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In this week's episode we talk about the Swedish government’s pledge to drive through 12 new immigration laws before the September election.

With the Winter Olympics underway, we assess Sweden’s chances and answer the big question: what's biathlon?

For Membership+ subscribers we explain why the Migration Agency has been tasked with creating a new list of professions to be exempted from work permit salary requirements.

We also hear from a disgruntled panelist who’s had to attend one too many Swedish parent-teacher meetings and wonders if there’s any way to fix them.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists James Savage and Richard Orange.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Sweden to pass twelve new migration laws before September election

• How can you watch the 2026 Winter Olympics on Swedish TV?

• Why does Sweden's government want a new list of jobs exempted from the salary limit?

• Do Swedish parent-teacher meetings have to be quite so unproductive?

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+

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In this week’s episode the immigration lawyer Tomas Fridh chats with The Local’s Nordic editor Richard Orange about the government’s plan to revoke permanent residency permits from foreign citizens in Sweden.

What are the criticisms of the proposal, who would be affected, and how likely is it that the government will push it through?

Fridh explains that the Swedish Bar Association has given five reason that each would constitute grounds to ditch the plan.

"I believe that in both Swedish and European law, it is forbidden to have random reasons for laws where the state uses force against individuals," he says.

"Where you take rights away from individuals you cannot be discriminatory, and you cannot be random,"

Tune in to this week's episode for the full interview with Tomas Fridh.

READ ALSO:

• Lawyer says Sweden's plan to revoke residencies 'illegal on multiple counts'

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

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• For new members: Get Membership+

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In this week's episode we talk about how exposed Sweden’s economy is to tariff threats from the US and wider global turbulence. And why has the finance minister reawakened the euro debate?

We also look at some of the new words that have made it into the Swedish dictionary and how the English plural s is gaining more acceptance in Swedish.

For Membership+ subscribers we examine why Sweden is making it much harder for high school pupils from non-EU countries to come here on exchange programmes.

We also dig into an investigation on systematic abuse of Sweden's student visa system and what the country is doing to crack down.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton and Richard Orange.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• How Trump-proof is Sweden's economy?
• Swedish finance minister willing to investigate joining euro after election
• Why hasn't Sweden joined the euro and will it ever happen?

• What are the new words in Sweden's language rulebook?
• Grammar guide: When to use compound words in Swedish

• Sweden denying study permits for high-school exchange programs

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+

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In this week’s episode we hear from Abhi Nag Balasubramanya, a former Northvolt worker who successfully launched a microgreens company in Skellefteå whose products have been enthusiastically received locally.

But his future in Sweden is in serious doubt after he got a letter from the Migration Agency warning him that he wasn’t eligible for a residency permit.

The Local’s Nordic editor Richard Orange caught up with Balasubramanya recently to hear more about how he ended up in Sweden, why he set up a business here, and how he’s responding to a letter that threatens to bring his stay in Sweden to a premature close.

READ ALSO:

• 'If I don't have a permit to live in Sweden no one will be willing to invest'

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+

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In this week's episode we talk about what a difference it makes when the Swedish media start reporting on immigration policies that force foreign workers to leave Sweden.

We also get into how Sweden has been reacting first to tariff threats and then their withdrawal by US President Donald Trump.

For Membership+ subscribers we look at what readers of The Local are telling us about how their food habits have changed since moving to Sweden.

Finally we discuss why women in Sweden tend to vote left while men lean more to the right.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton and James Savage.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Is Swedish media opinion on migration crackdown finally shifting?
• Swedish Liberal party calls for new agency to handle work permits
• Which new laws affecting foreigners in Sweden will be published this spring?

• How Trump-proof is Sweden's economy?
• Swedish stock market expected to rise after Trump drops tariff threat

• Fika, meatballs and Kalles kaviar: Which Swedish foods habits have you adopted?

• Why do men in Sweden vote for the right and women for the left?

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+

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In this week’s episode Sweden’s Minister for EU Affairs Jessica Rosencrantz speaks with The Local’s publisher James Savage.

James caught up with the minister on Thursday the 15th of January, a day after Danish and Greenlandic officials attended a meeting at the White House over the future of the Arctic island that US President Donald Trump said the United States wants to acquire.

In the days following this interview Trump announced that the US was planning to impose additional tariffs on eight European countries that sent military personnel to Greenland on Denmark’s request.

Sweden is one of the countries affected and the Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson reacted by saying that Europe would not let itself be blackmailed.

Jessica Rosencrantz also speaks in the interview about what the EU can do to bolster its own defensive capability.

And do Sweden’s plans to tighten citizenship requirements make it harder to compete for highly skilled workers with other EU countries.

Tune in to this week's episode for the full interview with Jessica Rosencrantz.

READ ALSO:

• INTERVIEW: ‘Sweden stands fully behind Denmark and Greenland’

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

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• For new members: Get Membership+

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In this week's episode we talk about brand new figures from the Migration Agency showing a steep drop in work permit and citizenship approvals in 2025 and we look at what some readers are telling us about why they’re choosing to leave Sweden.

We also dig into the many ways the Swedish language lets us talk about wintry weather.

For Membership+ subscribers we sink our teeth into the Swedish foods with geographical names that have earned official EU protected status from Scanian spettekaka to the polka pigs of Gränna.

Finally we discuss how to choose a school for your child now that the application period is underway.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Richard Orange and Becky Waterton. The episode also features an excerpt from a conversation with Sweden's migration minister Johan Forssell.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Number of people granted Swedish citizenship drops 40 percent
• How Sweden's government ignored warnings when revoking work permit law
• Will deported workers really be able to return to Sweden after just 19 days?
• 'I’m not valued': The reasons foreign residents are leaving Sweden

• 'Pig cold': How to talk about the winter weather in Swedish

• Calf dance and boiled bread: The Swedish foods with EU protection

• How to enrol your child in a Swedish school

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+

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This week’s episode of Sweden in Focus Extra features an interview with Niels Paarup-Petersen, the Centre Party's immigration spokesperson.

Paarup-Petersen is a Danish-born, Malmö-based politician who became a Swedish citizen in 2010 in order to be able to vote in the country he moved to with his Swedish partner.

The Local's Nordic editor Richard Orange caught up with him recently to get his analysis of what’s likely to happen with Sweden’s many immigration reforms in 2026 and whether immigration will be a big issue for voters in this year’s general election.

READ ALSO:

• 'Let's not kick people out of Sweden who are already contributing'

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.