Exten­ding a resi­dence permit for former asylum seekers and their fami­lies – if you are not able to use the e-service

If you have previously applied for asylum and were granted a temporary residence permit, you must apply for an extension of your residence permit if you want to stay in Sweden. This also applies if you are a family member of a person who previously applied for asylum and was granted a temporary residence permit.

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This information applies to those who have applied for asylum and been granted a temporary residence permit as a refugee or a person in need of subsidiary protection, due to particularly or exceptionally distressing circumstances, or because there is a temporary impediment to enforcement that prevents them from being deported. It also applies to those who came to Sweden as a close relative of a person who has a temporary residence permit for one of these reasons, and to those who have been granted a residence permit for studies at upper secondary level.

How to get a resi­dence permit exten­sion

You can apply for an extension of your residence permit if you meet the requirements for one of the following reasons:

  • You need protection (asylum).
  • You are a family member of a person who is resident in Sweden.
  • You want to look for work after completing studies at upper secondary level.
  • You have studied at upper secondary level and can financially support yourself.
  • There are exceptionally distressing circumstances.

Apply before your resi­dence permit expires

It is important that you apply for an extension before your temporary residence permit expires, but no earlier than two months before it expires. If you apply before your residence permit expires you may work while you wait for the decision. If the members of your family all have permits that expire, you should all apply for an extension at the same time.

If you apply after your resi­dence permit has already expired

If you apply for an extension too late, that is after your residence permit has already expired, you do not have the right to work while you wait for the decision. You also risk losing certain benefits, such as start-up support, study allowance or parental allowance. If you apply too late, there is also a risk that your application for an extension will be rejected because you were in Sweden without a residence permit.

If you already have a valid expulsion order, it can be enforced when your residence permit expires if you do not apply for an extension in time.

Fill in the form

If you cannot use the e-service to apply online, fill in the form Application for an extension of a residence permit, form 201011. You can fill in the form on your computer before printing it off or print it off first and fill it in by hand. If you do not have your own printer, you can often get help to print the form at your nearest library or Citizens Advice Bureau. You can also have the forms sent by mail to your address. You can place your order for paper forms on the collection page for forms.

Collection page for forms

All family members including children must have their own application form. Parents fill in the application form and attachments for their children, but remember the questions are addressed to the child.

Remember to sign your form. Parents/legal guardians sign their children's forms.

Application for an extension of a residence permit, form 201011 Pdf, 666.9 kB, opens in new window.

In the application form, explain why you want to apply for a residence permit extension. In order for your application to be complete, you might have to submit documents showing that you meet the requirements. What documents you need to submit will depend on why you want to stay in Sweden.

If you are also applying for a perma­nent resi­dence permit

On the form Application for an extension of a residence permit, 201011, you can also apply for a permanent residence permit. You can only apply for a permanent residence permit in connection with your applying for an extended residence permit, and only after having had a residence permit in Sweden for three years.

Requi­re­ments for a perma­nent resi­dence permit

To be granted a permanent residence permit, you must

  • meet the requirements for an extended residence permit
  • be able to support yourself financially
  • live an orderly life.

Read more about the requirements to support yourself and live an orderly life:

In order to obtain a permanent residence permit, you must be able to support yourself through income from employment or your own company, or a combination of employment and your own company. You may add together income from one or more part-time jobs, provided that all the employments meet the requirements below.

The livelihood must be sustainable and serious

You must be able to show that you can support yourself for a longer period of time ahead. If you do not have permanent employment, an individual assessment is always made as to whether your income is sustainable. A longer fixed-term employment is usually approved. In some cases, an employment with a probationary period can also be approved.

People who support themselves financially through self-employment must demonstrate that their company has realistic business plans and stable finances, so that you can be expected to be able to support yourself through your profits for a longer period of time.

It is only the income you actually have when we consider your application that counts. You cannot get a permanent residence permit based on your chances of getting another job or higher income sometime in the future.

What income counts?

You may only count taxed income from legal employment. This means that you must have permission to work or be exempt from the work permit requirement. You may not count undeclared income, nor income from a profession that you are not licensed to practise.

You may count parental benefits or sickness benefits, provided that you have ongoing employment and your parental leave or sick leave is not assessed to be longer than 18 months.

To count income from your business, you must show that you own at least half of the company and that you have decisive responsibility for its operations. It is also required that you run the company professionally, independently and for profit.

If you wait too long to apply for an extended residence permit (after your current permit has expired), you will not have the right to work while you wait for a decision and therefore will not meet the maintenance requirement.

