Press release -

Quality initiative at Swedish Migration Agency prompts overhaul of language tests

December 2, 2014, Swedish Migration Agency Director-General Anders Danielsson declares 2015 “Year of Quality”.

Proving determination to match the motto, December 19, 2014, Sten Heckscher, former president of the Swedish Supreme Administrative Court as well as head of the National Police Board, is given the task of evaluating authority use of linguistic evidence in the asylum procedure. (Photo by Sten T Knutson)

“Not getting quality”

The investigation, presented June 30, 2015, concludes that while language testing as such rests on firm scientific ground, the Swedish Migration Agency is not getting the quality required. Advice includes somewhat sharpening the criteria when procuring and tighten up quality assurance. An in-house co-ordinator would help achieve not only this, but would also be of help in setting up guidelines for when to use language tests and how to integrate the outcome of the tests in the asylum procedure.

Current supplier out?

The report of the investigation has a one page abstract in English. Go to page 3 in the document.

The investigation bears very much the signs of a call for action and no momentum has been lost in the response to that. The contract with the current supplier of language tests, which the agency could opt to run till August 31, 2018, has been given a premature expiration date of February 29, 2016.

Drastic measures can lead to drastic improvements and the Migration Agency and asylum claimants alike seem to have reason to hope for an improved system to emerge within the foreseeable future.

For further information, please contact:

Per Lunqe, Press Officer
per@lunqe.se
+46 (0)735 106010

Topics

  • Law

Categories

  • asylum statistics
  • asylum
  • swedish migration board
  • quality assurance
  • language analysis

Regions

  • Utanför Sverige

Verified provides expert testimony regarding linguistic behaviour, in particular relating to an individual´s linguistic background. These services are required by police, migration authorities and immigration attorneys for trials in court.  We also assist non governmental organisations.

Related media

Quality initiative at Swedish Migration Agency prompts overhaul of language tests
  • Quality initiative at Swedish Migration Agency prompts overhaul of language tests
  • License: Media Use
    The content may be downloaded by journalists, bloggers, columnists, creators of public opinion, etc. It can be used and shared in different media channels to convey, narrate, and comment on your press releases, posts, or information, provided that the content is unmodified. The author or creator shall be attributed to the extent and in the manner required by good practice (this means, for example, that photographers should be attributed).
  • File format: .pdf
Download

Related content

The Migration Agency’s use of language analysis to be investigated

The Swedish Migration Agency has launched an investigation to evaluate the use of language analysis in asylum procedures.

​Insufficient language analysis – debate in the Parliament

There will be questions and answers in the Swedish Parliament on insufficient language analysis.

​EA20, reviewing and language tests

Language tests as a tool in asylum investigations were questioned in Swedish Television show “Uppdrag Granskning” broadcasted 4th March 2015. Cases at the Swedish Migration Agency, including cases where the questioned analyst ea20 had been involved, were scrutinized.

Verified Wins Irish Tender

On 12 September Verified received notification that its tender to carry out language analysis for the Republic of Ireland’s Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC) had been approved over that of the incumbent provider, Sprakab.

​When Going Cheap becomes Expensive - Quality in Language Analysis under Fire

Yet again the delicate balance between quality and price in public procurement has come under fire—and yet again the target is language analysis.

The Kim-case: Almost all went wrong

The Swedish Migration Agency wanted the 15-year old boy Kim to be extradited to China. Media did not take any notice, or at least did not publish the correction done by TT claiming that SPRAKAB did only insinuate that the boy Kim was from China and did not write that in their reports.

The LOID Method: Superior Quality

The tender for language analysis services released for public tender by the Swedish Migration Agency late last year was won by Verified a few months ago. Among the essential requirements specified by the agency was quality.

​Language analysis: Possibilities and challenges in BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4’s weekly language series, takes a look at a different aspect of words, vocabulary and current issues in language every week. An edition on dialect identification in an asylum context will be broadcasted Tuesday, January 20 at GMT 4 p.m. Verified participates by giving the company’s working methods in linguistic origin identification.