For employees, self-employed persons or doctoral students with a co-applicant family
If you have or have had a residence permit as an employee or a residence permit as a self-employed person or doctoral student, and you have or wish to apply for a permanent residence permit, you are subject to a maintenance requirement if your family is applying for a residence permit in order to continue living with you in Sweden.
If you are an employee, a self-employed person or a doctoral student who meets the requirements for a permanent residence permit, you can apply for one. The same applies for your co-applicant family.
Your application will be examined first
The Swedish Migration Agency will first examine your application for a permanent residence permit. If you are granted a permanent residence permit, your family’s application will then be examined.
This means that your family will no longer apply as a co-applicant to you as an employee, self-employed person or doctoral student, but as the relative of someone with a permanent residence permit. You must therefore meet a maintenance requirement in most cases.
The family’s application for a permanent residence permit will not be examined until the requirements for an extended residence permit have been met for the family.
If your family is applying for a residence permit to live with you in Sweden after you have been granted a permanent residence permit, they must apply for an extended residence permit to live with someone in Sweden.
Read more about extending a residence permit to live with someone in Sweden
Maintenance requirement
You, the person living in Sweden, must
- be able to support yourself, other persons living in the household and those family members who are applying for a residence permit
- have a home of a sufficient size and standard for you all to live in.
Your maintenance
You need to show that you have regular, work-related income that allows you to support yourself, other people in your household, and the family members who are applying for a residence permit. Work-related income includes, for example,
- salary/wages from work
- unemployment benefits
- sickness benefits
- income-based old-age pensions.
You may also fulfil the maintenance requirement (be considered able to support yourself) if you have enough money/taxable assets to support yourself, other persons in your household and the family members who are applying for a residence permit for at least two years.
Your income
The amount of income necessary in order for you to fulfil the maintenance requirement (be considered able to support yourself) depends on how large your family is and how high your housing costs are. Your after-tax income must be sufficient to cover your actual housing costs and the normal amount required to support the persons who will be part of your household. This means that after you have paid your housing costs each month, you should have enough money left over to cover, among other things, the cost of food, clothing, personal hygiene products, telephone costs, household electricity, insurance and other minor expenses for the incidental needs of all the members of your household.
For 2024 the standard amount is
- SEK 6,090 for a single adult
- SEK 10,061 for cohabiting spouses or cohabiting partners
- SEK 3,255 for children 0–6 years of age
- SEK 3,906 for children 7–10 years of age
- SEK 4,558 for children 11–14 years of age
- SEK 5,208 for children 15 years of age or older.
If you have a child with whom you do not live and you pay maintenance to the child’s other parent, your wages must also be sufficient to cover the maintenance allowance.
More information about which documents you can enclose to show that you fulfil the requirements
Your home
You have to have a home of sufficient size and standard for all of you to live in. For two adults without children a home is big enough if it has a kitchen or kitchenette and at least one room. If children are going to live in the home, there must be more rooms. Two children can share a bedroom.
A sub-let home is alright, but the sub-let must be approved by the landlord, housing cooperative association or regional rent tribunal. If one has a live-in arrangement at someone else’s residence, or lives at home with one’s parents, one is not viewed as having an acceptable type of housing.
You have to be able to use the home from when your family members come to Sweden. You must be able to show that you have a home for at least one year to come.
More information about which documents you can enclose to show that you fulfil the requirements
If you do not meet the requirements for a permanent residence permit
If you do not yet meet the requirements for a residence permit and have family members who are applying for residence permits as co-applicants, you are subject to other rules.
Read more about how a family applies for a residence permit for someone with a work permit
Read more about what applies for family members of people with a residence permit for studies