At least 375 Nigerian citizens sought asylum in Sweden in 2024, according to the Swedish Migration Agency’s 2024 asylum application data obtained by Saturday PUNCH.
Of figure, 239 were first-time claims, while 136 were follow-up “extension” requests from persons whose temporary status was about to expire.
The spreadsheets, published in Swedish on the Agency’s public “Asyl” portal, detailed citizenship by applicant type, gender, and age. It reveals that most applicants in the Nigerian caseload were working-age adults.
According to the report, women filed nearly two-thirds of all first-time Nigerian claims, with 159 women against 80 men.
The report says half of every Nigerian applicant was between 25 and 44 years old, stating that there was no application from above 64 years old Nigerian in 2024.
Children accompanied 60 adult applicants, while one child travelled alone and registered as an unaccompanied minor.
Nigeria’s volume of applicants ranked it fourth among Africans and ninth among all nationals seeking protection.
The highest number of asylum seekers hailed from Eritrea, with 2,692 applications, followed by Somalia with 1,316 and Ethiopia with 597.
Nigeria’s 375 claims came next, just ahead of Sudan (257) and Uganda (255).
Other countries saw fewer than 200 applicants. They include Morocco (173), Egypt (165), and Cameroon (132).
Meanwhile, persons from Republic of The Gambia and Burundi filed just over 100 each, while Kenya and Libya accounted for about 75 claims each, Algeria (60) and Tunisia under 60.
Other nationals were from Rwanda, Tanzania, Ghana, Guinea and Sierra Leone, with single-digit filings from Mali, Zambia, Djibouti, Côte d’Ivoire, Angola, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso and five one-off cases from Benin, Niger, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic and Mauritania.
A closer look at the Migration Agency workbook shows that the 10 nationalities granted the most residence permits in the first instance were Syria, Stateless persons, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Nigeria and Sudan.
Rejections were heavier for Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, stateless persons, Iran, Turkey, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Georgia and Russia.
The Agency’s year-end briefing confirmed that only 6,250 asylum-linked residence permits were issued in 2024, the lowest since 1985.
The Swedish Migration Agency, Migrationsverket, is the sole first-instance body that decides whether to grant or deny asylum claims. It is determined based on the Aliens Act (2005:716), which adheres to the 1951 Geneva Convention, the EU Qualification Directive and Sweden’s own humanitarian‑protection law.
Following the record influx of asylum claims in 2015, the Swedish parliament introduced a temporary emergency law that curtailed family reunification rights and made almost all new permits temporary. The main features were made permanent in July 2021.
Under its 2023 Tidö Agreement 2023, the current centre-right coalition, bolstered by the far-right Sweden Democrats, imposed “the EU’s minimum level” of protection, which uses tougher naturalisation and welfare rules as explicit deterrents.
To be granted asylum in Sweden today, an applicant must clear at least one of the classic Geneva or EU thresholds—fear of persecution, risk of torture or death, or indiscriminate violence—or demonstrate “exceptionally distressing” humanitarian circumstances.
The law also gives the Agency discretion to refuse or withdraw protection if an applicant commits a serious crime or is deemed a national‑security risk. Pundits argue that the harsher regulations have reduced successful claims for many African and Middle‑Eastern groups to their lowest point in a generation.
Analysts attribute the caseload from Nigerians to harsh conditions such as insurgency, bandit attacks, kidnapping and collapsing household purchasing power following the naira’s devaluation in 2023.
Speaking with our correspondent, Charles Onunaiju, Research Director, Centre for China Studies, Abuja, argued, “We have a challenge. Since Nigeria is becoming inhospitable, especially for young people with no opportunities, there is desperation to go abroad.”
Meanwhile, Abuja-based development economist, Dr. Aliyu Ilias, reasoned that the exit of more Nigerians and their permanent settlement abroad means less skilled labour for the country. He said that with Nigerians battling economic headwinds and deteriorating security at home, the asylum route, however uncertain, still appears to offer a better prospect.
Ilias explained, “It’s definitely a cause of concern because this includes our professionals who are moving, and it takes a whole lot to train these professionals.
“In the medical sector, Nigeria subsidises a lot to get people trained. You cannot get trained as a medical doctor or an engineer abroad for a cheaper cost compared to what we get in Nigeria.
“So, it is a total brain drain in the long run and for the economy, it is reducing our GDP. The appalling part is that most of our Nigerian brothers and sisters who go out do not return. They get permanent residency, and they become valuable to the immediate country.”
