Residence permits for researchers

A researcher is a person who has a PhD or is qualified to begin doctoral studies and has been invited by a research principal that is approved by the Swedish Research Council to conduct research in Sweden. A research funding body can be a Swedish university, institution or a company.

People admitted to doctoral studies in Sweden to earn their PhD here or those who intend to conduct a part of their research studies in Sweden are not counted as researchers. Anyone who has been admitted to doctoral studies in Sweden to earn their PhD must apply for a residence permit as a student. Anyone admitted to doctoral studies in a different country who will conduct part of their studies in Sweden must instead apply for a residence permit for visitors.

Read more about how to apply for a residence permit as a student

Read more about how to apply for a residence permit as a visitor

If you have a residence permit for research in another EU country, you do not need a residence permit if your research in Sweden is conducted for a maximum of 180 days during a 360-day period. If your research is to be conducted in Sweden for a longer time, you need a residence permit for research in mobility for an extended stay. You can apply for such a permit while you are in Sweden. Use the e-service on this site to apply.

If you have a residence permit for research in another EU country, you can begin conducting research directly after you have submitted your application if:

• your residence permit for research in the other EU country is still valid and
• you have not already been in Sweden to conduct research for a maximum of 180 days in the past 360 days.

Your family can receive residence permits for the same time as you. Family means

• your partner (live-in partner, spouse or registered partner)
  
• your or your partner’s unmarried children under 18 years of age.
  

How your family applies

You can apply for residence permits together. Then you apply for your family in your online application. If your family is to apply after you, they can submit their own online application.

Read more about how the family submits its own online application

If your family is to accompany you and you apply for them at the same time as you apply yourself, you must also send in

• copies of the pages in their passports that show personal data, photo, signature, passport number, issuing country, period of validity, the machine-readable code on the identity page and if they have permission to live in countries other than their home country
• a copy of the marriage certificate or the equivalent (for married couples and registered partners)
• documents that show that you have lived together in the home country (for live-in partners)
• birth certificates for children
• consent from the other guardian if he or she is not accompanying you to Sweden, which states that the child may move to Sweden
• adoption documents if the child is adopted
• authorisation if you are a representative for your partner.

The documents should be translated to Swedish or English by an authorised translator. You must always send in a copy of the document in the original and a copy of the translation of the documents.

If your family are already in Sweden

Your family's first-time application for a residence permit must be made outside of Sweden, with two exceptions. Your family can apply for a residence permit while they are in Sweden if you

• have a work permit or a residence permit to run your own business in Sweden and your family have a residence permit as a family member to you because of this permit, you have submitted your application before the previous permit expired and the requirements for that permit have been met
• have a residence permit as a researcher in another EU country and will use that permit to conduct part of your research in Sweden, and your family members have a residence permit as a family member to you because of this permit.

Children born in Sweden

If you have a child that was born in Sweden you must apply for a residence permit for your child. The child can not get a permit until he or she has a passport, but you can send in an application and complete it with a copy of the passport later. You must also register the child's nationality with the Swedish Tax Agency.

Children born in Sweden who apply for a first-time residence permit as a family member to a researcher can not be granted a permit while in Sweden. They will have to travel out of Sweden before the decision on a residence permit is made.

Follow your case in My page

If you have made your application in the e-service, you can log in to My page to follow your case and see if you have received a decision.

My page

You must show your passport

The Swedish Migration Agency must check your passport before a decision can be made. You may therefore need to show your passport at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general if you are outside Sweden, or one of the Migration Agency's service centres if you are in Sweden.

Find out which embassy or consulate-general you should contact on the page Embassies responsible for migration matters

In some cases, you can have your passport checked digitally, instead of showing it in person.

Read more about the digital passport check e-service

In some cases, you will not be required to show your passport, for example, if we have already checked your passport during a previous visit.

If you need to show your passport, we will contact you with information on how and when to do so.

If you need an entry visa or residence permit card to travel to Sweden, you will in most cases have your fingerprints taken and be photographed when you show your passport at an embassy or consulate-general.

