Important to know

As a citizen of a non-EU/EEA country, once you have lived in Sweden for at least five years together with a family member who is an EU/EEA citizen – and provided that this family member has had right of residence for the entire period – you have permanent right of residence. If you want proof of your permanent right of residence, you can apply for a permanent residence card.

These requirements must be met in order for you to be granted a permanent residence card.

You must have lived in Sweden for at least five years and had a relationship with an EU/EEA citizen
If you are cohabiting partners, you must have lived together for the entire period.

Your family member must have met the requirements for right of residence during that time

If the relationship has ended, you must be able to show that you have retained your right of residence
If your relationship with the EU/EEA citizen ended after you came to Sweden.

Read more about what happens if a relationship ends: You have a permit in Sweden – Your relationship has ended

Translate documents
All submitted documents should be in Swedish or English. If you have translated your documents, the translation should be certified. You must also include a copy of the document in its original language.

You must attach copies of these documents to your application

You must submit documents showing what occupation the EU/EEA citizen has had and how they have supported you. Make sure that the information on your submitted documents is clearly visible.

Correctly made copies of your passport
You can never be granted a permit for longer than your passport is valid.
Read more about what the passport copies must show

If your family member has applied for or received a certificate of permanent right of residence, you do not need to attach documents showing how your family member has met the requirements for the right of residence for five consecutive years.

Documents showing that your family member has met the conditions for right of residence

You must submit copies of documents showing how your family member has fulfilled the requirements for right of residence over the last five years.

If your family member has worked in Sweden, you must attach

  • income information from the Swedish Tax Agency for the past five years
  • employer certificates from all employers for the last five years
  • employment contract for the jobs your family member has had over the past five years
  • the most recent payslip.

If your family member has been unemployed for any period in the past five years, you must also attach

  • an employer certificate from the employer your family member had before becoming unemployed. The certificate must state how long the employment lasted and why it was terminated
  • documents showing the dates for which your family member has been registered as a jobseeker with the Swedish Public Employment Service.

If your family member has run their own business in Sweden, you must attach tax accounting for the company from the Swedish Tax Agency for the last five years.

If your family member has studied in Sweden, you must attach transcripts for the periods during which your family member has studied here with right of residence as a student.

If your family member is retired or has sufficient funds to support themselves in Sweden, you must attach

  • documents showing how your family member has supported themselves financially
  • information about your family member’s accommodation and their housing costs in Sweden
  • rental contract stating the rental cost or proof of purchase of a tenant-owner’s flat or property. If your family member owns their home, you must report the monthly costs associated with the property.

If another person has been responsible for your family member’s financial maintenance in Sweden, you must also submit copies of

  • the ID card of the person supporting your family member
  • a letter in which the person who is supporting your family member certifies that they have been responsible for your family member’s financial maintenance, and which also states their relationship
  • documents proving that they have been responsible for your family member’s financial maintenance, such as bank account statements.

If your family member is supporting themselves financially based on salary/wages or other compensation from abroad, you must also submit

  • employment contracts for the jobs your family member has had abroad
  • documents showing that your family member has commuted to and from abroad (the documents must state the cost of the commute)
  • transcripts or grades for the periods during which your family member has studied at least at upper secondary school level abroad
  • certificates regarding any allowances, grants, or other income from abroad.

Document showing that you have retained your right of residence, if the relationship has ended

For example, this could be a divorce application, as well as a divorce ruling and documents showing that your ex-partner had right of residence while you were married or cohabiting partners. You also need to submit documents showing that you are an employee, self-employed, or have sufficient assets of your own after the relationship has ended.

A representative can apply for you, if you grant them power of attorney. In that case, the person who applies for you must attach a copy of the power of attorney to your application.

Power of attorney (107011) Pdf, 1.1 MB.

Read more about power of attorney

If you already have a permanent residence card and its period of validity is about to expire, you must book an appointment with the Swedish Migration Agency to be photographed and fingerprinted for a new residence card.

Book an appointment for your visit

It is not possible to say exactly how long you will need to wait for a decision. There are many things that affect the waiting time, for example whether your application is complete to begin with or whether we need to request more information, or whether we need to check with other authorities when investigating your case.

Here we show statistics on how long it has taken for people who have applied for the same permit as you.

75% of applications receive a decision within:7 months

It costs nothing to apply for a permanent residence card.

The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for considering applications from people who want to live in Sweden, seek protection or become Swedish citizens. Our work is based on Swedish laws and international conventions, with a focus on legal certainty and effective reception and return.