Abstracts

Sweden applied a refugee-friendly policy until 2016, when temporary law was introduced turning the policy to the EU minimum standard. Sweden received every fourth unaccompanied asylumseeking child arriving to the EU. The responsibility for the settlement of unaccompanied asylum-seeking youth had been designated to municipalities. Rural municipalities have taken a disproportionately large share of accommodating asylum seekers, including minors. This paper explores the challenges that rural municipalities face through the case study of a Swedish municipality using interview studies with asylum seeking youth and municipal welfare workers. It explores the challenges that welfare providers face as well as the experiences of the youth.