If your family also applies for a residence permit, the Swedish Migration Agency must check their passports as well. The requirement to show your passport in person does not apply to children under the age of five, it is sufficient that the parent brings the child's passport to the visit. However, if the child needs a residence permit card, they must come along to be photographed for it.

Get photo­graphed and provide your fing­er­prints

If you receive a permit, you will receive a residence permit card. The card is a proof that you have permission to be in Sweden and contains, among other things, a photo of you along with your fingerprints.

If you need an entry visa or residence permit card to travel to Sweden, you will in most cases have your fingerprints taken and be photographed when you show your passport. You need to be photographed and have your fingerprints taken even if you previously have had a residence permit card because your photo and fingerprints cannot be saved.

Swedish embassies and consulates-general External link, opens in new window.

If you do not need a visa to travel to Sweden, you must book an appointment to submit documentation for the residence permit card at the Swedish Migration Agency after you arrive in Sweden.

Read more about residence permit cards

Book an appointment at the Swedish Migration Agency to submit fingerprints and be photographed (if you can travel to Sweden without a visa)

If you want to continue working as a researcher after your permit expires, you must apply for an extension of your residence permit. It is important that you submit your application before your current permit expires. You can receive a permit for the same period that the hosting agreement covers, but never longer than the validity of your passport. Once you have had a residence permit for research for four years, you can apply for a permanent residence permit. Keep in mind that if you have not lived in Sweden for extended periods of time during the permit period or have not worked, it may affect the possibility of getting a permanent residence permit.

If you have a residence permit for research in another EU country and have conducted part of your research in Sweden, you can apply for an extension if you are to continue conducting some of your research here. You cannot receive a residence permit in Sweden for a longer time than the residence permit you have in the other EU country.

If you have family who live with you in Sweden, who also need to extend their permits, you apply for them in the same online application.

How to apply to extend your permit

You can apply to extend your permit online. Apply before your current permit expires.

In most cases, you must pay a fee.

Application fees for residence permits for researchers

What to send with your exten­sion appli­ca­tion

• copies of the pages in your passport that show personal data, photo, signature, passport number, issuing country, period of validity and if you have permission to live in countries other than your home country
• the form Hosting agreement for visiting researchers in Sweden, 231011
  
• certificates from all of your employers with information on the dates you worked in Sweden if you had permission to work in Sweden for almost four years and if you want to apply for a permanent residence permit. The certificate must also indicate if you had any absences or not.

If you have a residence permit for research in another EU country, you must also send in

• a copy of your residence permit card from the EU country.

Hosting agreement for visiting researchers in Sweden, form 231011 Pdf, 736 kB, opens in new window.

Read more about the requirements for the online application

Perma­nent resi­dence permit

When you apply for an extension of your residence permit, you can apply at the same time for a permanent residence permit. A permanent residence permit is valid for as long as you are living in Sweden.

To be granted a permanent residence permit, you must

• have had a residence permit as a researcher and have worked in Sweden for four years over the past seven years
• be able to support yourself financially through income from employment and/or your own business (income via scholarship can not be counted)
• be living an orderly life.

Read more about the special requirements for permanent residence permit

There are additional new requirements if your family applies to extend their permits at the same time as you apply for a permanent residence permit.

Read more about what applies when you have or you intend to apply for a permanent residence permit and your family applies at the same time as you do

When we have received your appli­ca­tion

If you submitted an extension application before your previous permit expired, you have the right to stay in Sweden until the Swedish Migration Agency has made its decision. You may also work during the time that the Swedish Migration Agency is processing your application.

If you travel abroad in connection with your permit expiring, it may be difficult for you to come back into Sweden before you have had your new permit granted. You may then need to way for your new decision outside Sweden.

If you are granted a residence permit, you get a residence permit card. The card is a certification that you have permission to be in Sweden and contains your fingerprints and a photo of you, among other information. You must therefore book an appointment to submit fingerprints and be photographed as soon as possible. You also need to do so if you previously had a residence permit card because your photo and your fingerprints cannot be saved.

Check that your application has been registered or if you received a decision

Book an appointment at the Swedish Migration Agency for a residence permit card

Read more about residence permit cards

After the deci­sion

The decision is sent to your home address in Sweden. When the residence permit card is ready, it is sent home to you within around a week.

