Apply for a residence permits for family members of someone studying in Sweden

You are a family member of a person who has applied for or has been granted a residence permit for studies in higher education, doctoral studies or a residence permit to look for work after completing their studies. You now want to apply to live with this person, who is already in Sweden.

Citizens of countries outside the EU/EEA in most cases need a residence permit to live with someone in Sweden.

If you are a family member of someone who has already applied for or been granted a residence permit in Sweden for studies at the first- or second-cycle level, or for doctoral studies, you can submit your own application retroactively. The same applies to family members of someone who has applied for or been granted a residence permit in Sweden to look for work after completing their studies.

“Family members” are considered to include spouses, cohabiting partners, registered partners, and unmarried children under the age of 18.

Requirements to get a residence permit

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

You must have a valid passport

The person in Sweden must have or have applied for a residence permit for studies
The person in Sweden must have or have applied for a residence permit for one of the following:

first- or second-cycle studies
doctoral (third-cycle) studies
looking for work after completing their studies.

You can only be granted a residence permit if the person in Sweden has more than three months left on their permit period when you apply.

You must be able to prove your family relationship

You must be able to support yourself financially
You must be able to support yourself financially for the entire period of residence. The financial maintenance requirement is currently SEK 4,440 per month for adults and SEK 2,664 per month for each child.

You must plan to live together in Sweden for the duration of the permit period

Prepare this before you apply

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 which embassy to visit to present your passport or be interviewed

You may need to present your passport or be interviewed at an embassy or a consulate-general before you can receive a decision. In the application, you must therefore state which embassy you want to visit. Not all Swedish embassies and consulates-general handle migration cases. In some locations, you may be interviewed via video link. In that case, you will visit the embassy or consulate-general in that location, but a different embassy will be responsible for your application and can answer your questions. Here, you can find out where to turn:

What country or territory do you live in?

You must attach copies of these documents to your application

Make sure that the information in the documents you include 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

Documents showing that your financial maintenance has been arranged
For example, bank statements.

Documents showing your relationship
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.

If you are the child of the person in Sweden: documents showing your family relationship, such as a birth record, birth certificate or a court decision showing that the person in Sweden is your parent/legal guardian.

A letter from the person in Sweden
In the letter, the person in Sweden must confirm that you will live together in Sweden.

Documents to attach if you have accompanying children

Correctly made copies of your child’s passport
Your child can never be granted a residence permit for longer than their passport is valid.
Read more about what the passport copies must show

Birth record or birth certificate stating the names of the child’s parents

Documents proving that the child’s financial maintenance is arranged
For example, bank statements.

Sole custody decision
If you have any children who will be accompanying you to Sweden and you have sole custody of the child(ren), you must attach a court decision to this effect. If the other parent is deceased, you must submit a death certificate.

Consent of the other parent/legal guardian
If a child has two parents/legal guardians and the child’s other parent/legal guardian will be remaining in their country of origin, you must attach a statement of consent from the other parent/legal guardian to the application. If you share joint custody, a copy of the other parent or legal guardian’s passport or other identity document must also be attached.
Consent for a child to settle in Sweden (217011) pdf, 1.1 MB.

Adoption documents, if your child is adopted

Citizens of the EU/EEA or Switzerland or long-term residents

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 the person in Sweden has a residence permit for other studies

If you are a family member of a person who has a residence permit for other studies (e.g., upper secondary school studies), you cannot apply for a residence permit. If you want to visit the person in Sweden, you can instead apply for a visitor’s permit.

You want to apply – Visiting Sweden for more than 90 days (visitor’s permit)

For how long can I be granted a residence permit?

You can be granted a residence permit for the same period as the student, but never for longer than your passport is valid.

Your residence permit can be extended.

How long must I wait for a decision?

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:5 months

What does it cost to apply?

Adults: SEK 1,500
Children under 18 years of age: SEK 750

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

Can I get a residence permit if I am in Sweden?

You must apply for a residence permit while you are outside Sweden, otherwise your application may be rejected. Your residence permit must be granted and issued before you can enter Sweden. In some cases, you have the possibility to apply for a residence permit while you are in Sweden with another valid Swedish residence permit.

The guide below provides support for those who wish to apply for a residence permit as a family member of someone who has already applied for or received a residence permit in Sweden for studies in higher education, doctoral studies or a residence permit to look for work after completing their studies. The guide does not provide answers to what the decision in the individual case will be.

If your application is rejected, you must leave Sweden

If you are currently in Sweden and your application is rejected, you must prepare to leave the country. If you do not leave Sweden voluntarily, you may need to regularly report to the Swedish Migration Agency in a process known as supervision, or be placed in a detention centre run by the Swedish Migration Agency. Your case may also be handed over to the police.

Illustration of a woman making an application on the computer.

You apply

If you want to live with your family member in Sweden, fill in the application and attach the necessary documents. In your application, you indicate which Swedish embassy or consulate-general you wish to visit to show your passport, if applicable. In some cases, you may also be called for an interview at the embassy.

