“A person’s rights are as real as his reasons are strong” - A qualitative content analysis of the Government’s proposition on new opportunity for a residence permit in Sweden

Sammanfattning: A controversial law on new possibilities for residence permit for unaccompanied minors entered into force in Sweden, July 2018. The law states that certain unaccompanied minors should be granted residence permit for studies at the upper secondary level. The aim is to examine the proposition that led up to the law changes, by using qualitative content analysis based on Orend’s dimensions of the concept of rights. Moreover, to examine the ambiguities and conflicts regarding the interpretation of human rights. The conclusions are that the proposition is a case of interpretation of human rights, where the Government interprets certain unaccompanied minors as right holders, the Migration Board as main duty bearer and the right as legal claims, deriving from moral rights that exist within a social context in society. The proposition is an example of where the right object, which is the possibility to be granted a residence permit, has changed.