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 previously held a permanent residence permit in Sweden

If you have previously lived in Sweden with a permanent residence permit, you can be granted a residence permit because you have ties to Sweden. Your connection to Sweden depends largely on how long you previously lived here.

These requirements must be met in order for you to be granted a residence permit:

You must have a valid passport

You must have previously lived in Sweden for a certain period of time

  • If you have lived abroad for no more than three years, then to be granted a new residence permit in Sweden, you must have previously lived here (with a residence permit) for at least four years.
  • If you have lived abroad for over three years, then to be granted a new residence permit, you must have previously lived in Sweden (with a residence permit) for at least ten years or have other grounds for being granted a new residence permit.

You must have some sort of connection to Sweden
The Swedish Migration Agency assesses how strong a connection you have to your country of origin, compared to your ties to Sweden. For example, if you have started a family in a country outside Sweden, it will be more difficult for you to get a residence permit through your ties to 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 the 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.

Read more about what the passport copies must show

Description of your reasons for moving to Sweden
In order for the Swedish Migration Agency to be able to assess whether you are entitled to a residence permit, it is important that you describe the specific reasons why you want to move to Sweden.

If you have previously held a permanent residence permit in Sweden, we will also take into account the reasons why you left the country. If you left Sweden for reasons beyond your control, in some cases you can be granted a new residence permit even if you do not meet the requirements for how long you must have lived in Sweden.

Documents proving your ties to Sweden

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

In exceptional cases, people of Swedish origin can be granted a residence permit. This applies to people who previously had Swedish citizenship but lost it, as well as to people who have parents or grandparents who were Swedish from birth.

To be granted a residence permit, it is not enough that you have Swedish ancestry. You must also be able to show your ties to Sweden by having spent lengthy periods in the country, having Swedish education, or through your knowledge of the Swedish language.

When the Swedish Migration Agency examines your application, we will also take into account whether you have your own family in your country of origin or other strong ties to your country of origin. Your connection to Sweden will then be compared with your ties to your country of origin.

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

Your residence permit can be extended.

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.

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:22 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

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 want to apply – Swiss citizens

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country, you can move to Sweden to work, 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 have any children under the age of 18 who will accompany you to Sweden, you must apply for a residence permit for each of them in your application.

If you have children over the age of 18 who want to come to Sweden with you, each child will need to submit their own application.

Yes, 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.