Extending a residence permit under the temporary law
If you have previously applied for asylum and received a temporary residence permit under the temporary law, you must apply for an extension of your residence permit if you want to stay in Sweden. This also applies to you as a family member of a person with a temporary residence permit under the temporary law.
This information applies to those who have a temporary residence permit under the temporary law because they need protection (asylum), are studying at upper secondary level, need to stay in Sweden for health reasons or because there is a temporary impediment to enforcement that prevents them from being deported. This also applies to those who came to Sweden as a close relative of a person who has a temporary residence permit under the temporary law.
How to get a residence permit extension under the temporary law
You can get a residence permit extension if you fulfil the requirements for one or more of the following reasons:
- You need protection (asylum).
- You can financially support yourself as an employee in Sweden.
- You can financially support yourself as a self-employed person in Sweden.
- You are a family member of a person who is resident in Sweden.
- You are studying at upper secondary level (high school).
- You want to look for work after completing studies at upper secondary level.
- You need to stay in Sweden for health reasons.
Requirements for using the e-service
In order to use the e-service and apply for a residence permit extension, you need
- Swedish e-ID, such as BankID
- an email address
- to be able to upload your documents digitally.
The first time you log in, you have to identify yourself in two steps, with both an e-ID and a code that is sent to your email address. The Swedish Migration Agency may contact you via your email address if we have questions about your application. After that, if you need to log in again, for example, if you want to pause your application and continue later, or if you are applying for several people, you only need to use e-ID.
If parents use the e-service, they will be asked if they are applying for a residence permit extension for themselves or for a child under the age of 18 for whom they are legal guardians. Parents can use their e-ID to apply for themselves and several children, but must log out and then log in again for each person they wish to apply for. If you are going to apply for several people, you must complete and submit an application, and then log out, before you can log back in to make a new application for someone else.
Children without a parent/guardian in Sweden can apply themselves using the e-service. The Swedish Migration Agency will then contact the child's trustee and ask him/her to confirm the application.
You can pause your application and continue later. Remember to complete your application before your current residence permit expires.
Read more about the requirements that apply to you and the documents to be submitted depending on the grounds of your application
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 the members of your family all have permits that expire more or less at the same time, you should all apply for an extension at the same time. If you do not apply for an extension before your residence permit expires, you cannot 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 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.
After you have submitted your application
When you apply for an extension on the web, you will receive confirmation straight away on your screen that the Swedish Migration Agency has received your application. You can save the confirmation by sending it to your email address, downloading it or printing it off straight away.
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 can 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.
Learn how to send appendices by mail
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 service of information” 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/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. Your decision states whether you can appeal and how to appeal if you are not satisfied with the decision.
Permits of different lengths
The length of your permit will depend on several different things. The most common is that you will be given a new temporary residence permit that is valid for two or three years. The length of the permit you are given depends on whether you have refugee status or subsidiary protection status. If you have refugee status, you will be given a three-year residence permit. If you have subsidiary protection status, you will be given two years if you have applied for extension. If this is the first time that you are given a declaration of status, you will be given 13 months. If you are a family member of a person who came to Sweden as an asylum seeker, you will usually be given the same length of residence permit as that person is given. The length of the permit may sometimes be shorter if you have committed a crime.
If you are studying at upper secondary level, you will normally be given a residence permit that lasts for as long as the study programme plus another six months. If you already have a residence permit for studies at upper secondary level, but need more time than planned to complete your studies, you can apply for a residence permit extension. You can then get a residence permit for the remaining time of your study programme plus another six months, but no longer than 13 months at a time. The extra six months are to give you time to look for work after you have completed your studies.
If you are studying an introductory programme at upper secondary school, you can get a residence permit for 13 months. If you have not managed to complete the introductory programme within that time, you can only get a residence permit extension for such studies one more time. After that, you have to move on to another type of study programme in order to be able to get another residence permit extension.
If you have less than six months left of your residence permit after completing your studies at upper secondary level, you can get a residence permit for up to six months from the date of completion to look for work. If you find a job within that time that meets the requirements for a permanent residence permit, you can reapply for a residence permit extension in order to stay in Sweden.
If you can prove that you can support yourself as an employee or a self-employed person, you can get a permanent residence permit. This also applies to your family members who have a residence permit as your close relatives and who apply for an extension together with you.
Stateless persons who were born in Sweden and who have a residence permit under the temporary law may, under certain circumstances, be able to get a permanent residence permit. The requirements are that you have been stateless since birth, that you have not yet reached the age of 21 and that you have lived in Sweden for a certain length of time.