“De syns och hörs fastän de egentligen är gömda” - En kvalitativ studie om papperslösas situation och civilsamhällets betydelse

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study was to investigate the living situation of undocumented migrants in Sweden from a civil society perspective. The study also aimed to study how representatives from the civil society describe their work with undocumented migrants. The method used for the study was based on a qualitative approach where we conducted eight semi-structured interviews with representatives from different civil society organizations in Sweden. The theoretical framework used in the analysis was Aaron Antonovsky's theory of Sense of Coherence (SOC) and Hannah Arendt's concept of rights to have rights. The main findings of this study show that undocumented migrants live in difficult conditions and lack social security which makes them dependent on support from civil society. Many of the undocumented migrants in Sweden are former asylum seekers which are described to be a result of the restrictive migration policy that has been developing in Sweden since 2015 as well as uncertain asylum processes. The results also show that since undocumented migrants are not covered by the safety net of the welfare state they are at a big risk of falling into criminality and being exploited. A strong social network, undeclared work, and shared housing are described to be significant strategies for undocumented migrants. The help offered by the civil society organizations is primarily legal advice and social support along with help with basic needs such as food, money, and housing to some extent. The results show however that many civil society organizations have limited resources and that the economy is a barrier that determines the help they can offer.