Stockholm is currently home to over 5,000 Ukrainians who fled their homeland due to Russia’s illegal war of invasion. Many have established themselves in Sweden and want to enter Swedish society and learn the language. This spring, the government gave the go-ahead for municipalities to be able to offer SFI to the group, something that had not previously been possible due to Ukrainians’ special status as mass refugees.
On June 1, the new regulation enters into force, and in connection with it, Stockholm opens up for Ukrainians to read SFI.
– I am happy that we can finally offer Stockholm’s Ukrainians the opportunity to learn Swedish through SFI, something that we in Stockholm urged the government to introduce. We know that language is the way into society and one of the strongest integration tools. The Ukrainians who fled the war should feel welcome in Stockholm and get the right conditions for a good life, says councilor Karin Wanngård (S).
However, it is only SFI that the government has opened up to, not the remaining parts of municipal adult education. This means that the Ukrainians who have professional qualifications from their home country will not have the right to read Swedish up to the level required to be able to validate their professional titles in Sweden. This applies, for example, to professions such as nurses and teachers.
– It is worrying from both an individual and societal perspective that the government does not give Ukrainians the opportunity to be able to validate their identification professions from their home country. Not getting the opportunity to work in the profession you are trained for is a source of great frustration, and is also a great loss for Stockholm’s labor market, which is always in need of new skills, says labor market and personnel councilor Emilia Bjuggren (S).
About the government regulation
The government has decided on a new provision in the regulation (2011:1108) on adult education (SFS 2023:222) which means that a municipality may allow a person who has applied for or received a residence permit with temporary protection to participate in Swedish for immigrants, sfi, if they lacks such basic knowledge of Swedish as the education aims to provide and the person is 18 years old. The new provision enters into force on 1 June 2023.
Press contact: Naomi Grossman, 076 122 92 53, [email protected]
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Tags: Stockholm offers SFI Ukrainians
