Fewer Asylum-Seekers
The Swedish Migration Board reports that the number of asylum-seekers here has dropped sharply.
There are 19,000 applications expected this year, around half as many as three years ago.
The board attributes the decrease to the European Union’s Schengen Agreement, which allows refugees to only apply for asylum in one country.
Critics say the change reflects awareness that the authorities here are taking a harder line against refugees, granting only around 10 percent of asylum applications. They also say many more would-be asylum-seekers are simply going underground.
