Family reunification and crayfish: What changes in Sweden in August 2025?​on July 14, 2025 at 12:39 pm

Sweden set to ban AR-15 semi-automatic rifles for hunting

The Swedish government and the Sweden Democrats earlier this summer agreed to ban AR-15 semi-automatic rifles for hunting.

The ban on the weapons means that police will no longer be allowed to issue hunting licenses for AR-15s from August 1st.

Hunters who already have a licence for an AR-15 will have two years to meet the requirements for a sport shooting licence if they wish to keep their gun, otherwise they will have to sell it or trade it in to the government for 100 percent of the market value.

AR-15s which are not traded in voluntarily will be confiscated.

The rifles were approved by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency for hunting usage back in 2023, with thousands of hunters now holding licenses.

Back to school… and work

Swedes start heading back to the office after their summer holidays, with Monday July 28th and Monday August 4th likely to be the big return days this year. The majority of workers take at least a couple of weeks off during July, with many taking three or even four. This means that replies to all those unanswered emails you’ve sent over the last month will start ticking into your inbox as people return to their desks.

The autumn semester in schools and universities gets under way in August and early September, although the exact date depends on where in Sweden you live. 

Tighter rules for family reunification

An inquiry looking into tightening immigration rules for those wishing to join family members in Sweden is set to present its conclusions in a report by August 25th. This could affect people with residence permits for things like asylum, work or studies.

It is expected to look into tightening the rules for people applying to join Swedish citizens, limiting which family members can join asylum seekers in Sweden – this currently varies depending on the type of permit the person in Sweden holds – and assess whether the current maintenance requirement should be further tightened, or introduced for certain permits where it is not currently required.

In addition to this, it will look into the possibility of introducing a requirement for applicants to take out full coverage health insurance in order to qualify for a permit, and assess whether DNA analysis should be used “to a greater extent”, for example in order to prove that family members are actually related.

Sweden’s Riksdag committees begin to meet again

While parliament doesn’t have its official opening until September 9th, there are a series of debates where ministers answer MPs’ questions starting from August 21st, with some parliamentary committees also starting to meet in the last week of the month.

Events and traditions

There are a couple of festivals happening this month – music festival Way out West in Gothenburg from August 7th-9th, and Malmöfestivalen between August 8th and 15th.

Unfortunately there are no public holidays in August, although this doesn’t mean there’s nothing to celebrate. The crayfish season officially starts on August 7th this year, so be prepared for crayfish-themed decorations to start popping up in your local supermarket, and find some friends (preferably with access to a summer house) to hold your very own kräftskiva (crayfish party).

As with most Swedish celebrations, expect drinking songs, lots of snaps, crispbread, cheese, and most likely some sort of västerbottenpaj – a quiche featuring Sweden’s favourite cheese, västerbottensost.

Here’s our guide to six essential Swedish drinking songs for crayfish party season.