Amount of income

Your income after tax must be so large that, after your accommodation costs have been paid each month, you have a certain amount left that should be enough for food, clothing, hygiene, telephone, electricity and insurance for yourself, among other things. For 2024, that amount is SEK 6,090 per month for a single adult. If you have a child with whom you do not live and you pay maintenance to the child’s other parent, your income must also be sufficient to cover the maintenance allowance.

The housing costs that your income must be sufficient to cover each month depend on the type of home in which you live:

  • If you live in a rented flat, you must include both the rent and the cost of heating in this calculation, if the latter is not included in the rent.
  • If you live in a tenant-owner flat, you must include any fees paid to the tenant-owner association and the interest on any home loans in your calculation. You must also include necessary operating costs (such as water and heating), if these are not included in the monthly fee.
  • If you live in a freestanding house, you must include the interest rate for any home loans and necessary operating costs (such as water and heating) in your calculation.

Amortisation of home loans is not included in the cost of accommodation.

You only need to be able to support yourself, not your family members. If you live alone or with underage children, you must include your entire actual accommodation cost in your calculation. However, if you live with one or more other adults, you should divide the actual accommodation cost by the number of adults in the household and only include your share in the calculation, no matter how much each person actually pays for the accommodation.

What income does not count?

You may not count income from

  • a family member
  • wealth or returns from capital
  • unemployment insurance or activity compensation
  • various forms of grants or scholarships
  • subsidised employment (for example, when the Swedish Social Insurance Agency or the Swedish Public Employment Service pays all or part of the wages).

Pensions do not count as income either, but people who receive a pension may be exempt from the requirement that they must be able support themselves financially.

Exemptions from the maintenance requirement

Exemptions from the maintenance requirement can be made if

  • you are under the age of 18 when the Swedish Migration Agency makes a decision
  • you are entitled to a pension
  • you are unable to support yourself financially on other special grounds.

If you can submit a decision from the Swedish Pensions Agency that shows that you are entitled to an income-based retirement pension, a guarantee pension or financial support for the elderly, then you are exempt from the requirement to be able to support yourself financially. It is the right to a pension that is crucial, not whether you actually take out a pension or the size of your pension. Both guarantee pensions and financial support for the elderly can be paid out no sooner than the month you turn 66. Income-based old-age pensions can be paid out no sooner than the month you turn 63. If you have reached the age of 63 but not 66, you must show that you have retired and started to take out your income-based old-age pension. It is your age on the date of the decision that matters.

Exemptions from the maintenance requirement may also be made if other special grounds exist which are not temporary. For example, you may be unable to meet the maintenance requirement on the grounds of permanently impaired working capacity due to illness or disability. This can also apply if you are unemployed and so close to retirement age that it is difficult to get a new job. Exemptions can also be granted if it is not reasonable to request that you be able to support yourself financially. For example, such exemptions are granted for monks and nuns.

If you believe that you have special grounds for exemption from the maintenance requirement, please attach documents showing that you have, for example, a permanently impaired ability to work. Such proof may take the form of an investigation by the Swedish Public Employment Service, a decision on entitlement to sickness benefits, sickness benefits or activity compensation from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, or a medical certificate.

In order to be granted a permanent residence permit in Sweden, it is important that you cannot be assumed to commit a crime in the future. Therefore, it is required that those who apply for a permanent residence permit will live a well-behaved life. To be able to assess this, the Swedish Migration Agency needs to look at how you have lived so far, for example if you have been convicted or suspected of any crime in Sweden or abroad.
There are no detailed rules on the types of crimes or the length of the penalty that may prevent a person from obtaining a permanent residence permit. It is not only about serious crimes, even less serious crime can be an obstacle if you have misbehaved in other ways at the same time.

If there is reason to suspect that you will not live in a well-behaved manner in the future, the Swedish Migration Agency will weigh these suspicions against your reasons for being granted a permanent residence permit. We take into account how you have misbehaved and how long ago the events took place.

Exemptions to the requirement that applicants live a law-abiding life are made only for children under the age of 15.

Perma­nent resi­dence permit in accor­dance with the Swedish Upper Secon­dary School Act

Those who have a residence permit due to studies at upper secondary level may also apply for a permanent residence permit, although they are subject to different requirements to be granted a permanent residence permit.

Read more about the requirements for being granted a permanent residence permit in accordance with the Swedish Upper Secondary School Act

Do you want to apply for an exten­sion digi­tally?

The e-service allows you to answer questions and upload all your attachments digitally. To use the e-service, you must have an e-identification and an email address.

