Important to know

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA, or are an EU citizen without the right of residence, in most cases you need a residence permit to live with someone in Sweden.

If you have both a child and a partner in Sweden, the Swedish Migration Agency will first assess your right to a residence permit through your connection to your partner (spouse or cohabiting partner). You should therefore first apply for a residence permit to live with your partner.

You want to apply – Live with a partner

Parents of unaccompanied minors

You can apply for a residence permit to move to Sweden to live with a child who came to Sweden alone and has been granted a residence permit based on grounds of protection (asylum).

You want to apply – Parents of unaccompanied minors

Parent of a child who does not have grounds of protection (asylum)

It is very difficult for a parent to get a residence permit to move to Sweden to live with their child after the child has already come here. If you have ever given your consent to allow the child to move to Sweden, in most cases you will not later be able to get a residence permit to move here to live with your child. If you want to live with your child and they do not have grounds of protection (asylum), you must be reunited in your common country of origin. If you still want to apply, you and your child in Sweden must meet a number of requirements.

These requirements apply to all situations:

You must have a valid passport

Your child must be under 18 years of age

The child in Sweden must have one of the following:

  • Swedish citizenship
  • Nordic citizenship
  • permanent residence permit
  • permanent residence card
  • permanent right of residence
  • permanent residence status
  • temporary residence permit due to a need for protection or exceptionally distressing circumstances.

There are more requirements for obtaining a residence permit to move to Sweden to live with a child who is already here. The requirements depend on your situation. Select the one that applies to you to see what other requirements you need to meet.

If you and your child have previously lived together outside Sweden and you now want to move to Sweden to live with your child, the following is also required:

Your child must have a permanent residence permit or a temporary permit based on grounds of protection

You must have previously lived with your child
You and your child must have lived together in your country of origin immediately before your child moved to Sweden.

You and your child must be dependent on each other
You and your child must be socially and emotionally dependent on each other in a way that makes it very difficult for you to live apart. You must have already been dependent on each other when you were both in your country of origin. You cannot be granted a residence permit if you are only dependent on each other for your financial maintenance or with reference to circumstances that have arisen since your child settled in Sweden.

You and your child must intend to live together in Sweden

You must apply as soon as possible after your child has been granted a residence permit
You must submit your application as soon as possible after your child has been granted a permanent residence permit or a temporary residence permit based on grounds of protection (asylum). You cannot be granted a residence permit if you apply too late, or if you and your child developed a social and emotional dependence on each other after your child moved to Sweden.

If you already live with your child in Sweden, the following is also required:

You are the parent/legal guardian of the child in Sweden

Your child is resident in Sweden

You live with your child in Sweden

You and your child live together in Sweden and you plan to continue living together.

You and your child must have a strong connection to each other
The vast majority of people cannot obtain a residence permit if they are in Sweden when they apply. You and your child in Sweden must therefore have such a strong connection that you cannot be required to leave the country in order to apply. For example, if you have been staying in Sweden illegally, you may need to leave the country to apply, even though you otherwise meet the requirements.

If you and your child intend to meet regularly (exercise visitation) in Sweden, the following is also required:

There must be a joint plan, an agreement, or a judgement regarding visitation
You must show that there is an agreement between you and the child’s other parent/legal guardian regarding visitation. If you are not a parent/legal guardian, the visitation must instead be regulated in an agreement or judgement. The visitation must not be of limited extent.

The visitation needs to be carried out in Sweden
Based on their age, maturity, health, and any special needs, your child has a need for your visitation to take place on-site in Sweden.

You and your child must not intend to live together in Sweden

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.

Select an embassy for your interview
In your application, you must indicate which Swedish embassy or consulate-general you want to visit for your interview. Not all Swedish embassies and consulates-general handle migration cases, so it is important to check which one you should contact:

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

You can never be granted a residence permit for longer than your passport is valid. You who are citizens of the EU/EEA can attach copies of your passport or your national ID card.

Read more about what the passport copies must show

Documents showing that you are the parent of the child in Sweden
For example, a birth record or birth certificate.

Documents showing who is the parent/legal guardian of the child in Sweden and any decision regarding visitation

For example, extracts from population registers or court decisions.

Documents showing that you and the child in Sweden are dependent on each other and how this affects your situation

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, opens in new window.

Read more about power of attorney

Adults: SEK 2,000
Children under 18 years of age: SEK 1,000

You will not receive a refund if your application is rejected.

The following people pay no fee to apply:

  • family members of EU/EEA citizens. In this context, Swedes do not count as EU citizens
  • EU/EEA citizens who are applying for a residence permit
  • Swiss citizens and their family members
  • Japanese citizens
  • husbands, wives, cohabiting partners, registered partners and unmarried children under the age of 18 who are applying for a residence permit to live with a family member who has been granted a residence permit in Sweden due to their need for protection or exceptionally distressing circumstances.


You can be granted a residence permit for a maximum of two years, but never for longer than your passport is valid.

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:25 months

Other rules apply if you are a citizen of the EU/EEA or Switzerland, or if you have long-term resident status in another EU country.

EU/EEA citizens with right of residence

If you are an EU/EEA citizen, you have the right to live in another EU/EEA country if you fulfil the requirements for right of residence through work, your own company, your studies, or by having sufficient funds to support yourself. If you have right of residence, you do not need to apply for a residence permit to live in Sweden.

EU/EEA citizens

EU/EEA citizens without right of residence

If you who are an EU/EAA citizen do not fulfil the requirements for right of residence, and have a family member residing in Sweden, you can apply for a residence permit to live with your family member. The requirements for being granted a residence permit and information on how to apply can be found on this page.

As an EU/EEA citizen, you are exempt some of the requirements to get a residence permit to live with someone. This applies to you:

  • You can apply for and be granted a residence permit while you are in Sweden.
  • To identify yourself, you can choose to present your passport or your national ID card.
  • You have the right to start working or studying before you have received our decision about your residence permit.

Swiss citizens or family members of Swiss citizens

If you are a citizen of Switzerland, you can move to Sweden to work, study, start your own business, or live on your own funds. If you want to remain in Sweden for longer than three months, you must apply for a residence permit for Swiss citizens. You who are a family member of a citizen of Switzerland must also apply in the same way.

You want to apply – Swiss citizens

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country or are family members of someone with this status

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country, you can move to Sweden to work, run your own business, study or live on your own funds. If you plan to stay longer than three months, you need to apply for a residence permit for long-term residents.

You want to apply – Long-term residents in another EU country

If you are a family member of a person with permanent resident status in another EU country, you must apply for a residence permit

You want to apply – Family of long-term residents in another EU country

If you are granted a residence permit in Sweden, you will also have the right to work and study.

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.