Illustration of a man sitting at a computer and working at the Swedish Migration Agency.

The Swedish Migration Agency reviews your application

The Swedish Migration Agency will review your application. If we can immediately see that you do not meet the requirements for a residence permit, we may already make a decision to reject your application.

We will contact you if we need more information.

Log in to My page

By logging in to My page, you can access information about your application and use our services.

My page

Illustration showing how a person provides their fingerprints.

Present a passport and provide fingerprints

Before we can make a decision about a residence permit, you need to present your passport. You must also be fingerprinted and photographed. This information will later be used to produce a residence permit card for you, if you are granted a permit for a period of more than three months.

Digital passport check

In some cases, the Swedish Migration Agency will notify you that you must present your passport for a digital passport check via an app instead of visiting the embassy. If you are granted a residence permit, you will be fingerprinted and photographed once you have arrived in Sweden.

If you present your passport digitally, but have also been called in for an interview, you need to book an appointment to visit an embassy or consulate-general. During this visit, you may also need to provide fingerprints and have your picture taken.

Present your passport and get fingerprinted at the embassy

If you are not offered a digital passport check, we will ask you to book an appointment to present your passport at the embassy or consulate-general you selected in your application.

If you need an entry visa to travel to Sweden, you may also be fingerprinted and photographed during the same visit.

You are waiting for a decision – You have applied for the first time

Illustration of a woman sitting at a computer and working at the Swedish Migration Agency.

The Swedish Migration Agency processes the application

Once you have presented your passport, the Swedish Migration Agency will review all the information related to your application and determine whether you can be granted a work permit. We will contact you if we need more information.

Waiting time while we process your application

Now you must wait.

You receive our decision

If you applied in the e-service, you will receive an email as soon as we have made a decision. The email will tell you whether you have been granted a residence permit or if your application has been rejected. The decision will then be sent by post to your chosen embassy or representative. You may need to book an appointment at the embassy to pick it up.

If you have applied using a paper form, you will not receive an email from us. Instead, the embassy will contact you to inform you of the decision. If you have a representative, the decision will only be sent to your representative.

When you receive the decision, you can find out the reasons on which we based our decision. If you are granted a residence and work permit, you have the right to live and work in Sweden as long as the permit is valid. If your application is rejected and you are currently in Sweden, you must prepare to leave the country.

You have received a decision – Study

Have you assembled all documents?

Before you start your application, you must have assembled the documents you will need to attach.

See which documents you must attach under the Important to know tab

Requirements for applying in the e-service

To apply in the e-service, you must

be 18 years or older
have a valid email address
be able to pay the application fee with a payment card issued by Visa or Mastercard
be able to scan or photograph the documents you need to attach.

E-service for family of students

This e-service is for family members of a student who is applying afterwards.

To the e-service

By logging in you accept the terms of use

What does it cost to apply?

Adults: SEK 1,500
Children under 18 years of age: SEK 750

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

If you cannot apply in the e-service

Fill in the application

If you cannot apply in the e-service, you must fill in the form:

Application for a residence permit for family members of students and doctoral students (135011) pdf, 802.7 kB.

Children under the age of 18 apply on the same form as you.

If more people in the family are applying, they must each fill in their own form.

Submit the application

You must submit your application at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general in the country where you live. Remember to bring the documents you need to attach to your application.

Not all Swedish embassies and consulates-general handle migration cases. In some locations, you can submit your application at the embassy or consulate-general, but the interview is not conducted by staff there; instead, it takes place via video link. In such cases, a different embassy is responsible for your application and can answer your questions. Here, you can find out where to turn:

What country or territory do you live in?

You pay the application fee when you submit your application.

Once you have submitted your application, it will be sent to the Swedish Migration Agency.

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.

2026-09-21

Russian non-biometric passports will no longer be recognised from 1 October

As of 1 October 2026, Swedish authorities will no longer recognise ordinary non-biometric passports issued by the Russian Federation. If you hold such a passport, you may therefore need to apply for a new passport.

2026-09-17

New rules for family members accompanying students

From 1 October 2026, new rules for immigration due to family ties will apply. For those of you who have, or are planning to apply for, a residence permit for studies in Sweden, this means certain changes to the requirements for your family members.

2026-05-25

New rules for residence permits for studies in higher education

The Swedish Parliament has decided on new rules for those who have or are going to apply for a residence permit for studies in higher education. The rules mean, among other things, limitations on work alongside your studies, higher requirements for study results, and that you must notify the Swedish Migration Agency of your address.

2026-05-25

New rules for researchers and doctoral students

The Swedish Parliament has decided on new rules for researchers and doctoral students. The rules mean, among other things, that doctoral students with a hosting agreement can receive a residence permit for research, that it will be easier to receive a permanent residence permit, and that you can apply for another permit in Sweden in more situations.

You want to apply Family who want to apply afterwards – studyYou want to apply Family who want to apply afterwards – study