Permission for family members of British citizens

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU and are a family member of a British citizen, you can receive residence status.

A husband, wife, registered partner or live-in partner, and unmarried children who are under the age of 21 count as family members. Children who are over 21 and other close relatives can in some cases receive permission. In such a case, it is required that they are dependent on you or your partner for their means of support.

To be able to apply for residence status, you must meet the requirements for a right of residence before the end of the transition period and also continue to do so after 31 December 2020, when the transition period ends.

If you did not live in Sweden before the end of the tran­si­tion period

In some cases, you can apply for residence status even if you did not live in Sweden before the end of the transition period. This applies if you are under 21 and have a parent in Sweden, or if you are over 21 and are financially dependent on a family member in Sweden. This also applies to other close relatives who are financially dependent on the family member in Sweden. You must have the intention of being united with your family member in Sweden and must apply no later than three months from when you came to Sweden.

If you previously had a rela­tionship with a British citizen

If you were previously a family member of a British citizen, but your relationship to this person ended, you can also apply for residence status to continue living in Sweden. A prerequisite is that you live in Sweden in accordance with European Union law before the end of the transition period and that you continue to do so.

Children born or adopted after the end of the tran­si­tion period

Children born or adopted after the end of the transition period can also receive residence status. In such cases

  • both parents must be British citizens and meet the requirements for a right of residence or
  • one of the parents must be a British citizen and meet the requirements for a right of residence and the other parent must be a Swedish citizen or
  • one of the parents must be a British citizen and meet the requirements for a right of residence and have sole or joint custody of the child.

The application must be submitted within three months of when the child was born or came to Sweden.

How to apply

The application is most easily made via the e-service. There, an application can be made for the entire family at the same time or one can apply individually. If you cannot apply online, you must turn in a paper application. A separate application must then be completed for every family member.

When you apply for a residence status you must show that you are a family member of a British citizen or of a British citizen’s husband, wife or cohabiting partner. If you do not apply at the same time as you family member you need to send in copies of the following documents with your application.

Read more about how to apply for residence status

  • copy of the pages of your passport showing your personal information and the period of validity of your passport, or copy of your national identity card if you are a British or EU/EEA citizen
  • documents showing the family relationship, for example marriage certificate.

  • copy of the pages of your passport showing your personal information and the period of validity of your passport, or copy of your national identity card if you are a British or EU/EEA citizen
  • documents which confirm that you have cohabitated, either in Sweden or abroad. For example extracts from the civil registry or other documentation showing that you both have been registered at the same address, documents which show shared utility accounts or insurance policies, bills issued to you jointly or bills that were issued individually but were sent to your shared address; for example telephone bills.

  • copy of the pages of the child’s passport showing his or her personal information and the period of validity of their passport, or copy of their national identity card if the child is a British or EU/EEA citizen
  • birth certificate or other document stating the parents’ names
  • adoption documents if the child is adopted
  • optionally a separate sheet of paper with the child's views if the child is under the age of 18 years.

  • copy of the the pages of your passport showing your personal information and the period of validity of your passport, or copy of your British national identity card if you are a British or EU/EEA citizen
  • document which demonstrates that you are related to the EU citizen or their husband/wife/cohabiting partner; for example. a birth certificate
  • documents which demonstrate the way in which you are dependent on your family member for essential needs.

  • copy of the pages of your passport showing your personal information and the period of validity of your passport, or copy of your British national identity card if you are a British or EU/EEA citizen
  • document which demonstrates that you are related to the EU citizen or their husband/wife/cohabiting partner; for example. a birth certificate
  • documents which demonstrate the way in which you are dependent on your family member for essential needs.

  • copy of the pages of your passport showing your personal information and the period of validity of your passport, or copy of your British national identity card if you are a British or EU/EEA citizen
  • document which demonstrates that you are the guardian of the child who is studying in Sweden; for example. a birth certificate
  • document which demonstrate that the child is studying in Sweden.

You must also show that your family member is a British citizen who met the requirements for residence status in Sweden on 31 December 2020. If you and your family member apply at the same time, it is enough if he or she sends the following documents in his or her application.

  • copy of your family member’s passport or copy of their British national identity card
  • certificate of employment including information about employer’s name, contact information and corporate registration number, wages, duration of the employment, scope of the work (number of hours per week) and when the employment began. If the certificate of employment is more than three months old, a payslip for the most recent month also needs to be attached
  • payslips for the last three months showing the number of hours worked, if your partner have part-time employment or temporary employment.

