Syrians buy Swedish work permits to land asylum: report

Swedish work permits are being sold to Syrians desperate to make it to the Nordic country and apply for asylum, local media reported on Tuesday.

Several lawyers reported incidents of migrants paying fraudsters for their documents as the number of permits sought by Syrians reaches record levels, public broadcaster Swedish Television reported.

"A work permit can cost from 100,000 SEK (11,529 U.S. dollars) up to 250,000 SEK (28,823 U.S. dollars), sometimes even more. It depends how desperate you are," migration lawyer Fadi Al-Aieshy told the channel.

Swedish authorities said they had developed stronger suspicions of permit trading after work-permit applications from Syrian citizens soared to some 5,000 so far this year, equalling record levels from 2013.

"The chances of (detecting permit fraud) are pretty slim if the employer and employee agree to bypass the system," said Johan Arvidsson Wemmert at the Migration Board.

Syrians with approved permits can quickly be issued travel visas at Swedish embassies abroad. Sweden decided in 2013 to grant Syrian refugees who arrive in the country to apply for asylum permanent residency.

Swedish authorities approve applications for work permits so long as the employer can afford the job seeker's salary, which also needs prior approval by a labor union.

"My experience is that the money is paid to a middleman, a trusted bank or a person, who pays the employer, but only once the permit has been issued," said migration lawyer Gabriel Keryakos.

Authorities stopped closely gauging the veracity of permit applications after a law change in 2010 that aimed to spur labor migration from outside the EU.

Some 5,000 permit applications have come in from Syrian citizens so far this year, a record annual number from 2013. (1 U.S. dollar = 8.67 SEK) Endit