Yes, you can appeal the Swedish Migration Agency’s decision. Information about how to appeal and the deadline for doing so is provided in the decision. If you choose to appeal, a court will review the decision.

Appeal a decision

If your application for a residence permit has been rejected, this means that you do not have the right to stay in Sweden. If the Swedish Migration Agency rejects your application while you are in Sweden, you will have a certain amount of time to leave the territories of the Member States and the Schengen area. The decision states the deadline by which you must leave. If you remain here after that date, you will be in the country illegally.

It is your responsibility to make sure you know what applies to you, so that you leave Sweden within the deadline stated in the decision.

If you have appealed the decision, in some cases you can stay in Sweden while you wait for the court’s decision. The decision states whether or not you have the right to stay in the country while your appeal is being examined.

Once the decision has come into force and can no longer be appealed, you must leave the territories of the Member States and the Schengen area.

If you have received a refusal of entry decision that must be implemented immediately

If you have received a refusal of entry decision that is to be implemented immediately, you must leave Sweden as soon as you have received the decision, even if you choose to appeal.

If you do not leave the territories of the Member States and the Schengen area within the time limit stated in the decision, you will be in the country illegally. You may then be subject to a re-entry ban. A re-entry ban means that you are prohibited from entering Sweden or any other Schengen country for at least one year. A person who has received a refusal of entry decision that must be implemented immediately will always receive a re-entry ban.

Supervision or detention

If the Swedish Migration Agency considers that there is a risk that you will abscond and you are failing to cooperate in preparations for leaving the country, we can issue a supervision or detention decision. Being placed under supervision means that you must register with the Swedish Migration Agency or the police at certain times while waiting to start your journey home. If you are detained, you will stay in a locked accommodation until your return journey.

Supervision and detention

Your case can be handed over to the police

If you stay away or if you don’t leave the country voluntarily, the Swedish Migration Agency can ask the police to take over responsibility for enforcing the decision by force.

A re-entry ban means that you are not allowed to enter Sweden or the Schengen area for at least one year from the time you left Sweden.

You may be subject to a re-entry ban if

• you fail to leave the Schengen area within the deadline specified in the decision
• the Swedish Migration Agency assesses that you will not return home voluntarily.

If you have received a refusal of entry decision that is to be implemented immediately, you will be subject to a re-entry ban for two years.

You may also be subject to a re-entry ban if the Swedish Migration Agency assesses that there is a risk that you will abscond. Such a re-entry ban is usually valid for between to and five years. For example, this can happen if you

• have absconded in the past
• have said that you do not intend to leave Sweden
• have used a false identity or have refused to help the Swedish Migration Agency determine your identity
• have deliberately provided incorrect information
• have been convicted of crimes that can lead to imprisonment.

You need to plan your trip yourself and arrange for your passport and anything else you need in order to travel home. Keep in mind that you are not allowed to buy a trip with a stopover in another Schengen country.

If you have questions about your return journey, you can contact the Swedish Migration Agency.

The Swedish Migration Agency will be informed that you have left the Schengen area

In most cases, the Swedish Migration Agency will be informed that you have left the Schengen area, as the decision to reject your application is registered in the Schengen Information System (SIS). This means that information about the decision will be available to authorities in Sweden and in other countries with access to this system. If you leave Sweden within the time specified in the decision, the information will be deleted.