The repatriation grant will be increased

The Swedish Government has taken a decision to increase the repatriation grant on 1 January 2026. The amount you can receive depends on whether you are applying as a single adult, as a couple, or as a family with children.

If you have been granted a residence permit in Sweden for protection reasons and wish to move back to your home country or to another country where you have the right to live, you may apply for financial support from the Swedish Migration Agency. This support is called a repatriation grant and can, for example, pay for your journey and help you get a good start in the country you are moving to.

The Swedish Government recently took a decision to increase the repatriation grant from SEK 10,000 per adult and SEK 5,000 per child to SEK 350,000 per adult and SEK 25,000 per child. The new repatriation grant will apply from 1 January 2026.

The maximum amount you can get

There is a maximum limit on how much you may receive. A single adult can receive a maximum of SEK 350,000. Two adults who are married or cohabiting can together receive a maximum of SEK 500,000. A household with adults and children may receive a maximum of SEK 600,000.

Applications for the new increased grant can be made from 1 January 2026.

About voluntary repatriation and repatriation grants

Moving away from Sweden when you have permission to live here is called voluntary repatriation. It is something you do of your own free will and means that individuals who have residence permits in Sweden for protection reasons, choose to move back to their home country or to another country where they have the right to live.

Who can receive repatriation grant?

People who live in Sweden and have been granted a temporary or permanent residence permit before 12 September 2024 can apply for the repatriation grant. The permit must have been issued on one of the following grounds:

  • as a refugee
  • as a quota refugee
  • as a person eligible for subsidiary protection
  • on the basis of exceptionally distressing circumstances
  • you have been granted a permanent residence permit under the, now-repealed, Act on temporary limitations of the opportunity of obtaining a residence permit in Sweden (2016:752)
  • you have been granted a permanent residence permit under Section 5 of the, now-repealed, Act on residence permits for upper secondary students (2017:353)
  • you are a family member of a person with a residence permit on one of the above grounds. If you are a family member, you must
    – have been granted your own residence permit on the basis of your connection with the person,
    – live together with the person,
    – have been granted your residence permit before 12 September 2024.

Who cannot receive a repatriation grant?

You cannot receive a repatriation grant if you:

  • are a Swedish citizen
  • hold a residence permit under the Mass Refugee Directive and come from Ukraine
  • have unpaid debts to the Swedish Board of Student Finance (CSN) or the Swedish Enforcement Authority
  • have previously received a repatriation grant
  • are moving to an EU/EEA country or Switzerland
  • are serving a prison sentence, have been charged with a crime, are suspected of certain offences, or if there are reasons not to do so with regard to Sweden's security or public safety.

Read the Swedish Government's press release: Ett kraftigt höjt återvandringsbidrag (in Swedish) External link.

Q&A about what applies from 1 January 2026

The Swedish Migration Agency is currently working to introduce the new rules. More information and practical details about the application process will be in place on 1 January 2026.

The payment will be made in three steps.

  1. One fifth of the total amount you are going to receive will be paid at the time the decision is made when you are in Sweden.
  2. You will receive 40 procent of the remaining amount once you have arrived in the country you are moving to.
  3. You will receive the remaining 60 procent after 15 months in your new country at the earliest.

Anyone who no longer lives in Sweden is basically not entitled to keep a residence permit, so your residence permit can be revoked if you choose to move from Sweden.

However, you can notify the Swedish Migration Agency that you want to keep your permanent residence permit after you have moved away from Sweden. If you make this notification, you may keep your residence permit for two years after you have moved out of Sweden.

If you have a temporary residence permit, it ceases to be valid when the period of the permit expires.

Yes, you can. As long as you have a valid residence permit you can move back to Sweden. If you decide to move back to Sweden after any part of the repatriation grant has been paid out, you must repay it.

If you resettle in Sweden after moving from Sweden, you will be liable to repay the grant.

Submitting an application for a new permit does not directly lead to a repayment obligation. It is only if you are granted a permit and choose to move to Sweden again that you will have to repay the grant.

You may be liable for repayment if:

  • You have received the repatriation grant but do not leave Sweden within 12 months of the date of the decision.
  • The grant has been paid and you move back to Sweden again.
  • You provide incorrect information, or otherwise cause an incorrect grant, or too much grant, to be paid for some other reason.
  • You realise, or ought reasonably to have realised, that an incorrect grant, or too much grant, has been paid for some other reason.

You can appeal to the Administrative Court against a decision on the repayment obligation.

As an adult and guardian, you can apply for a repatriation grant for your child/children (individuals under 18).

Each adult must submit and sign a separate application, but the Agency can consider coordinated applications from family members.

No, you cannot. You cannot be granted a repatriation grant unless the person you are connected to also applies. In order for you, as a family member, to be able to receive repatriation grant, the person you are connected to (who has a residence permit as a refugee, quota refugee or person in need of subsidiary protection) must also apply for the repatriation grant.

No, you cannot. You cannot appeal against a decision by the Swedish Migration Agency to grant or refuse repatriation grants.

However, you can appeal a decision on the obligation to repay to the Administrative Court.

No, you cannot. The person you are connected to needs to hold their residence permit on the basis of protection grounds or laws that have now been repealed.

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.