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Sweden sees major drop in refugee numbers after introducing stricter policies

Xinhua, March 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Sweden's stricter asylum rules and identification controls seem to have led to a major drop in the number of asylum seekers arriving in the country.

While the inflow of refugees into Europe continues unabated, just 577 new asylum applications were filed in Sweden last week, according to fresh figures from the country's migration agency, the lowest figure since the summer of 2013.

In the beginning of November, the migration agency reported a new record in the number of asylum seekers, with a total 10,551 refugees arriving in Sweden, Swedish Television reported. Of those, nearly 3,000 were unaccompanied minors. Then, on Nov. 24, Swedish prime minister Stefan Lofven and vice prime minister Asa Romson presented the government's new, stricter asylum and refugee policy, a temporary law which comes into force in May and will apply for three years.

After the announcement, the number of asylums seekers in Sweden dropped markedly and since the new year, when ID controls at the borders were introduced, the number has remained at under 1,000 a week. Last week, it dropped to 577. Out of those asylum applications, only 34 were filed by unaccompanied minors, the lowest number since 2012.

This means the overall number of asylum applications has dropped by 95 percent and the number of unaccompanied minors has dropped by close to 99 percent. Still, the pressure at Europe's borders remains high and it is unclear how many of those arriving now will make it to Sweden. Endit