Voluntary repatriation and repatriation grants – what are they?
Lately, the issue of repatriation and repatriation grants has occupied a significant place in the migration debate – among politicians, public organizations, and the general public alike. What does voluntary repatriation actually mean, and how large of a repatriation grant can one receive? We clarify this in this section of "The Swedish Migration Agency answers".
Published 19 January 2026
To repatriate means that a person who holds a residence permit in Sweden for protection reasons voluntarily chooses to move from Sweden. The person can choose to move back to their home country or to another country where they have the right to live.
Because repatriation is a voluntary choice, it is important to distinguish it from "returning". To return means that you leave Sweden after receiving a decision on refusal of entry or expulsion. A return can be carried out either voluntarily, by the Swedish Migration Agency, or by force by the Police Authority – and is therefore an entirely different process than voluntary repatriation.
Who can voluntarily repatriate?
Everyone who currently holds a residence permit and lives in Sweden can repatriate, but only certain individuals can apply for the so-called repatriation grant.
Grant for voluntary repatriation
If you have decided to move from Sweden, you can apply for a repatriation grant from the Swedish Migration Agency. It is a form of financial support that can be used, for example, to pay for the journey and to help the person get a good start in the country they are moving to.
To receive a repatriation grant, you must have a certain type of residence permit and fulfill specific requirements – thus, not everyone who has a residence permit and wishes to move from Sweden can receive the grant.
Requirements to receive a repatriation grant
To receive a repatriation grant, you must be a resident of Sweden and have received your residence permit on 12 September 2024, or earlier.
In addition to having a certain type of residence permit, it is required that the person applying for the repatriation grant intends to settle permanently in a country other than Sweden. This means that you should plan to leave Sweden without the intention of moving back in the future. It is also a requirement that the person can show they will be received in the country they are moving to. This can be demonstrated, for example, with a home country passport or a residence permit.
The repatriation grant is not granted if the person chooses to settle in an EU/EEA country or Switzerland. It is also not granted to those who have unpaid debts to CSN (the Swedish Board of Student Aid) or the Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden).
Other types of residence permits
Persons who have residence permits for other reasons, such as work or ties to a Swedish citizen, cannot receive a repatriation grant to move from Sweden. Swedish citizens or persons who have previously received a repatriation grant are also not entitled to the grant.
Read about who can receive a repatriation grant
Repatriation grants for family members
A family member can also apply for a repatriation grant if they are a relative of a person (a so-called "anchor person") who has a residence permit based on one of the grounds above and who is applying for the grant themselves.
The requirements for the family member to receive a repatriation grant are that they have their own residence permit based on ties to the anchor person in Sweden and that the permit was granted by 12 September 2024, at the latest. Furthermore, it is required that the family member and the anchor person live together, or that they lived together immediately before the anchor person moved from Sweden.
Increased repatriation grant 2026
Since 1 January 2026, a new regulation on repatriation grants has been in effect. This means, among other things, that the Swedish Migration Agency receives additional tools, including access to certain information from the criminal record and the register of suspects, to counteract the risk of fraud and abuse of the grant. But above all, the regulation means that the grant amounts have now been increased.
How much money one can receive depends on whether one applies as a single adult, as a couple, or as a family with children.
Background to the increase
Historically, the Swedish Migration Agency has received few applications for repatriation grants; according to the agency’s annual report for 2024, only four people were granted the grant that year. To increase incentives for voluntary repatriation – that is, to make it more attractive and economically advantageous to voluntarily repatriate – the government decided on the new and significantly increased amounts.
Read the government’s press release from 30 October 2025 (only in Swedish) External link.
Apply for a repatriation grant
Before applying for a repatriation grant, you should check two important things: that you have the right to live in the country you want to move to, and that you have a valid travel document to actually be able to carry out the journey there.
Information on the Swedish Migration Agency’s website
Before applying, you need to prepare several documents to attach to your application, including copies of all pages in your passport and certificates from your bank in Sweden. On the Swedish Migration Agency’s website, there is all the necessary information about requirements, the application, and how the process works.
Preparation for applying for a repatriation grant
How the repatriation grant is paid out
When a person who wants to move from Sweden has been granted a repatriation grant, the Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for paying it out. The money is paid out in three steps as the person leaves Sweden – you do not receive a lump sum paid out directly.
Of the total sum, 20 percent is paid out when the person is granted the grant and is still in Sweden. Of the remaining amount, 40 percent is paid out when the person has arrived in the country they are moving to, and 60 percent is paid out at the earliest 15 months after the person has left Sweden. To receive the final part of the sum, the person's Swedish residence permit must have been revoked or have expired by that time.
What happens if you want to return to Sweden again?
A fundamental rule is that those who apply for a repatriation grant should not intend to move back to Sweden – but despite this, it may happen that someone wants to return. As long as you have a valid residence permit, you can move back to Sweden, but if the Swedish Migration Agency has paid out any part of the repatriation grant, the person becomes liable for repayment.
You can become liable for repayment for other reasons as well; if you do not leave Sweden within 12 months of receiving a decision on the grant, or if you have received money on incorrect grounds.
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