When Rights are not Enough : A qualitative study on the social work within voluntary organisations with undocumented people

This qualitative study explores the impact of changes in Swedish migration legislation on social work for undocumented migrants in Malmö. The study is based on two research questions. The first question investigates how social work for undocumented migrants has changed over the course of changes in Swedish migration law. The second question explores the current challenges and problems that undocumented migrants face in the attempt to fulfill their basic needs. The study is based on six interviews with social workers from voluntary organisations in Malmö. The results show that the nature of social work has shifted from being activity-based to a more crisis-oriented approach in response to stricter migration law, and more social problems in undocumented migrants’ lives. Results show that undocumented migrants suffer severe problems such as homelessness, economic instability, substance abuse, mental health problems and more. This study shows the challenges faced by this group and how social work with them has changed.