- Indian entrepreneur Abhijith Nag sold his Swedish company and is returning home due to immigration issues
- He cited Sweden's Migration Agency as hostile, dysfunctional, and xenophobic towards foreign entrepreneurs
- Balasubramanya criticized the agency's incompetence and lack of business understanding in his case
An Indian entrepreneur has gone viral after announcing he was returning to the homeland after selling his company, which he founded in Sweden. Abhijith Nag Balasubramanya, the founder and CEO of Hydro Space Sweden AB, said he was forced to leave the European country due to its hostile, dysfunctional immigration process and a fundamentally 'xenophobic' system.
Balasubramanya said that although the products grown by his company were celebrated locally, the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) did not allow him to operate his business freely.
"Today, I am officially stepping down as Founder and CEO of Hydro Space Sweden AB. I have sold the company as I am being forced to leave the country by the end of this month," Balasubramanya wrote in a LinkedIn post, adding: "This isn't an exit by choice. It is an eviction by an incompetent and increasingly hostile state apparatus."
Balasubramanya said Sweden's "startup-friendly" image was a facade, as the migration agency made life difficult for foreign entrepreneurs due to its gross incompetence, procedural cowardice and systemic hostility.
Having been run to the ground by the system, Balasubramanya said he had no intention of taking legal recourse and instead planned to return to India for his mental well-being.
"I do not have the energy or the desire to spend my capital fighting a legal battle against a system that is fundamentally broken and seemingly xenophobic," he said.
"Instead, I have decided to take a break and move back to my home country to work on my mental health that was destroyed by the Swedish migration agency. To the incompetent and arrogant case officer who took pride in destroying my livelihood: You haven't just failed me; you are failing Sweden's future to be food secure."
Balasubramanya, who holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and two master's degrees, one in international marketing and another in sustainable agriculture, said the case officers handling his file lacked basic business understanding. They failed to provide guidance on documentation despite repeated requests, and changed the stated grounds for rejection repeatedly.
Check The Viral Post Here:
'Horrified To Hear'
As the post went viral, a section of social media users empathised with Balasubramanya, while others shared similar experiences.
"I went through a similar experience and can validate much of what you're describing," said one user, while another added: "We have a similar story at our company - a battle with the immigration office (a.k.a. a repressive institution). It seems to be a global trend, not only in Sweden."
A third commented: "Abhijith, as a fellow expat entrepreneur in Sweden, I can clearly hear the pain and frustration in your words. The Swedish system can deny you the residence, but it will never be able to kill the entrepreneurial spirit you carry within you."
A fourth said: "Dear Abhi. I don't know you personally, but I am horrified to hear how you have been treated by the Swedish Migration Agency. What a despicable way to treat an entrepreneur who is creating wealth, employment opportunities and tax income to Sweden."
