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Comment by hn_user82179 | Hacker News Reader

The article addresses this. In Sweden in particular, a lot of the migrants are from countries in unrest. Last year's reward was $1k and exactly 1 person took it. The article said 'experts don't expect there to be a substantial increase in claiming the offer' with the increase to $35k which is surprising to me, but I suppose still makes sense as $35k won't make Damascus any safer.

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The top 5 countries migrants to Sweden came from in 2023 ... India, Poland, Germany, Syria, China.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/522136/sweden-immigratio...

I’m certain the Indians, Poles, Germans or Chinese are not causing any problems.

As a Pole, I wouldn't be that optimistic, but for sure my compatriots are not the ones responsible for bombings, gun fights or juvenile gangs.

>As a Pole, I wouldn't be that optimistic

Probably similar to the native population though.

I agree, but they were good enough scapegoats to trigger Brexit so who can predict how things will go? (Though in classic Brexit irony two of those groups were encouraged to vote for Brexit to make immigration from their country easier).

But Indian, German, and Chinese are the legal ones right? Maybe even Polish, too.

> Maybe even Polish, too.

What do you mean by that? Both Poland and Sweden are members of the EU.

Well Indians and Chinese need all kinds of visas and permits.

Probably not a thing in Sweden but in Italy there were a few scandals recently about illegal/semi legal Indian and other migrants working in sweatshops and farms.

Poles on the other hand have the legal right to come and work in Sweden with no legal restrictions whatsoever.

Illegal immigration from India has ramped up in very recent years.

About Poles, that makes sense.

They came through those countries, not necessarily being citizens of those countries.

> But Indian, German, and Chinese are the legal ones right? Maybe even Polish, too.

What do you mean ? He said: "a lot of the migrants are from countries in unrest.". /s

That's because it's hard for them to claim citizenship. Those numbers don't include refugee numbers.

Wouldn't it be possible to leave Damascus with $35k though?

They'll have forfeited the right to refugee status anywhere else and would have to migrate as an economic migrant. Which generally takes either six figures or decades, AFAICT.

Who enforces that? Is there an international registry of refugees?

Your passport, which contains stamps that form a record. And there is a European database too.

Right. They throw away their documents, so EU countries have to document and fingerprint them again and also keep a database, preferably a shared one. Otherwise they just conveniently move from one country to another as there are close to no border checks in the Schengen area. Probably why Germany has reintroduced "temporary" border checks after the Solingen stabbing attack. Sweeden still has checks in place at the bridge to Denmark.

My acquaintance managed to sneak in multiple times, “losing” their passport if caught, then pretending not to understand fingerprinting instructions and smudging them on purpose until the police gave up. With face biometrics probably won’t work today. Just saying that a stamp in a passport is necessary a full proof solution.

On what ground? If they come back from a country at war they can’t legally send them back (by EU law)

If you are in Sweden you have already left Damascus

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