The aim of our study was to investigate HVB-home staff's perceptions of the temporary asylum law's impact on unaccompanied minors’ motivation for integration into Swedish society. On 24 November 2015, the government presented a temporary law to reduce the number of asylum seekers. The temporary law was intended to apply for three years and meant that Sweden went from having generous asylum legislation to following the EU's line for a minimum level for receiving asylum seekers. All asylum-seeking groups, such as refugees and people in need of protection, would receive temporary residence permits, except that there were exceptions for quota refugees who could obtain permanent residence permits. In the study, we used a qualitative method and conducted semi-structured interviews with five staff who had previously worked with unaccompanied children. Results from both interviews and previous research show that there are several factors that affect the mood of unaccompanied children and their integration into Swedish society. The study showed that previous psychological trauma, long waiting times for information about residence permits, loneliness and lack of meaningful activity had a negative impact on unaccompanied children's mood and motivation for integration.

This study examines how the new temporary law (SFS 2016:752) guarantees the child’s right to mental health; focusing on the asylum-seeking unaccompanied minor. This subject is examined since the Swedish law that regulates migration got reduced to the minimum standards that can be found in the EU and in international conventions when Sweden received 163 000 asylum seekers during 2015. 35 400 of them were unaccompanied minors. This leads to the question if the new regulations jeopardize the child’s right to mental health. To answer that, this study’s theoretical ground that will be used is legal positivism. By practicing a legal-judicial method and law-based sociological method the study follows three questions; 1. What is Sweden bound to guarantee according to the Convention on the Right’s of the child, associated with the mental health of children and the provisions of the temporary law? 2. Does the temporary law constitute grounds for existential uncertainty, and is it thereby violating the child’s right to mental health? 3. What does the situation look like, related to the mental health of asylum-seeking unaccompanied minors? In relation to the Convention on the Right’s of the Child this temporary law, and the impact of it, is examined. In the discussion it is clear that not only article 24 (the child’s right to health) is fundamental to the question of mental health, but several other articles. The result of this study has shown that the temporary law clearly violates the asylum-seeking unaccompanied child’s right to mental health.