The thesis addresses the debate about the impact of immigration policy on the socio-economic incorporation of immigrants. A distinction between rights-based and responsibility-based models of incorporation is made and the effect of a feature of the responsibility-based model, temporary residence permits, on socio-economic incorporation is studied. Empirically, a policy change in Sweden that entailed a shift from permanent to temporary residence permits is explored through individual-level register and survey data. The thesis uses a two-folded methodological approach: a traditional regression approach and a fuzzy regression discontinuity design. The composition of the available data motivates the two-folded approach. The limitations of both approaches are discussed, and the results compared and contrasted. The results indicate that immigrants with temporary residence permits work more than immigrants with permanent residence permits. This result should however be interpreted with caution due to the limitations of the approaches used. The results do not show a significant effect oftemporary residence permits on an educational outcome, Swedish tuition, nor on a labour market activation outcome, participation in labour market programmes. The predictions that immigrants with temporary residence permits study less and participate in labour market programmes more than immigrants with permanent residence permits are thus not supported.

Denna uppsats studerar hur de tillfälliga uppehållstillstånden påverkar nyanländas incitament att ta sig in på den svenska arbetsmarknaden. En av motiveringarna bakom den tillfälliga lagen var – förutom att ge svenskt flyktingmottagande ett andrum – att ge nyanlända personer starkare drivkrafter att komma in på arbetsmarknaden. För att undersöka detta görs en brytpunktsanalys (Regression Discontinuity design) där individer som registrerat sin asylansökan hos Migrationsverket före och efter den 24 november 2015 jämförs. Detta datum avgör om barn och barnfamiljer behandlas enligt den gamla eller den tillfälliga lagen, och därmed om de har möjlighet att få permanenta eller tillfälliga uppehållstillstånd. Resultaten visar att individer på olika sidor om datumgränsen inte verkar skilja sig åt i förutbestämda variabler, vilket tyder på att de inte har haft möjlighet att bestämma vilken sida av datumgränsen de hamnat på. Individer som passerat gränsen har signifikant lägre sannolikhet att få permanenta uppehållstillstånd, minskningen är dock marginell. Det beror troligen på att uppföljningsperioden är kort. Som indikation på hur incitamenten att komma in på arbetsmarknaden påverkas av reformen studeras invandrartäthet samt arbetslöshetsnivå i de län som sökande bor i ett år efter ankomsten. Resultaten tyder på att individer som fick sin ansökan registrerad efter brytpunkten inte bor i län där invandrartätheten eller arbetslösheten är annorlunda. Även detta kan bero på att det än så länge gått för kort tid för att kunna se några effekter. / This paper studies how the temporary residence permits affects immigrants’ incentives to enter the Swedish labor market. One of the reasons behind the adoption of the temporary permits was – in addition to provide Swedish refugee reception a relief – to give immigrants stronger incentives to enter the labor market. To study this, a Regression Discontinuity design study is done, where individuals who had their asylum application registered at the Swedish Migration Agency before and after November 24, 2015 are compared. This date will determine if children and families are treated by the old or the temporary law, and thus if they can get permanent or temporary residence permit.   The results show that individuals on different sides of the dateline do not seem to differ in predetermined variables, suggesting that they have not been able to decide which side of the dateline they are on. Individuals who crossed the threshold are significantly less likely to have permanent residence permits, the decrease is however marginal. This is probably because the follow-up period is short. As an indication of how the incentives to enter the labor market are affected by the reform, immigrant density and unemployment rate in the county that the applicant lives in a year after the arrival is used. The results suggest that individuals who registered their applications after the threshold does not live in counties with a different immigrant density or unemployment rate. This as well can be due to that the follow-up period is short.

Gender discrimination is a world-wide matter, it is the consequence of the type of violence that is built into structures and effectively deprives women from basic liberties and opportunities (Baliamoune-Lutz, 2013:01-02: Galtung, 2015:181). As many women cannot stay in their countries because of ongoing conflicts, poverty, persecution and their position in the society, -exactly the same reasons prevent them from leaving. At the time that poverty and conflicts have driven a massive increase in global migration, it has become a most urgent topic in question (IMR, 2017:04). The prolonged gender discrepancy by granted residence permits has been a social phenomenon lacking national recognition in Sweden. This study reveals how large the gender discrepancy in Swedish migration is and how the opportunities for women are developing. A more detailed review of women’s opportunities by categories of residence permits between 2009 and 2017 reveals the deficiencies on gender disparity in Swedish migration and acknowledges the main causes. It is suggested by this study that the measured and identified indifferences are translated into women’s needs and provided with structural interventions to improve the currently existing conditions of the opportunities for women in Swedish migration. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the importance of gender disparity by the opportunities for women in Swedish migration. The empirical research investigates women’s opportunities and development on obtained residence permits between the years 2009 and 2017. Method: This study is of inductive methodology using a grounded theory. The systematic collection of data and discovered patterns have been linked to theories of gender discrimination. Data: The used method is a cross-sectional study of more than one case with the interest of variation by the usage of quantifiable data and variables; the material is collected from the Swedish migration agency and sorted into 1,052,654 cases by gender, category of residence permits and year. Result: The result of this statistical research showed that Women are less likely to have a residence permit by all categories but one in Sweden. Over the past nine years women have been underrepresented by granted residence permits by each year and in total with 44.8% and the share is continuing to decrease. The study also revealed that the vast majority of migrants originated from developing and least developing countries where women are exposed to a considerably higher degree of gender discrimination. The gender discrepancy by obtained residence permits in Sweden is somewhat similar to the emigration in developing and least developing countries. As women outnumber men by 51.5% of the total immigration stock in industrial countries, in developing and least developing countries, women make up for only 45.6% of the total immigration stock. Gender discrimination is presumably the contributing factor to the gender discrepancy in Swedish migration. It is suggested by this study to implement structural interventions by increasing the share of the category family reunification in order to obtain an equal distribution of women and men by obtained residence permits.

Recent changes and amendments have been made in the Swedish Aliens Act (2005:716), regarding the possibility of a permanent residence permit. These rules are regulated in Ch. 5 sec. 7 para. 1 and in Ch. 5 sec. 8 para. 2 in the Swedish Aliens Act. These amendments were made in the light of the modern society, dealing with the problem of migrant offenders in Sweden, only a couple of years after the Convention on the Rights of the Child was incorporated into Swedish law. Nonetheless, these rules have been criticized by various legislative bodies and human rights organizations. Hence, the special requirements that apply according to these conducted provisions in the Aliens Act raise questions about the child perspective in these rules. The purpose of this thesis is to identify the premises on which these rules rest, and the consideration taken of the child being a child, the child perspective, in these rules and how they relate to Sweden’s international commitments, mainly the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The purpose includes identifying and highlighting problems with the legislation and the need for changes in the Swedish law.  The conclusion drawn is that the studied provisions are not compatible with the statements made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child regarding the interpretation of the Convention, and that the legislation needs to be changed for Sweden to live up to the international obligations in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, so that these rules are reasonably legally secure and non-discriminatory. Furthermore, the conclusion is that the child in the studied provisions is not constructed as a child in need of protection, but rather as an adult being punished – as “a person”– an unwanted one – a ‘persona non grata’.