Abhijith Nag Balasubramanya, founder of Hydro Space Sweden AB, says he is stepping down as CEO and leaving Sweden after the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) denied his residency, even as his company’s produce was finding local acceptance.
In a strongly worded LinkedIn post, Balasubramanya described the situation as forced, calling Sweden’s immigration system “xenophobic and hostile,” and saying he had to sell his agri-tech startup despite what he described as rapid progress and local impact .
What Balasubramanya says happened?
Balasubramanya wrote that he has “sold the company” and is being forced to leave the country “by the end of this month”. He framed the departure as involuntary, adding: “This isn’t an exit by choice. It is an eviction by an incompetent and increasingly hostile state apparatus.”
In the post, he also alleged repeated communication breakdowns and inconsistent decision-making, claiming officials ignored emails, refused guidance, and shifted grounds for rejection—an experience he called a “masterclass in dysfunction”.
A startup that, he says, was gaining local traction
Balasubramanya’s company, Hydro Space Sweden AB, is described as having drawn attention in Skellefteå, with its produce welcomed by local retailers such as ICA Kvantum . In his post, he pointed to the contrast between that reception and his immigration struggle, writing that while the first harvest was being celebrated locally, “Migrationsverket was busy dismantling my life”.
He also argued that the agency’s actions, in his view, cut beyond one individual case, saying they undermined not only his livelihood but Sweden’s broader food-security ambitions.
The allegations he levelled at the process
Balasubramanya used unusually blunt language to describe his experience with the migration process, accusing the system of “gross incompetence,” “procedural cowardice,” and “systemic hostility”.
He further claimed the agency moved goalposts, citing one reason in preliminary correspondence and then switching to a different, contradictory reason in the final decision . He also said he was handled by case officers “with zero business acumen,” unable to understand “the financial structures or operational realities of a scaling startup”.
Whar After Hydro Space Sweden?
Balasubramanya wrote that he does not have “the energy or the desire, to spend my capital fighting a legal battle,” and said he plans to return to his home country to focus on his mental health.
He added that while the experience “might have destroyed” his dream company, his “entrepreneurial passion towards sustainability” would not fade.
He ended by thanking customers and partners in Skellefteå and wishing the new owners success.
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