  • copy of your family member’s passport or copy of their British national identity card
  • documents that show that your family member are self-employed, for example F-tax certificate and certificate of registration, latest VAT return submitted to the Swedish Tax Agency or an extract from the tax account, or evidence that he or she is running a business, e.g. customer invoices, receipts for purchased materials, rental agreement for commercial premises, etc.

If your family member are in the process of setting up his or her own business in Sweden but do not yet have a business, you can enclose copies of

  • documents which state the plans that are in place for the company and the preparations that have been made
  • service contracts, customer contact information or a rental agreement for commercial premises
  • transfer agreement and the most recent annual report.

  • copy your family member’s passport or copy of their British national identity card
  • evidence of acceptance to an education programme at the upper secondary level or higher
  • European health insurance cards (EHIC) for you and your family member. If you are ineligible for such a card, you need to take out a comprehensive health insurance policy that covers you during your time in Sweden, and enclose a copy of the policy. The copy must clearly state what is covered by the policy.

Always enclose copies of the following documents:

  • copy of your your family member’s passport or copy of their British national identity card
  • if you are not registered in Sweden in the Population Register, you need to enclose documentation confirming that you are covered by the social insurance system of another EU country. The authorities of the respective country must issue the document. If you are ineligible for such a card, you need to take out a comprehensive health insurance policy that covers you during your time in Sweden, and enclose a copy of the policy. The copy must clearly state what is covered by the policy
  • information on your housing costs in Sweden such as rental agreement showing rental costs or document confirming the purchase of a condominium or property. If you own your property, indicate the monthly costs associated with your residence.

If your family member’s support consists of a salary or other form of compensation from abroad, you need to submit

  • a pension statement if he or she is a pensioner
  • a copy of a valid employment contract and payslip from the employer for the last three months if he or she is employed
  • receipts for costs incurred commuting to a foreign country. Attach a copy of monthly/weekly commuter card or similar
  • documentation of any allowances or other forms of income from abroad.

If you intend to support yourselves using your family member’s assets, you need to submit

  • bank statements showing your available funds
  • information on other sources of disposable income.

If another person is supporting you in Sweden, you need to enclose

  • a copy of the identity card for the person who supports you
  • a letter in which the person who supports you certifies that he or she will continue to support you and states their relation to you (if you are not related, then close friends or similar)
  • details of the person’s income, assets and living circumstances. This also needs to state whether the person has any family members or other persons who are dependent on him or her for their support.

Application for permanent residence status

  • copy of the pages of your passport which states your citizenship and the passport’s period of validity, or copy of your British national identity card
  • copy of the passport or the British national identity card belonging to your family member
  • all statements of earnings from the Swedish Tax Agency for your family member from the last five years
  • employer’s certificate for your family member from the last five years
  • if your family member has been unemployed at any time, you need to submit a certificate which indicates the dates on which he or she was registered as a job seeker with the Swedish Public Employment Service.

If the application concerns a child under the age of 18 years

  • optionally a separate sheet of paper with the child's views.

  • copy of the pages of your passport which states your citizenship and the passport’s period of validity, or copy of your British national identity card
  • copy of the passport or the British national identity card belonging to your family member
  • tax account for the company from the Swedish Tax Agency for the last five years.

If the application concerns a child under the age of 18 years

  • optionally a separate sheet of paper with the child's views.

  • copy of the pages of passport which states your citizenship and the passport’s period of validity, or British national identity card
  • passport or British national identity card belonging to your family member
  • transcripts for the periods that your family member has been studying at the upper secondary level or higher.

If the application concerns a child under the age of 18 years

  • optionally a separate sheet of paper with the child's views.

  • copy of the pages of your passport which states your citizenship and the passport’s period of validity, or British national identity card
  • copy of the passport or the British national identity card belonging to your family member
  • information on your housing costs in Sweden such as rental agreement showing rental costs or document confirming the purchase of a condominium or property. If you own your property, indicate the monthly costs associated with your residence
  • documents showing how your family member have supported you during your time in Sweden, for example pension payments, bank statements, tax assessment information for salary paid from abroad or other documents that demonstrate how he or she has supported you.

If any other person has supported you in Sweden, then you need to enclose

  • a copy of the identity card for the person who supports you
  • a letter in which the person who supports you certifies that he or she has supported you and states their relation to you
  • documents which confirm that he or she has supported you; for example bank statements.

If the application concerns a child under the age of 18 years

  • optionally a separate sheet of paper with the child's views.

Last updated: 2020-12-07