Digital passport check

The Swedish Migration Agency needs to check your passport before you can receive a decision about residence permit. In a new pilot, some applicants can do this digitally, instead of showing their passport in person.

Swedish (svenska)
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What you need to know

To do a digital passport check, you need to receive an email with a personal link to the Digital Passport Check e-service. You will need a passport with a chip (known as an e-passport), a phone or tablet and the ID-app "Freja".

Freja is a mobile e-identification service, approved by Swedish authorities. It allows you to scan the digital information in your passport and share it digitally with the Swedish Migration Agency.

You will receive an offer to have your passport checked digitally if you

  • have applied for a residence permit for work or study in Sweden during 2024
  • have made an online application
  • are a citizen of one of the 22 visa-exempt countries or territories initially included in the pilot.

How a digital passport check works

1

Offer by email

If you are eligible for a digital passport check, you will receive an offer by email within a couple of days of submitting your online application. The email will be sent to the email address stated in the online application.

If you are a representative with power of attorney, you must forward this email to the main applicant.

The email contains a personal link to the Digital passport check e-service. There you will find a list of which of the passports included in your application can be checked digitally.

The link is valid for 7 days

Please note that the personal link to the e-service is only valid for 7 days from the date the email was sent. If you are not able or willing to share your passport details before your personal link expires, you may need to show your passport in person.

2

Download Freja

In order to share your passport details with the Migration Agency in the Digital passport check e-service you will first need to build an e-ID in the Freja app.

You can download the Freja app for free from App Store, Google Play or Huawei AppGallery.

Freja-appen.

The app looks like this.

In order to use the Freja app, you need to have a smartphone or tablet with a working camera and an NFC reader. Most smartphones today have an NFC reader, a function that lets you use your phone to for example tap tickets or pay in shops.

You also need an e-passport, containing a chip with your biometric data.

The symbol on your cover of the passport shows that your passport has a chip. If your passport does not have this symbol, it cannot be checked digitally.

Symbolen på bilden visar att passet innehåller ett chip.

Illustration of a passport with a chip symbol.

Use a sepa­rate device for each passport

We recommend downloading the Freja app to a separate device, smartphone or tablet, for each passport that needs to be checked. This is because you can only have one e-ID in Freja at a time.

An exception applies to passports for children under the age of five, which should be added to the parent's Freja app. If you have co-applicant children under the age of five, you will receive more information on how to add the child's passport to your app when you share your passport details with the Swedish Migration Agency. See step 5 for more information.

If you need to use one device for several passports

If you only have one device but want to share several passports, you will need to create an account and scan one person’s passport, and then wait for Freja to verify that person’s identity. When Freja has verified the first person’s identity, you can share that passport with the Migration Agency. Then you need to delete the app and repeat the process with the next person’s passport.

By using multiple devices, you can save time and share your whole family’s passports at the same time.

3

Create an account and build an eID

How to create an account and build an eID in the Freja app:

1. First you need to enter and confirm an email adress, choose a pin code and take a photo of yourself using the Freja app. We recommend turning on notifications for the app.

2. Add your digital ID document by scanning the photo page and biometric chip of your passport. The app guides you to take the photo and scan the passport correctly so that Freja can read all the necessary data. Note that it is the main photo page with MRZ code at the bottom of the page that you need to scan.

Illustration som visar hur du fotar av ditt pass.

Illustration showing how to scan your passport.

3. Prepare for the final check by looking into the camera so that Freja can verify that the passport you have scanned really belongs to you.

4. Now your ID document is added and ready to be sent to Freja for verification. Press the button in the app to submit.

If you are not able or willing to scan your passport details

If you for some reason are not able or willing to scan your passport with Freja, please let us know by using your personal link to the Digital Passport Check e-service. When you have declined to share your passport details, we can begin processing your application as soon as possible. We will contact you with more information if you need to show your passport in person.

4

Wait for verification

Freja's final security check can take up to 24 hours, but is faster on weekdays between 08:00 and 22:00 CET. Once they're done, you'll receive an email or notification from Freja that they've verified your identity.

You can now return to the Digital passport check e-service and share your passport data with the Swedish Migration Agency.

If Freja notifies you that they were not able to verify your identity, please use the e-service to decline sharing your passport details as soon as possible so that we can begin processing your application. We will contact you with more information if you need to show your passport in person.

5

Share your passport with the Swedish Migra­tion Agency

When Freja has verified your identity, it is time to share your passport details with the Migration Agency using both your eID in the Freja app and your personal link to the Digital passport check e-service. When you use your personal link to the e-service, you will see a list of the passports you have included in your application.

In the list you can see if any of the passports in your application cannot be checked digitally. This could for example be because that passport belongs to a person who is not visa-exempt.

When you select "Share" for a passport in the list, you must open the Freja app on the device with which you have scanned that particular passport.

In the Freja app, you will now be asked to authorise the sharing of passport data with the Swedish Migration Agency. Once you have done this, you can move on to sharing the next passport.

Children under the age of five

If you have co-applicants under the age of five, it is in this step that you must add their passports to your Freja app. This option in the app can only be unlocked via the Migration Agency’s e-service. Follow the instructions in the e-service and the app. This step will be quick, as you will only need to scan the passport. You do not need to photograph the child or wait for Freja to verify the child’s identity.

6

Confirmation

You are done when you have shared or declined to share all of the passports included in your application. You will then receive a confirmation email from the Swedish Migration Agency.

If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail, please return to the e-service to check if you have missed to share or decline any of your co-applicants. If “action needed” is posted next to a passport number you must choose to share or decline.

The Migration Agency can now begin processing your application.

