When you turn 18
According to Swedish law, you become an adult the day you turn 18. This means that you do not have the same right to support and help as an unaccompanied minor.
You will be called to a meeting
Just before you turn 18, you will be invited to a meeting where you will receive information about how your rights and obligations will change when you turn 18 and become an adult.
Guardian
An important difference between being an unaccompanied minor and an adult who has been granted protection under the Temporary Protection Directive is that once you turn 18, you usually do not have the right to a guardian. The guardian’s assignment ends because you are of legal age and no longer need a legal guardian. You can handle your contact with the authorities yourself and sign all necessary papers.
Accommodation
The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for arranging temporary accommodation for all people who have applied for protection and who need it. The municipality where you live may require the Swedish Migration Agency to take over responsibility for arranging temporary accommodation for you as soon as the municipality is informed that you have turned 18.
You can choose to arrange accommodation yourself, for example by staying with relatives or friends. Then you have to pay for your accommodation yourself.
If you cannot arrange for accommodation yourself, you can live in one of the Swedish Migration Agency’s temporary accommodations while the Swedish Migration Agency looks for a municipality that can arrange new accommodation for you. You might live in a large building together with many other people who have also applied for protection, or in an apartment in an ordinary residential area.
If you have already lived in Sweden for a while and you have started school here, we will try to arrange for you and your family to stay in the same municipality in which you already live, but we cannot guarantee that this will be the case.
Talk to the Swedish Migration Agency if you need help arranging accommodation.
Finances
When you turn 18, you become responsible for your own finances.
Healthcare and dental care
All children have the right to free dental care and healthcare. In contrast, adults who have applied for protection under the Temporary Protection Directive only have the right to emergency medical and dental care and care that cannot wait. It is the staff at the hospital, health centre, or dental clinic that assesses whether you should receive care.
Adults must pay for doctor’s appointments and medications. Show your residence permit card and you will pay a lower price.
School
If you are studying at upper secondary school, you have the right to continue attending school as long as you have a residence permit under the Temporary Protection Directive. Your right to continue your upper secondary studies applies even if you need to move to accommodation in another municipality.
If you are not studying at upper secondary school but still want to study, you can ask the Swedish Migration Agency about ‘early interventions for asylum seekers’ (also called TIA). People who have been granted a residence permit under the Temporary Protection Directive may also take part in such activities.