Permits for family members of a person with a residence permit for studies
If you are a family member of someone who has already applied for a residence permit for studies in Sweden in higher education, you can make your own application for a residence permit for the same period. You can also get a work permit. If you are a family member of someone who has been granted a permanent residence permit in Sweden after four years of doctoral studies, you can get a permanent residence permit if you meet the requirements for one.
This e-service should only be used by you as a family member who wants to make an application after the student has already made their application. If you want to apply together with the student, you must do so in the student's e-service when he or she makes their application.
Requirements for residence permits
You can apply for a residence permit if
- the person that you are moving to in Sweden has a residence permit for studies in higher education
- you have a valid passport
- you have your support arranged for the period you are applying for a residence permit. The maintenance requirement for the whole time you are in Sweden is SEK 4 297,50 per month for adults and SEK 2 578,50 per month for each child
- you are planning to live in Sweden with the person moving to Sweden to study.
Requirements to use the e-service
In order to use the e-service, you need
- copies of the pages in your passport which show your personal information, photograph, signature, passport number, passport issuing country, the period of the passport's validity and whether you have permission to live in countries other than your country of origin. If your passport is about to expire, you should renew it as you cannot obtain a permit for longer than the validity of your passport
- documents such as bank statement, to prove that your maintenance is arranged (in English)
- a copy of a marriage certificate or the equivalent (applies to married couples and registered partners)
- documents that show that you have lived together in your country of origin, such as a population registry certificate, joint rental contract or proof of joint purchase of your home
- a short letter from the person in Sweden in which they confirm that you are going to live together in Sweden, if you are not applying for a permit at the same time.
If you have a child that was born in Sweden you must apply for a residence permit for your child. The child can not get a permit until he or she has a passport, but you can send in an application and complete it with a copy of the passport later. You must also register the child's nationality with the Swedish Tax Agency.
You apply for a residence permit for a child born in Sweden by filling out the form:
The documents should be translated into Swedish or English by an authorised translator. You must always send us a copy of the original document. Check that the information on the documents you send is clearly visible. On passport copies, the figures and characters at the top and bottom of the passport pages must also be clearly visible and legible.
If you are a family member of someone who has been granted a permanent residence permit in Sweden after four years of doctoral studies, you can also apply for a permanent residence permit, although only after three years. You cannot be granted a permanent residence permit before your family member has been granted one. You must meet the requirements for a permanent residence permit yourself, and will not automatically be granted one just because your family member has one.
The Swedish Migration Agency will first of all examine whether you meet the requirements for being granted a permanent residence permit as a close relative of a person with a permanent residence permit. Your family member must meet a maintenance requirement in most cases.
Read more about the doctoral student requirements for maintenance and housing
Your application for a permanent residence permit will not be examined until the requirements for an extended residence permit have been met. You must meet the following requirements:
- you must have held a residence permit for at least three years
- if you are aged 18 or over, you must be able to support yourself financially
- if you are aged 15 or over, you must be living an orderly life.
If the whole family is applying at the same time, you can apply online together in the e-service for doctoral students.
If the doctoral student already has a permanent residence permit, family members can apply in the e-service separately at a later date.
Read more about applications for permanent residence permits for doctoral students
You must attach this to your application:
- documents showing that your family member’s income is sufficient to support the whole family financially and that he or she has a home of sufficient size and standard for all of you to live in
- copies of the pages in your passport that show your personal information, photograph, signature, passport number, passport-issuing country, the validity period of the passport, entry stamps, and whether you have permission to live in countries other than your country of origin
- copies of marriage certificates or the equivalent (applies to married couples and registered partners)
- documents that show that you have lived together, such as a population registry certificate, joint rental contract or proof of joint purchase of your home if you have lived together outside Sweden
- the forms Assurance of Cohabitation, 243011B, and Family details, 239011, which you should complete together
- consent from the other guardian, if they are not also coming to Sweden, or proof that a family member is the sole guardian. This could be a court order, or a death certificate if the other parent has died. If there is joint guardianship, a copy of the other guardian’s passport or another form of identification must also be provided. This applies to children under 18
- adoption papers if the child is adopted.
