Lietuvių darbo imigracija ir integracija Švedijos darbo rinkoje ir visuomenėje po 2004 metų

Abstract

Not so long ago a one-nation state, Sweden in a very short time turned into a multiethnic and multicultural society. Having become multicultural, Sweden encountered new problems related to the formation of migration policy and the reception and employment of immigrants. In 1997 the Swedish parliament decided on the main directions of integration, emphasizing the formation of migration policy and the preservation of ethnic and cultural diversity in Swedish society. Since its beginnings in 1970 labor migration to Sweden increased notably after 1990 with the demise of the Soviet Union. When in that year the possibility of freely leaving the country became real, the citizens of Baltic and other formerly Soviet countries began emigrating to Sweden. On May 1, 2004 Sweden fully opened its borders to immigrants. This paper presents the results of interviewing eight Lithuanians living in Sweden who presented their opinions regarding the possibility of integration into Swedish society and the preservation of a Lithuanian identity in the emigration.