent lots of time and money learning Swedish and getting his Swedish medical qualifications, Kazemian is determined to return. But how likely is it that he’ll win his appeal?

Tune in to this week's episode for the full story. 

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Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcasts

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

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In this week's episode we talk about strategies for coping with the long Swedish winter now that temperatures have taken a serious nosedive.

In politics, with several parties teetering on the brink of the parliamentary threshold, we examine what happens to their votes if they don’t quite make it.

For Membership+ subscribers, we discuss new figures from the Migration Agency confirming a major slowdown in citizenship and work permit approvals.

Finally, we look at what readers of The Local are telling us about items they miss from home and how they manage to get their hands on them in Sweden.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton and James Savage.

____

Black Friday sale

Here's the Black Friday deal mentioned in the introduction. 

____

And here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Winter

Politics

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In this week’s episode deputy editor Becky Waterton chats with Tom Simpson, a New Zealander who missed the kind of savoury pies that were commonplace in his homeland so much that he set up his own bakery and set to work creating NZ pies, which can now be found in supermarkets all over Sweden. 

So what's in his pies, and what advice he would give to anyone considering setting up their own business in Sweden?

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In this week's episode we talk about a new map that shows just how successfully we immigrants are managing to take control of Sweden.

We also put faces to the names of some of Sweden’s most popular brands.

For Membership+ subscribers we uncork the results of a reader survey about the Swedish sense of humour.

We also get into why it will no longer be possible to drop in for a visit to your local Migration Agency contact centre.

Finally, we examine why language tests for citizenship applicants might not see the light of day for another three years.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Richard Orange and Becky Waterton.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Politics

Food & Drink 

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Sweden is one of the worst countries in Europe when it comes to providing job opportunities for educated foreigners, according to an investigation last year by Lighthouse Reports and media outlets including the Financial Times. 

The study found for example that Sweden had the second-worst employment gap for college-educated migrants and that 68 percent of immigrants educated abroad were overqualified for their job.

In this week’s episode The Local’s contributor Amélie Reichmuth speaks about this issue of "brain waste" in Sweden with Laurence Romani, who is a professor and Director of the Center for Responsible Leadership at the Stockholm School of Economics. 

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Can our panelists pass the vocabulary section of högskoleprovet, the Swedish university entrance exam?

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by The Local's Richard Orange and James Savage.

Can you tell your lenses from your lentils? Have you heard the term på måfå? And what's a show trial in Swedish? 

READ ALSO:

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In this week's episode we talk about how many people get divorced in Sweden and what the experience has been like for readers of The Local.

We also look at international flights: why are there more flights than before out of Stockholm and why is it so expensive to fly from Gothenburg? Also, who are all those people in the photos in the arrivals hall at Arlanda Airport?

For Membership+ subscribers, we examine what detainees are saying about conditions inside Sweden’s immigrant detention centres.

And with the Centre Party electing a new leader, is anyone in Swedish politics ready to present an optimistic view of Sweden’s future?

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Richard Orange and James Savage.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Reader insights

Travel

Immigration

Politics

 Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcasts

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It's quiz time again in this week's episode of Sweden in Focus Extra for Membership+ subscribers.

Can our panelists pass the vocabulary section of högskoleprovet, the Swedish university entrance exam?

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by The Local's Becky Waterton and James Savage.

Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcasts

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

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In this week's episode we talk about why Sweden is paying Somalia to accept citizens deported from Sweden and whether the political scandal is helping or hurting the government.

We also explain why a lot of Swedes will be eating goose blood soup to celebrate St Martin’s Day.

For Membership+ subscribers we discuss why a growing number of Swedish towns are refusing to help the government with its plan to encourage more people who came to Sweden as refugees to leave the country.

Finally, we’ lift the lid on some of the biggest taboos in Swedish politics.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton and James Savage.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

Politics

Swedish traditions

Immigration

Politics

 Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcasts

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

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This week's episode of Sweden in Focus Extra for Membership+ poses some seriously tricky Swedish language questions. 

It’s time again to learn some Swedish as our panelists try their hand at the tricky vocabulary section of högskoleprovet, the Swedish university entrance exam. 

Host Paul O’Mahony in Stockholm is joined this week by The Local's Becky Waterton and James Savage.

Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcasts

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.