A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Employers ordered to pay damages after rejecting man with foreign dental degree

A man with a dental degree from Damascus University was rejected for two jobs in Sweden, despite the fact that he had completed additional training in Sweden at Gothenburg University to qualify for a Swedish dental license.

He was rejected for both jobs by a recruitment firm, who cited the fact that he did not have a Swedish dental degree.

According to the Equality Ombudsman (DO), this was discriminatory, and both employers have now been ordered to pay the man 40,000 kronor each.

“Everyone who has a Swedish dental license should have equal opportunity to work as a dentist in Sweden,” Karin Ahlstrand Oxhamre, the head of DO’s legal unit, wrote in a statement.

“Taking people out of the running because of the country they studied in stops people who came to Sweden with a foreign degree from joining the labour market on equal terms,” she added.

Swedish vocabulary: tandläkarexamen ‒ dental degree, tandläkarlegitimation ‒ dental license

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The number of apartments owned outright is growing ‒ and it’s set to continue

In Sweden, the most common method of home ownership for people living in apartments is a bostadsrätt, where you technically do not own the apartment but rather own the right to live in it.

Ägarlägenheter, apartments owned outright, are rare, with only 4,674 registered in the country. Most of those are in Stockholm, western Götaland and in Sweden’s mountain regions.

That’s changing, and a new proposal by the government to let building owners convert rental apartments into owned apartments could make them even more common.

Sveriges Allmännytta, an industry organisation for public housing companies, is in favour of the proposal, with their chief lawyer Lars Matton saying that municipalities are keen to convert some of their rentals.

“We want to see a mix of property types,” he said, adding that he does not believe this would lower the number of available rentals for young people and other people with lower incomes.

On the other hand, Sweden’s Economic Crime Authority is concerned it could lead to money laundering and lead to properties becoming speculative investments.

Swedish vocabulary: ägarlägenhet ‒ an apartment owned outright

Sweden moves forward with proposal to add three-year limit for SFI studies

Immigrants studying Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) courses will under a new proposal only have three years to complete their studies before losing the right to take part in classes, Sweden’s minister responsible for adult education has said.

Lotta Edholm, Sweden’s Minister for Upper Secondary School, Higher Education and Research, highlighted the fact that many immigrants withdraw from SFI classes early ‒ in 2023, almost half of all SFI students did so.

“Many of them have almost certainly had a plan to come back to studies after a while, but that’s difficult and the risk is that they lose their Swedish language when they’re gone,” Edholm told press at a summer fika for journalists.

The government, she said, believes that more intensive, more well-coordinated SFI studies are needed for better results.

She added that it should be possible to extend the three-year limit by another three years if there are special considerations, for example in case of illness.

The proposed implementation date is January 1st, 2026.

Swedish vocabulary: svenska för invandrare ‒ Swedish for immigrants

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Swedish PM backs migration minister’s decision to stay on despite son’s far-right links

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has offered his backing to Migration Minister Johan Forssell, who has faced scrutiny after an investigation by anti-racist magazine Expo revealed his 16-year-old son’s reported links to white supremacist groups.

The revelations led to accusations the government employed double standards, as Forssell has been vocal about parental responsibility when it comes to youths involved in crime.

Speaking to broadcaster TV4 on Thursday, Forssell said he would not resign and that his decision not to publicly address the allegations earlier had been done to protect his 16-year-old son.

“This has not been about protecting me as a politician, but about protecting a minor,” he said.

Forssell also said he had not been aware of his son’s activities when he was contacted by Expo and Sweden’s security service Säpo a few weeks ago, and had been “shocked”.

Kristersson on Thursday said he still had “confidence” in Forssell, adding he believed the minister “acted as a responsible parent”. (AFP)

Swedish vocabulary: förtroende ‒ confidence or trust