Appe­aling a deci­sion about a resi­dence permit

If the Swedish Migration Agency rejects your application for an extended residence permit, you can appeal against the decision within three weeks of the date on which you were notified of the decision. Your decision will contain information about how to do this.

If the Swedish Migration Agency rejects your application for a permanent residence permit on the grounds that you do not meet the maintenance requirement or orderliness requirement, you can appeal within three weeks of the date on which you were notified of the decision.

Resi­dence permit after completed rese­arch

If you have a residence permit for research in Sweden and have completed your research, you can get a residence permit to seek employment or explore the possibilities of starting your own business in Sweden.

Read more about residence permits after completed research

If you apply online, you are given clear instructions on how to complete your application and what you have to send in with it. It is easy to do it right from the beginning, which increases your chances of getting a decision faster.

If you cannot apply online, you complete the form Residence permit application for researcher, 127011, and turn it in at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general in the country in which you live. The application form indicates what documents you must attach to it. Contact the embassy or consulate-general before you turn in the application.

If it is not possible to apply in your country, you must apply at the embassy or consulate-general that is closest to the country in which you live. Contact the embassy or consulate-general before you turn in your application for more information.

If you apply at an embassy or a consulate-general, you pay the fee when you submit your application. For information on fees, contact the embassy or consulate in question since they do not have the same fee regulations as the Swedish Migration Agency.

Residence permit application for researchers, form 127011 Pdf, 858.4 kB, opens in new window.

Hosting agreement for visiting researchers in Sweden, form 231011 Pdf, 736 kB, opens in new window.

Swedish embassies and consulates-general External link, opens in new window.

If you are to apply to extend your permit, you complete the form Residence permit application for researchers, number 127011. The application form indicates what documents you must attach to it.

Application for a permit for family members of workers, researchers, athletes or coaches and self-employed persons, form 133011 Pdf, 847.4 kB, opens in new window.

Send the application to

Migrationsverket
Box 3100
903 03 Umeå

In most cases, you must pay a fee

Application fees for residence permits for researchers

If you are will be conducting research in Sweden for a maximum of 180 days during a 360 day period, you do not need a residence permit in Sweden. Instead, you can travel to Sweden with your residence permit card from the other EU country. The research you intend to conduct in Sweden must fall within the framework of the research you are already conducting.

If your stay in Sweden will be longer, you must apply for a residence permit for research in mobility for an extended stay. The research you intend to conduct in Sweden must fall within the framework of the research you are already conducting.

If the research you intend to carry out in Sweden does not fall within the framework of the research you are conducting, you must apply for a residence permit for research in Sweden.

Yes, if you submit your application before your current permit expires, and if the requirements for your work permit have been met.

No, it is not possible to apply for or receive a residence permit for research when you are already in Sweden with a residence permit to look for work. You must therefore travel to your home country or to a country where you have the right to stay in order to submit your application and await a decision.

The hosting agreement must specify how you will support yourself and what insurance you will be covered by when you come to Sweden to conduct research. If you are not an employee but, for example, are coming to Sweden to do research with the support of a scholarship, then the scholarship amount you are receiving must be stated in the hosting agreement. If you are not covered by the insurance policies that the research organisation in Sweden takes out for its employees, this must be stated.

To be granted a residence permit, you need to show that you have taken out or applied for comprehensive health insurance valid for care in Sweden. You need comprehensive health insurance in case you require medical care during your stay in Sweden.

If you apply for a permit for more than one year, it will be possible to register you in the national population register, and you will thus be covered by the Swedish health insurance system. If this is the case, you do not need health insurance.

Your health insurance should cover the costs of both emergency and other medical care, as well as hospitalisation, dental care and possible repatriation for medical reasons.

If you have experienced symptoms or been diagnosed with a disease before you travel to Sweden, your insurance does not need to cover doctor’s appointments related to the treatment of this condition. Should your health deteriorate rapidly and require urgent medical care, your health insurance should cover medical care until your condition has stabilised.

The Swedish Migration Agency cannot give advance notice of whether the health insurance you have applied for or taken out will be approved when it makes its assessment about your residence permit application.