Read more about how to apply for an extension of your residence permit using the e-service

Read more about the requi­re­ments that apply to you and the docu­ments to be submitted depen­ding on ​​​​the reason for your appli­ca­tion

If you want to stay in Sweden because you need protection (asylum), you must state whether you have the same grounds for asylum as before or if you have new grounds for asylum that you have not informed us about previously.

If you have applied for asylum before and still have the same grounds, you do not need to tell us about them again. The case officer knows the grounds for asylum that you have explained to both the Swedish Migration Agency and the Migration Court.

If you state you have new grounds for asylum, we will contact you to find out more about why you need protection (asylum). An applicant with new grounds for asylum usually needs to come to the Swedish Migration Agency for an interview. New grounds for asylum could be, for example, that something has happened after you applied for asylum which you have not told the Swedish Migration Agency or the court. Another example of new grounds for asylum could be something that you have not informed us about before because you came to Sweden as a close relative and have not applied for asylum before.

If your reason for applying for a residence permit extension is because you need protection in Sweden, you do not need to submit any documents.

Read more about who can get asylum in Sweden

You can get a residence permit extension if you have a family member who has a residence permit.

The following count as a family member

  • husband
  • wife
  • registered partner
  • cohabiting partner
  • child under 18 years
  • parent of a child under 18 years.

If you have a residence permit because you are a spouse, partner or cohabiting partner of a person with a temporary residence permit under the temporary law or the Aliens Act and you are still living together, you must submit the form Assurance of cohabitation, 223011. Both you and your family member must sign the Declaration of cohabitation to confirm that you are still living together. When we process your application, the Swedish Migration Agency will check with the Swedish Tax Agency whether you are both registered at the same address.

Assurance of cohabitation, form 223011 Pdf, 1.1 MB, opens in new window.

If you came to Sweden as a family member of a child or parent and want to apply for a residence permit extension because of your family ties to that person, you do not need to submit any attachments. The Swedish Migration Agency will use information in your previous applications, or the Swedish Tax Agency's population register, to confirm that you are a family.

You can also apply for a residence permit extension if you have a new family relationship. This applies both to those who came to Sweden to apply for asylum and received a temporary residence permit, and those who came to Sweden as a family member of someone who has applied for asylum. A new family relationship means that you do not already have a residence permit because the person in question is a member of your family. The person in question could be a new family member, but it could also be someone who has been a member of your family for a long time, but on account of whom you have not previously applied for a residence permit on grounds of family ties.

If you want to stay in Sweden because you are a family member of a person who is resident in Sweden and you do not already have a residence permit on grounds of family ties to this person, you must submit the form Questionnaire on newly established relationships, T78.

Questionnaire on newly established relationships, form T78 (in Swedish only) Pdf, 1.2 MB, opens in new window.

The Swedish Migration Agency will check with the Swedish Tax Agency whether you are registered at the same address. In some cases, we may also contact your family member to ask questions.

Please note that if you apply for a residence permit extension for a child aged under 18 years, both of the child's parents/legal guardians in Sweden must sign the form Application for residence permit extension, 201011. If you are not able to sign the same form, the other parent/legal guardian can submit the form Confirmation of application for residence permit for child, 207011, to show that they approve the application for a residence permit for the child.

Application for an Pdf, 666.9 kB, opens in new window.extension Pdf, 666.9 kB, opens in new window. of a residence permit, form 201011 Pdf, 666.9 kB, opens in new window.

Confirmation of application for residence permit for child, form 207011 Pdf, 1.1 MB, opens in new window.

You may be entitled to a residence permit for up to six months after your graduation date in order to look for work after completion of your studies at upper secondary level.

You must submit your school diploma or another certificate showing the date on which you completed your studies.

If you have so little time left on your current residence permit that you must apply for a residence permit extension before you receive your diploma or equivalent certificate, you can instead submit a certificate (for example, a study certificate) showing that you will soon complete your studies. Once you have completed your studies, you must complete your application by submitting a new certificate showing the date you completed your studies.

Read more about what is required to be granted an extended residence permit in order to look for work after completion of studies at upper secondary level

You can apply for a permanent residence permit in accordance with the Swedish Upper Secondary School Act if you have studied at upper secondary level and can financially support yourself as an employee or a self-employed person. You must show that you fulfil the requirements for a permanent residence permit before your temporary permit expires. Which documents you must attach depends on whether you are supporting yourself as an employee or a self-employed person. You can combine your incomes from multiple jobs, multiple companies of yours or from both employment and self-employment. If you want to combine incomes from multiple jobs or companies, you must attach the documents below for all jobs and companies.

