Temporariness of refugee protection: For what and in whose interest Cessation of status as related to revocation of residence permits

Abstract

Temporariness of refugee protection has started to emerge as a new standard in the policies of European countries. Given this development, the article focuses on one specific issue related to this temporariness: how refugee status intertwines with the conditions for the granting, revocation and prolongation of national residence permits. What are the interconnections between refugee status, including its cessation and revocation, on the one hand, and national residence permits and their revocation and prolongation, on the other? How are these interconnections regulated by international law, EU law and national law (with Sweden as an example)? Inaddition to the detailed analysis of the relevant legal norms, the article situates the questions within a more general discussion about residence in the national community. In this way, it is shown how temporariness creates tensions at national level where the refugee qua resident in the national community, benefits from safeguards in favour of individual certainty. This explains why residence permits, as opposed to refugee status, have central organizing role at national level.