You want to apply Permanent right of residence

You are an EU/EEA citizen and have lived for at least five years in Sweden with right of residence and want to apply for a certificate showing that you have permanent right of residence. Family members who are EU/EEA citizens can also apply for a certificate.

  • Important to know
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As an EU/EEA citizen, you have right of residence in Sweden if you work, study, run your own business or have sufficient funds to support yourself. After five years with right of residence, you gain permanent right of residence.

If you want to have a certificate showing that you have permanent right of residence (for example, when contacting other national authorities), you can apply for one.

Family members of EU/EEA citizens

If you are a family member of an EU/EEA citizen, you also have permanent right of residence, if your relative has had right of residence for at least five years and you have lived together in Sweden during that time.

If you are also an EU/EEA citizen, you can also apply for a certificate of permanent right of residence.

A family member who is a citizen of a non-EU/EEA country and wants proof of their permanent right of residence should instead apply for a permanent residence card.

You want to apply – Permanent residence card

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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

Make sure that the information on your submitted documents is clearly visible.

Correctly made copies of your passport or national ID card
Read more about what the passport copies must show

Documents showing that you meet the conditions for permanent right of residence

You must submit copies of documents showing how you have fulfilled the requirements for right of residence over the last five years.

If you work in Sweden, you must attach

  • income information from the Swedish Tax Agency for the past five years
  • employer certificates from all employers for the past five years
  • employment contracts for the jobs you have had in the past five years
  • the most recent payslip.

If you have been unemployed for any period in the past five years, you must also attach

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

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

If you are studying in Sweden, you must attach transcripts for the periods during which have studied with right of residence as a student.

If you are retired or have sufficient funds to support yourself financially in Sweden, you must attach

  • documents that show how you have supported yourself financially
  • information about your accommodation and what your housing costs in Sweden
  • rental contract stating the rental cost or proof of purchase of a tenant-owner’s flat or property. If you own your home, you need to report the monthly costs associated with the property.

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

  • the ID card belonging to the person who is supporting you
  • a letter in which the person who is supporting you certifies that they have been responsible for your financial maintenance, and which also states your relationship
  • documents proving that they have been responsible for your financial maintenance, such as bank account statements.

If your financial maintenance has consisted of salary/wages or other compensation from abroad, you must also submit

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

Documents to attach if you are an EU/EEA citizen and a family member of an EU/EEA citizen

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 you have met the requirements for right of residence. However, you need to submit documents showing that you are family members and that you have been living in Sweden for five years.

What you must attach:

  • correctly made copies of your passport or national ID card
    Read more about what the passport copies must show
  • a copy of your marriage certificate, marriage record or equivalent document, if you are married
  • documents showing that you have lived together, if you are cohabiting partners
  • copies of birth records or birth certificates for children which state the names of the parents, for accompanying children
  • documents showing how the family member depends on you and how you are related (applies to children over 21 years of age and other close relatives).

Documents showing that your family member meets the conditions for permanent right of residence

If you are a family member of an EU/EEA citizen, you must submit copies of documents showing how your family member in Sweden has met the requirements for right of residence over the past five years.

If your family member works in Sweden, you must attach

  • income information from the Swedish Tax Agency for the last five years
  • employer certificates from all employers for the last five years
  • employment contracts 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 runs 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 is studying in Sweden, you must attach transcripts for the periods during which your family member has studied 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 belonging to the person who is 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.

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

Yes, you can meet the requirements for right of residence in various ways over the course of five years — for example, by studying for a period and working for another period of time.

If you have been unemployed for a period during your time in Sweden, you can still be granted permanent right of residence after five years. This applies in certain circumstances and if you became unemployed involuntarily and were registered as a jobseeker with the Swedish Public Employment Service while you were looking for a new job. This also applies if you have been on parental leave during your employment.

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. The statistics are based on cases decided in the last 12 months.

75% of recently decided cases have been decided within:9 months

It costs nothing to apply for a certificate of permanent right of residence.

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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.