Sweden to deport thousands of asylum seekers

Swedish police are looking to deport thousands of asylum seekers who have had their applications denied, Xinhua reported on Thursday.

Around 22,000 migrants are due to be deported as Sweden eyes bilateral agreements with several countries to better facilitate their returns.

"We politicians have to do more to ensure that the return agreements are in place," Interior Minister Anders Ygeman said.

Sweden is currently in talks with Afghanistan, whose President Ashraf Ghani is set to visit Stockholm on Friday, about an agreement to send back rejected asylum applicants.

An investigation by public broadcaster Swedish Television in September showed that hundreds of migrant minors roam Swedish streets. Many of them had travelled from Morocco with hopes of supporting their families.

The number of asylum applications to Sweden have hit record levels this year, with 150,000 submitted so far in 2015, nearly double the total figure in 2014, according to the country's migration agency.