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.