We will contact you with more information if you need to show your passport in person.

Frequently asked ques­tions about the Digital passport check e-service

General infor­ma­tion about the e-service and Freja

Freja is a mobile e-identification used for identification, approved by Swedish authorities. Freja can be used for online identification such as logging in to e-services or for physical identification such as any physical ID card.

The Swedish Migration Agency needs to check your passport before you can receive a decision about your residence permit. Usually, you would show your passport in person at the Swedish embassy or at the Migration Agency's service center (if you are already in Sweden).

If you don’t need to visit the embassy for an interview or to get your residence permit card, having your passport checked digitally will save you a potentially expensive and time consuming trip to the embassy.

When launching this pilot we have trained the Freja app to verify the validity of passports from the 22 largest visa-exempt countries and territories. As we continue to evaluate and improve the e-service, we will gradually include more nationalities. Stay tuned for more information.

The Digital passport check replaces the need to visit the Swedish embassy for the sole purpose of showing your passport in person. So it mainly improves the digital application process for visa-exempt workers and students. Other applicants will still need to visit the embassy to obtain their residence permit cards or to have an interview, while showing their passports in person at that visit.

User requi­re­ments and condi­tions

The Digital passport check e-service will be available to people who

  • are applying for a work or study permit (both new application and extensions)
  • have made an online application
  • are citizens of one of the 22 selected countries or territories who do not need a visa or residence permit card to enter Sweden.

The 22 countries and territories included in the pilot are:

  1. USA
  2. Canada
  3. Brazil
  4. Mexico
  5. Australia
  6. United Kingdom
  7. New Zealand
  8. Taiwan
  9. Japan
  10. South Korea
  11. Chile
  12. Singapore
  13. Malaysia
  14. North Macedonia
  15. Georgia
  16. Ukraine
  17. Argentina
  18. Colombia
  19. Peru
  20. Albania
  21. Serbia
  22. Bosnia and Herzegovina

In order to have your passport checked digitally, you need

  • an email from the Swedish Migration Agency with a personal link to the Digital passport check e-service
  • a smartphone or tablet that you can download apps to and that has a working camera and NFC reader
  • an email address for each person, five years or older, to check their passport (children under five are added to their parents Freja app and therefore don’t need an email address of their own)
  • a passport that contains a chip.
Bild på pass

Illustration of a passport with a chip symbol.

Using the Freja app to share your passport with the Swedish Migration Agency is a first step in creating an e-ID that other Swedish authorities can rely on as well. You can update your Freja app to a full Swedish e-ID when you have registered with the Swedish Tax Agency and received your personal identity number or coordination number, after moving to Sweden.

However, can use the Freja app to notify the Swedish Tax Agency that you are moving to Sweden and begin your application for a personal identity number or coordination number when you have been granted a residence permit and have set a date for your move to Sweden.

Read more and notify the Swedish Tax Agency about your move to Sweden External link, opens in new window.

Fami­lies and co-appli­cant children

For persons five years and older you can only check one passport at a time with the Freja app. We recommend using a separate smartphone or tablet for each passport that you want to check. Children under five are an exception, since their passports are added to their parent’s app.

If you don’t have a separate device for each person, you have two options.

You can borrow a smartphone from a friend. You will need access to the phone until Freja has verified yours or your co-applicant’s identity and you have shared the passport details with the Swedish Migration Agency. When you are done, you can delete the Freja-app from your friend’s phone. The passport data will not be stored on the phone.

If you want to use the same phone to check the passports of multiple persons, five years or older, you will need to delete the app and start over after sharing each passport.

It may take up to 24 hours for Freja to confirm that they have verified your identity, before you can share your passport details with the Swedish Migration Agency. (Does not apply to children under five.) The link you receive in the email will be valid for 7 days. If you know that you want to use the same device to check several passports, you should begin as soon as possible.

As of 25 October 2024, you can be offered a digital passport check even if you have co-applicant children under five.

Freja has expanded the app with a new function that is only available through the Swedish Migration Agency's e-service Digital passport check. Children under the age of five can not have their own app, instead you will be asked to add the child's passport to your own app when sharing passport details in the e-service.

Since the Migration Agency does not require identity checks on co-applicant children under the age of five, but only wants to see that the child has a valid passport, it is sufficient that you scan the child's passport in your app. You do not need to take a photo of the child or wait for Freja to verify the child's identity.

If the child has turned five when you are ready to share your passport details with the Swedish Migration Agency, the child will need a Freja app of their own. You will see in the e-service Digital passport check which children can be added to their parent’s app.

Secu­rity and tech­nical issues

Freja eID is a secure e-identification solution trusted by Swedish authorities. Freja will not share your passport details unless you authorise them to do so.

If Freja are not able to verify your identity, you may need to have your passport checked in person.

Please use your personal link to the Digital passport check e-service to let us know that you are not able to share your passport details, so that we can begin processing your application as soon as possible.

We will contact you if you need to book an appointment to have your passport checked at the Swedish embassy or the Migration Agency service centre.

The Digital passport check e-service should list all of the passports included in your application, even ones that cannot be checked digitally. However there are some unusual exceptions. At this time, the automatic system cannot not identify alien’s passports or diplomatic passports.

If any of your family members have such a passport they will not be listed in the e-service and cannot be checked digitally. That person will receive information about showing their passport in person. However, the rest of the family are welcome to use the e-service to share their passport details digitally.

Alter­na­tives to the Digital passport check e-service

Please use your personal link to the Digital passport check e-service to decline sharing your passport details, so that we can begin processing your application as soon as possible.

We will contact you if you need to book an appointment to have your passport checked at the Swedish embassy or the Migration Agency service centre.

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