Permits for a family member of a person with a residence permit for studies
If you are a family member of someone who has a residence permit for studies in Sweden in higher education, you can get a residence permit for the same period. If the permit is valid for more than six months, you can get a work permit. If you are a family member of someone who has a permanent residence permit in Sweden after four years of doctoral studies, you can get a permanent residence permit.
You should apply for the residence permit from your country of origin or other country outside Sweden where you have permission to live. The permit must have been issued before you travel to Sweden.
The following are counted as family members: wife, husband, cohabiting partner, registered partner and unmarried children under the age of 18. Cohabiting partner refers to couples who are not married but live together as if married.
Requirements for obtaining a residence permit
You can apply for a residence permit if
- the person moving to Sweden to study 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
- you are planning to live in Sweden with the person moving to Sweden to study.
The maintenance requirement for the whole time you are in Sweden is SEK 3,500 per month for adults and SEK 2,100 per month for each child.
How to apply
If the whole family is applying at the same time, you can apply online together with the person who will be studying.
Read more about applications for residence permits for students
If the person with a residence permit for studies is already in Sweden, family members can apply separately online at a later date.
When you submit an online application, the person in Sweden must have a residence permit for studies.
The permit must have been issued before you travel to Sweden.
You will probably be required to pay a fee.
Enclose the following documents with your application
- 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.
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 have children under the age of 18 who are moving to Sweden with you, you must also enclose
- copies of the pages in the child’s passport which show their personal information, photograph, signature (if applicable), passport number, passport-issuing country, the passport’s period of validity and whether they have permission to live in countries other than their country of origin. If the child’s passport is about to expire, you should renew it as the child cannot obtain a permit for longer than the validity of their passport
- documents such as bank statements that prove that there are arrangements to support the child
- a birth certificate or other proof of birth for the child showing the names of the parents
- 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.
Permanent residence permits for family members of doctoral students who have been granted a permanent residence permit
If you are a family member of someone who has a permanent residence permit in Sweden after four years of doctoral studies, you can also get a permanent residence permit.
The Migration Agency will always treat applications on an individual basis. This means that you may not get a permanent residence permit even if your family member has one.
If the whole family is applying at the same time, you can apply online together with the person who will be studying.
Read more about applications for permanent residence permits for doctoral students
If the doctoral student already has a permanent residence permit, family members can apply separately at a later date.
Shorter processing times for complete applications
For the Swedish Migration Agency to make a decision about your application, all the details need to be filled in and all necessary documents attached. This means that the processing time will be shorter if all the necessary information is included from the start than if information is added afterwards.
Note that the Migration Agency may in some cases need to further examine your application even if you have included all the required information and documents.
Time to a decision
To get an idea of how long you will need to wait for a decision, you can visit the site Time to a decision. Please note that the average time shown on the site is calculated on the basis of previous cases in the same category. The time may vary from one application to another.
This e-service should only be used by you as a family member who wants to submit an application after the student has already completed his or her application. If you want to apply with the student, you must do so in the student's e-service when he or she makes their application.
Once we have received your 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 a visa for travel to Sweden, you should go to the embassy or consulate-general as soon as possible to have your picture and your fingerprints taken. Not all embassies or consulates-general have the possibility to take your picture and your fingerprints. Contact the embassy or the consulate-general before your visit for more information.
Countries whose citizens need a visa to enter Sweden
Swedish embassies and consulates-general
Read more about residence permit cards
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.
After the decision has been made
The decision will be sent to the Embassy or consulate-general that you chose when you applied online. You must have your passport with you when you collect the decision.
If you already live in Sweden and apply to extend your residence permit or apply for a permanent residence permit, the decision will be sent to your address in Sweden.
When the residence permit card is ready, the Embassy or consulate-general will hand over or send you the card. Please note that it can take up to four weeks from the date you get the decision to produce and deliver the card to the Embassy or consulate-general. You must show your residence permit card together with a valid passport when you travel to Sweden.
If you do not need a visa for travel to Sweden, you should be able to show a copy of the decision letter when you enter the country. As soon as you have arrived in Sweden, you must visit the Swedish Migration Agency to be fingerprinted and photographed. When your residence permit card is ready, it will be sent to your address in Sweden.
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.
If the Swedish Migration Agency rejects your application
If the Swedish Migration Agency rejects your application, it means you are not entitled to a residence permit for Sweden. You may lodge an appeal against the decision within three weeks of the date when you received notification of the decision. Information on how to lodge an appeal can be found in your decision. If you have given someone a power of attorney document that authorises him/her to represent you, this person is able to lodge an appeal on your behalf.
If you are still in Sweden when your application is rejected, you must leave the country within the timescale given in the decision.
Extending a permit
You can apply for an extension while you are in Sweden. If the whole family applies for an extension at the same time, it is the employee who applies for the family in their own web application.
If the employee has already been granted an extension, you can make your application in the e-service.
If you do not apply online
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 parent or custodian who applies for the child. Contact the embassy or consulate-general before you submit your application.
Application by co-applicants to students and doctoral students, form number 135011
Swedish embassies and consulates-general
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.