Important to know

If you want to continue living in Sweden after your residence permit expires, you must apply for an extension of your permit. Apply no sooner than 30 days before your current permit will expire.

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

You must have a valid passport or national ID card

You must still be able to support yourself financially
You must work, run your own business, study or have sufficient financial means to support yourself.

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 should show

Documents showing that you can support yourself financially
You must submit documents showing how you can support yourself financially. The documents you must send depend on your occupation.

If you are going to work in Sweden, you must attach a certificate of employment from your employer.

If you are going to run your own business in Sweden, you must attach

  • your F-tax certificate and certificate of registration from the Swedish Companies Registration Office
  • the most VAT annual report
  • proof that you run a business, such as invoices to customers, receipts for purchased materials, and a rental contract for the business’s premises.

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

  • the transfer agreement
  • the most recent annual report.

If you are going to study in Sweden, you must attach

  • your 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 you have started your studies, you must submit a registration certificate or equivalent document proving that you have started them
  • a certificate showing that you have comprehensive private health insurance that is valid during the time you are in Sweden
  • an assurance that you have sufficient funds to support yourself during your period of study.

If you have sufficient funds to support yourself in Sweden, you must attach

  • documents showing how you support yourself, such as pension statements or bank statements
  • documents showing your accommodation costs.

If someone else is responsible for your financial maintenance (a guarantor), you must provide a certificate certifying that they will be responsible for supporting you financially, details of the guarantor’s income and/or assets, and a copy of the guarantor’s valid identification document.

If you provide or are a recipient of a service, you must attach a certificate, contract or similar documentation stating the type of service and how long you will provide 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, 1.1 MB.

Read more about power of attorney

Documents to attach if your family is applying with you

Correctly made copies of each family member’s ID card

Read more about what the passport copies must show

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.

Correctly made copies of the child’s passport
Read more about what the passport copies must show

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

Documents showing your maintenance obligation
If you have a maintenance obligation to a family member: Documents from the competent authority in the country in which you lived together certifying that you or your partner have a maintenance obligation to your family member.

Documents certifying that the family member is part of your household
If other family members are part of the household: Documents from the competent authority in the country in which you lived together certifying that the family member is part of the same household as you.

If any of your family has a residence permit to live with you, they can also apply to extend their residence permits. Each family member needs to make their own application.

If you are employed, self-employed, or are living here with other sufficient means of supporting yourself, you can be granted a residence permit for a maximum of five years.

If you are a student, you will be granted a permit for the duration of your studies, but for a maximum of one year at a time.

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

Read more on the page You want to apply – Long-term residents in Sweden

For Swiss citizens and their family members, it costs nothing to apply for a residence permit.

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.