Read more about the requirements for being granted a permanent residence permit in accordance with the Swedish Upper Secondary School Act

To show that you can support yourself, you must fill in the form Information on means of financial support, 202011.

Information on means of financial support, form 202011 (in Swedish only) Pdf, 827 kB, opens in new window.

The form consists of several parts. On the first page, you enter your personal details and your housing costs. If you are working for someone as an employee, fill in Part 2. If you are self-employed, fill in Part 3. If you are both an employee and a self-employed person, you must fill in both Part 2 and Part 3.

You can add up your sources of income from several jobs and from both jobs as an employee and your own companies. If you have more than one job as an employee, fill in Part 2 for each job. If you want to add up income from several jobs, they must all fulfil all the requirements. If you have several companies, fill in Part 3 for each company.

You must attach several documents to show your housing costs and to show that you fulfil the requirements for a residence permit as an employee. Read the form carefully to see which documents you must attach.

In exceptional cases, a person may be granted a residence permit even though they are not in need of protection from persecution or do not meet the requirements for a residence permit on some other grounds. This requires the existence of exceptionally distressing circumstances. When the Migration Agency makes a decision, an overall assessment is made of the person’s state of health, adaptation to Sweden and the situation in the country of origin.

If you are applying for an extended residence permit due to exceptionally distressing circumstances, you do not need to attach any documents. We make contact with you if we need any more information.

Where should you send your forms and atta­ch­ments?

Send your application and attachments to:

The Swedish Migration Agency/Migrationsverket
Box 3100
903 03 Umeå

After you have submitted your appli­ca­tion

If you submit your application by post, you will receive a letter of confirmation after about a week.

Not everyone who has applied for a residence permit extension needs to visit the Swedish Migration Agency for an interview. We will contact you if we need more information. We may need to see you to ask questions, for example, if you wrote in your application that you have new grounds for asylum. We may also ask questions over the phone or ask you to submit additional information by letter.

If your situation changes before the Swedish Migration Agency has made a decision, you supplement your application by post. It may be, for example, that you have started working, that you have completed your studies or that your family situation has changed.

You should not leave Sweden while you are waiting for a decision. In most cases, the Swedish Migration Agency cannot grant a residence permit extension to a person who is outside Sweden. To enter Sweden, you need a valid residence permit card that you will be given when the Swedish Migration Agency has granted your application for a residence permit extension. This means that you will not be able to come back to Sweden if you are abroad when your residence permit expires.

After the deci­sion

Once the Swedish Migration Agency has made its decision, you will be sent a letter. Usually, we use simplified notification which means we send you a letter with the decision by post to your home address. In some cases, you will receive a summons asking you to come to a meeting at the Swedish Migration Agency so a case officer can tell you about the decision.

When sending letters and summons to your home, the Swedish Migration Agency will primarily use your registered address, which we will get from the Swedish Tax Agency. Therefore, it is important that you notify the Swedish Tax Agency if you move. The Swedish Migration Agency cannot change your registered address.

If you have applied for a residence permit extension for your child, the Swedish Migration Agency will send the decision to the child's registered address. Parents/legal guardians can change their children's registered address by contacting the Swedish Tax Agency.

If you get a residence permit extension, you will need a new residence permit card. Then you need to make an appointment so you can have your fingerprints taken and be photographed so the Swedish Migration Agency can make a new residence permit card for you. You must make an appointment for each family member who needs a new residence permit card.

Read more about residence permit cards

Make an appointment before you visit us

The decision states whether or not you have been given a residence permit and for how long the permit is valid.

The decision also states why you have been given a residence permit. If you have been given a residence permit because you need protection (asylum) in Sweden, it will also say whether you have been given a new declaration of protection status. Those who already have protection status will retain it in most cases if they stated in their application that they still need protection.

Not all decisions can be appealed. The decision states whether you can appeal and how to appeal if you are not satisfied with the decision.

Read more about how to appeal

Permits of diffe­rent lengths

When you are granted an extended residence permit, you will usually receive a residence permit that is valid for two or three years. The length of the permit may sometimes be shorter if you have committed a crime.

If you are granted an extended residence permit to look for work after completion of your studies at upper secondary level, you will receive a residence permit that is valid for up to six months after your graduation date.

If you are granted a permanent residence permit, you do not need to apply for an extended residence permit again.

If you have applied for a permanent residence permit, but are only granted an extended temporary residence permit, in some cases you can appeal the decision.

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