If you are aged 18 or over, you must be able to support yourself financially in order to be granted a permanent residence permit. You must therefore also attach:
- If you are an employee: a copy of the certificate of employment and your most recent payslip (if the employment has started).
- If you are self-employed: a copy of the registration certificate from the Swedish Companies Registration Office and a copy of the F-tax card.
- If you are entitled to a pension: a decision from the Swedish Pensions Agency stating that you are entitled to income-based retirement pension, guarantee pension or financial support for the elderly.
- If you are unable to support yourself financially but have special grounds, e.g. permanent impairment of working capacity: documents showing this, e.g. an investigation by the Swedish Public Employment Service, a decision on entitlement to sickness benefit or activity compensation from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, or a medical certificate.
The documents should be translated into Swedish or English by an authorised translator. You must always submit both a copy of the original document and a copy of the translated document.
Family details – Appendix to your application, form 239011
Pdf, 876.4 kB, opens in new window.
Important information about insurance
If you need to seek medical care in Sweden, you may need to pay for the care yourself if you are not registered in Sweden in the Population Register, and do not have a Swedish Personal Identity Number. If you register in the Swedish Population Register, you can also be registered with the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, and covered by the country’s social insurance.
To be registered in the Swedish Population Register and receive a Swedish Personal Identity Number, you generally need to have been granted at least a one-year residence permit in Sweden, and you generally need to be planning to live here for one year or longer. Therefore, you should register in the Population Register as soon as possible after moving to Sweden.
Information about how to register at the Swedish Tax Agency
External link, opens in new window.
If you cannot apply online, you must fill out the form Application by co-applicant to students/doctoral students, number 135011, and submit it to a Swedish embassy or consulate-general in your country of residence. The application form specifies which documents to enclose. Every person who is going to move to Sweden has to make their own application. For children under 18, it is the legal guardian who applies for the child. Contact the embassy or consulate-general before you submit your application.
Swedish embassies and consulates-general External link, opens in new window.
If there is no possibility to submit an application in your country, you must apply at the embassy or consulate-general closest to your country of residence. Contact the embassy or consulate-general before you submit your application for further information.
If you are applying at an embassy or consulate-general, you pay the fee when you hand in your application. For more information about the fee, contact the embassy or consulate-general where you are applying, as they do not have the same fees and terms of payment as the Migration Agency.
After you have sent the application
If you get a permit for more than three months, you are given a residence permit card. The card, which is proof that you have the right to be in Sweden, contains your photo and fingerprints.
If you need an entry visa to travel to Sweden and you were not photographed and had your fingerprints taken when you applied or in connection with showing your passport, you must visit the embassy or consulate-general so that a residence permit card can be made for you. This also applies to your family if they apply with you.
If you do not need a visa for travel to Sweden, as soon as possible after your arrival in Sweden you should visit the Migration Agency to be photographed and provide your fingerprinted. However, you need to apply for and get your permits before you travel to Sweden.
Read more about residence permit cards
Swedish embassies and consulates-general External link, opens in new window.
Countries whose citizens need a visa to enter Sweden External link, opens in new window.
What is a power of attorney?
A power of attorney can be a signed letter in which the person applying for a permit allows another person to represent them. A power of attorney can, for example, give someone the right to apply, be informed of the reasons for a decision, or lodge an appeal for someone else. The power of attorney must be signed by the person who gives their power of attorney to another person, and must be presented in the original if required by the Swedish Migration Agency.
In order to give another person power of attorney, you will need to send a letter to the Swedish Migration Agency stating
- that it is a power of attorney
- the name, date of birth and address of the person giving someone else the power of attorney
- what the person who has the power of attorney has to do
- the name, personal identity number and address of the person who is given the power of attorney
- the signature of the person giving someone else the power of attorney
- the date and place where the power of attorney is signed.
Power of Attorney, form 107011 Pdf, 641.6 kB, opens in new window.