Children born in Sweden
Children born in Sweden receive the same citizenship as the parents. If the child's parents are citizens of a country outside the EU, the parents must apply for a residence permit for the child.
EU and EEA citizens
By “EU citizen”, the Migration Agency also means citizens of the EEA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, which are also covered by the freedom of mobility within the EU. Citizens of countries within the EU and EEA do not need residence permits to live in Sweden.
Swedish at birth if one of the parents is a Swedish citizen
A child will become a Swedish citizen at birth, no matter where they are born, as long as one of the parents is a Swedish citizen.
A child is always given Swedish citizenship if
- one of the parents is a Swedish citizen. It does not matter if the child is born in Sweden or abroad
- a deceased parent to the child was a Swedish citizen upon their death.
Permits for children who do not have Swedish citizenship
When the Migration Agency receives notification of a child without Swedish citizenship having been born in Sweden, the Migration Agency sends a letter to the parents. It is the parents who must apply for a residence permit for their child. The child will then be granted a temporary residence permit that is valid for no more than two years.
Passport requirements for residence permits
In order for the Swedish Migration Agency to grant a temporary residence permit, the applicant must have a valid passport, such as a national passport from the country of origin, an alien's passport or a travel document. This also applies to children born in Sweden. If your child does not have a passport, you should apply for one as soon as possible. Contact the embassy of your country of origin for more information about passports. If the child cannot obtain a national passport from your country of origin, you can apply for an alien's passport with the Swedish Migration Agency. However, the fact that the child does not have a passport does not prevent an application for a residence permit from being submitted for the child and that the processing begins.
Learn more about applying for an alien's passport or travel document
How to apply for a residence permit for your child
If you are a citizen of a non-EU country and do not have a Swedish citizenship, you have to apply for a residence permit for your child. If one of you has a residence permit in Sweden and the other has applied for asylum, you can apply for a residence permit for your child. If the child is in need of protection, you can apply for asylum for the child.
The parent with a residence permit in Sweden must fill out the application for the child.
If you are a parent with a temporary residence permit to study in Sweden, you should file your online application for a residence permit for your child via the e-service for family members of students.
Learn more about residence permits for the family members of students
If you are a parent with a temporary residence permit to work in Sweden, you should file your online application for a residence permit for your child via the e-service for family members of employees.
Learn more about permits for family members of a person with a work permit
You can apply online for a residence permit for the child.
In most cases, you will have to pay a fee.
What to submit with your child’s application
If the child has a passport, you must attach copies of the child's passport showing personal data, a photo, passport number, country of issue, the passport's period of validity and if the child has residence permits in any countries other than his or her country of origin.
Children without a passport can also submit an online application, but must supplement with copies of the passport afterwards in order to be able to obtain a temporary residence permit.
If you have sole custody of your child, a decision about this custody arrangement must be submitted with the application. If the other parent is deceased, you must submit a death certificate.
Make sure that the information on the documents you submit is clearly visible. On your passport copies, the numbers and characters at the top and bottom of the passport pages must also be clearly visible.
Read more about the requirements for an online application
Consent
If the child has two legal guardians, but only one of them lives in Sweden, you must include a statement of consent from the other legal guardian with the application. The statement of consent must be in the form of a signed letter from the parent who is the child’s legal guardian but is not living in Sweden, in which they state that they agree to your child being granted a residence permit to settle in Sweden. The statement of consent must clearly state that the child is allowed to be granted residence permit in Sweden.
The statement of consent should contain
- the name, date of birth and address of the parent providing their consent
- the name and date of birth of the child the statement of consent regards
- a statement indicating that the parent agrees to the child being granted a residence permit to settle in Sweden
- the signature of the consenting parent, along with their name in printed form.
Consent for a child to settle in Sweden, form 217011
Pdf, 618.6 kB, opens in new window.
If the parents are EU citizens
If you are citizens of a country within the EU, you may have right of residence. If either of the parents has right of residence in Sweden and your child is also an EU citizen, the child automatically has right of residence. In this case, you do not need to contact the Migration Agency.
Read more about residence permits for EU citizens
As EU citizens you may also have residence permits in accordance with the Swedish Aliens Act. If you have a residence permit you should apply for a residence permit for the child.
If the parents are British citizens
If you are British citizens and have residence status, the child can also get residence status.
Read more about what applies to family members of a British citizen who has residence status
If you are EU citizens with right of residence but the child is not an EU citizen, you should apply for a residence card for the child. You apply for a residence card by filling out the form Application for residence card, 145011, and sending it to one of the Migration Agency's permit units.
This is what you should include
- documents demonstrating that you still qualify for right of residence, such as tax account statements, employer's certificate, study results if you are a student or tax account statements for the company if you are self-employed
- copies of the pages in the child's passport showing personal data, a photo, passport number, country of issue, the passport's period of validity and if the child has residence permits in any countries other than his or her country of origin
- copies of the pages in the parent's passports which show their personal information, photograph, signature, passport number, passport issuing country, the period of the passport's validity and whether they have permission to live in countries other than their country of origin
- a national identity card showing personal information, citizenship and the period of the card's validity (if one of the parents are an EU citizen).
If the child does not have a passport, you should apply for one as soon as possible. Please contact the embassy of your country of origin for more information.
There is no fee for applying for a residence card.
Application for a residence card, form 145011 Pdf, 917.1 kB, opens in new window.
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If you do not apply online
Application for residence permit
If you cannot apply online, you must fill out the form Application for a residence permit to settle in Sweden – for a child under the age of 18, 163011.
If the child has a passport, enclose copies of the child's passport showing personal data, a photo, passport number, country of issue, the passport's period of validity and if the child has residence permits in any countries other than his or her country of origin.
You do not need to enclose the form Family appendix when you apply for residence permit for your child.
Send your application to The Swedish Migration Agency, Box 3100, 903 03 Umeå