He’d bought an apartment and a car, taken Swedish lessons, signed his toddler up for daycare and even improved his skiing skills to embrace the frozen temperatures. Yet more than three years after his family arrived in Sweden and despite his well-paid senior position at one of its most prestigious power and technology companies, Ali Omumi was asked to leave the country.

“For me it was a huge frustration, for my wife it was the beginning of a deep depression,” laments the engineering sales specialist, who is originally from Iran.

Omumi, then 38, was given a final deportation order in 2018, after unsuccessfully appealing a decision by the Swedish Migration Agency. Officials denied his application for a work permit extension based on an administrative mistake made by a software company he’d previously been employed by, which had failed to provide the correct insurances.

“Deportation gave me the feeling: ‘I am a criminal’ – while I know I am not. I came to work and pay taxes, and I brought my experience and money.”

Sweden’s talent shortage

Sweden has a shortage of qualified graduates in subjects including engineering and programming, meaning employers are increasingly looking beyond national and EU borders in order to plug vacancies. Thousands of skilled foreign workers move to the Nordic country each year and many decide they want to stay, thanks to a relatively strong economy and a high quality of life.