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

You are a family member of someone with long-term resident status in another EU country, and want to live with them in Sweden. If you are a citizen of a non-EU/EEA country, you must apply for a residence permit.

  • Important to know
  • How it works
  • Apply

The information on this page is aimed at family members of people who have received, or applied for, a residence permit in Sweden as a long-term resident in another EU country. It also applies if you yourself have long-term resident status or a residence permit in another EU country and are applying as a family member of someone in Sweden.

Who is considered a family member?

You are considered family if you are one of the following:

  • a partner (spouse, cohabiting partner, or registered partner) of the person in Sweden
  • a child of the person in Sweden or their partner, unmarried, and under the age of 18

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

You must have a valid passport

Your family member in Sweden must have long-term resident status in another EU country
Your family member in Sweden must have long-term resident status in another EU country and have applied for or received a residence permit in Sweden.

Your family must have been formed in the first EU country
This means that you must have or have had a residence permit in the first EU country and have lived there with your family member.

Your family member in Sweden must meet the conditions for a residence permit

Your family member in Sweden must be able to support themselves and your family
Your family member must be able to fully support themselves and their family from their own funds, so that their basic needs for subsistence and housing are met. Your family member can also count your income towards the family’s total income.

Your family member in Sweden must

  • be able to fully support themselves and their family with their own funds, so that their basic needs for living expenses and housing are met. Your family member may also include your income as part of the family’s total income.

Your family member’s financial maintenance

Your family member needs to show that they have regular income sufficient for your financial maintenance. Income includes, for example

  • salary/wages from work
  • income from their own business (if they are self-employed)
  • sickness benefit.

Your family member may also meet the maintenance requirement if they have sufficient assets for you to live on.

The following are not counted as income:

  • income from subsidised employment
  • unemployment insurance benefits
  • activity grants
  • other benefits related to unemployment

Your family member’s income

The amount of income your family member needs depends on how large your family is and how high your housing costs are.

Your family member’s income after tax must be high enough so that after the monthly rent is paid, they still have a certain amount of money left over that can cover the costs of food, clothing, personal hygiene, telephony, and insurance for everyone in the household.

In 2026, the amount your family member must have left over after tax and the rent is paid is:

  • SEK 8,116 for a single adult
  • SEK 13,408 for cohabiting spouses or cohabiting partners
  • SEK 4,337 for children 0–6 years of age
  • SEK 5,205 for children 7–10 years of age
  • SEK 6,074 for children 11–14 years of age
  • SEK 6,941 for children 15 years of age or older.

The amounts applicable to children are reduced by any child allowance and large family supplement.

Exemptions from the maintenance requirement

The maintenance requirement does not apply in the following case:

  • There are special grounds for an exemption, for example because illness or a disability has permanently reduced your family member’s ability to work.

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.

Plan to present your passport
Before you can receive a decision, you may need to be interviewed. The Swedish Migration Agency will contact you with information about how and when to do this.

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
Read more about what the passport copies must show

Correctly made copies of your family member’s passport and EC/EU residence permit card

Documents showing your relationship with the family member in Sweden

If you are married: marriage certificate, marriage record, or similar document.

If you are cohabiting partners: documents showing that you have lived together, such as population registration certificates, a joint rental contract, or proof of the joint purchase of a home.

Documents showing that you are related
Birth certificates or other documents showing that you are related.

Documents showing that your family was formed in the first EU country
A colour copy of your residence permit card showing that you have or have had a residence permit in the first EU country.

Documents showing that your family member can support themselves and your family

These could, for example, include a certificate of employment and their latest payslips, bank statements, income information from the Swedish Tax Agency or information about income from their own business. Your family member can also count your income towards the family’s total income if you work or have savings. In that case, you need to attach documents supporting this.

These could, for example, include a tenancy agreement, contract of sale and up-to-date information about your family member’s monthly housing costs, such as a rent invoice or a fee paid to a tenant-owner association and interest on a housing loan.

Document showing that the family member in Sweden meets the conditions for their residence permit
If it is more than six months since your family member in Sweden received their residence permit, you must attach documents showing that your family member meets the conditions. The documents you must submit depend on their occupation.

If your family member has an ongoing application for a residence permit, you do not need to attach documents showing how your family member meets the conditions as, for example an employee or self-employed person. In such case, these conditions will be examined as part of our processing of their own application.

If they work in Sweden, you must attach

  • certificate of employment from their employer
  • the three most recent payslips
  • comprehensive income information from the Swedish Tax Agency.

If they run their own company in Sweden, you must attach

  • a certificate from the population register showing that they are registered for F-tax, see www.skatteverket.se External link.
  • certificate of registration from the Swedish Companies Registration Office External link.
  • the most recent VAT report (if their company is required to report VAT)
  • the company’s tax account statements for the past three months
  • proof that they run a business, such as invoices issued to customers, receipts for purchased materials, and a rental contract for the business’s premises.

If they have purchased a business in Sweden, you must attach

  • the transfer agreement
  • the most recent annual accounts or annual report.

If they are studying in Sweden, you must attach

  • their certificate of admission to a course or programme at least at upper secondary level. Please note that you cannot be granted a residence permit for enrolment in Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) courses. If the family member has started their studies, you must submit a certificate of registration or equivalent proof that they have started their studies
  • an assurance that they have sufficient funds to support themselves during their period of study.

If your family member will be studying for less than one year, you must also submit

  • a certificate showing that your family member is covered by the social security system in their previous country of residence. The certificate must be issued by the authorities in that country and must show that they are covered by the social security system of another EU country. If your family member is unable to obtain such a certificate, they must take out comprehensive private health insurance that is valid for the period during which they are in Sweden.

If they are retired or have sufficient funds to support themselves in Sweden, you must attach

  • documents showing how they support themselves, such as pension statements or bank statements
  • documents showing their housing costs.

If they provide or are the recipient of a service, you must attach

  • a certificate, contract or similar documentation stating the type of service and how long they will offer or receive it. The document must be written and signed by the person receiving or providing the service.

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, 535.3 kB.

Read more about power of attorney

You can be granted a permit in Sweden for the same period that your family member in Sweden has a residence permit.

Your residence permit can be extended.

Once you have had a residence permit for five years, you can apply for long-term resident status in Sweden.

As a family member of a long-term resident, you can start working or studying as soon as you arrive in Sweden. You do not need to wait until your family member receives a decision regarding their residence permit application.

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:21 months

Adults: SEK 1,500
Children: SEK 750

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

News

2026-09-24

New look – same agency

The Swedish Migration Agency has a new logo. On 24 September, the new logo will replace the old logo on the Agency’s website. The new logo will be rolled out gradually across all digital services and communications.

2026-04-13

Easier to renew your permanent residence permit card

It will now be easier to renew your permanent residence permit card. You will automatically receive information and a request to book an appointment via My page well in advance of your current card expiring.

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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.