The law – formally known as the "duty to inform" law – came into force on July 13th after it was watered down in the face of public opposition, with those working for schools, health services, and social services excused from the new requirement to inform border police if they encounter paperless migrants.

The agencies covered are the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, the Swedish Enforcement Authority, the Swedish Public Employment Service, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, the Swedish Pensions Agency and the Swedish Tax Agency.

According to the Svenska Dagbladet, most of the reports have been submitted by the Public Employment Service.

Britta Lejon, chair of the Swedish Union of Civil Servants (ST) warned that the law could prevent paperless migrants from seeking help from government agencies.

"The risk is that people do not dare to seek help from authorities due to the fear of being reported," she said.

For government employees, themselves, she said the duty to report risked adding to an existing heavy workload.

The border police could not confirm to Svenska Dagbladet whether any of the eight people had been deported after being reported.

"The evidentiary requirements are quite low for reporting that someone is not allowed to stay in the country. The idea is that you should be able to easily report the information to the police without having to investigate it yourself," said Johanna Lindblad Ó Duinnín, group chief for expert support at the agency.

After a foreigner is reported the border police would need to search for the individual in their databases and bringing them in for questioning before seizing them and deporting them.