Migrant crisis: Sweden to expel up to 80,000 unsuccessful asylum seekers

Sweden will expel up to 80,000 migrants who arrived in 2015 whose asylum applications were rejected.

Of the 163,000 migrants and refugees who applied for asylum in Sweden last year, 58,800 cases have been processed, more than half of which were accepted.

But Swedish Interior Minister Anders Ygeman said on Wednesday (28 January) that the government had asked police and the migration authorities to organise the expulsion of unsuccessful migrants by charter aircraft over several years.

"We are talking about 60,000 people but the number could climb to 80,000," he was quoted as saying by AFP.

The national migration agency has described the surge in arrivals from unaccompanied minors as a "great challenge for all municipalities in the country".

Sweden has the highest number of migrants per capita in Europe.

Tensions in the Scandinavian country have grown over the issue, particularly after a 15-year-old asylum seeker was arrested in Molndal, near Gothenburg in connection with the stabbing to death of a 22-year-old asylum centre employee.

The acceptance of migrants in the last year has placed a huge strain on a country with a total population of 10 million. National police commissioner Dan Eliasson requested an extra 4,000 police to deal with rising crime, disturbances at migrant centres and deportations.