Aino Gröndahl, ‘Rejection motivations in SOGIESC asylum cases in Sweden: A Case Law Analysis of the Migration Agency’s, the Migration Courts’ and the Migration Court of Appeal’s Assessments of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Gender Expression Asylum Claims’, RFSL, 2024

Abstract

This report presents critical findings regarding the credibility assessments that Swedish migration authorities require from applicants with SOGIESC asylum claims (sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics). The report concludes that the Swedish migration authorities still rely on unlawful stereotypes when assessing the credibility of SOGIESC asylum claims, which is contrary to both Swedish and international law. It also shows that discretion reasoning is still applied in SOGIESC asylum cases, despite discretion requirements having been prohibited in Sweden for more than two decades. Credibility assessments based exclusively on stereotypes about LGBTIQ+ individuals sharing universally common life experiences and characteristics- such as having undergone deep emotional journeys and possessing the capacity to articulate feelings in detail- inevitably lead to LGBTIQ+ asylum seekers, who have a legal right to protection, being denied and deported when they do not possess the “right” life experiences. The report also highlights other unlawful requirements and expectations imposed by Swedish migration authorities in their credibility assessments of SOGIESC asylum claims. In many cases, applicants are deported to countries of origin where LGBTIQ+ individuals face persecution, torture, and even execution.