Frequently asked ques­tions from EU/​EEA citi­zens

If your relationship with the EU/EEA citizen has ended, you may, under certain conditions, still be entitled to right of residence in Sweden. If your relationship has ended, it is important you notify the Swedish Migration Agency so we can investigate if you still have right of residence.

You retain your right of residence if your relationship with the EU/EEA citizen ends due to his/her death, or if you have been subjected to violence in that relationship and you have been living in Sweden as a family member for at least one year, and you

1. are employed or self-employed in Sweden
2. have sufficient resources to provide for yourself and your family
3. are a member of a family already formed in Sweden by a person who meets the requirements of points 1 or 2.

If your ex-partner is still alive, your marriage or cohabitation relationship must have lasted for at least three years, of which at least one year in Sweden, before the divorce process was started or the cohabitation relationship was ended. If the EU/EEA citizen has moved from Sweden, the application for divorce must have been submitted before the move. You must also meet the requirements for right of residence, see points 1, 2 and 3 above.

If you are the child of an EU/EEA citizen and are studying at a recognised educational institution, you will retain your right of residence even if the EU/EEA citizen leaves Sweden or dies. The same applies for the person who has custody of you while you are studying. Your right of residence will continue until you have completed your studies.

If your family member has retained their citizenship from another EU/EEA country, you can continue to have right of residence. However, if your family member now only has Swedish citizenship, you must apply for a residence permit instead.

If your family member meets the requirements for right of residence and you have applied for a residence card, you are able to start working as soon as you come to Sweden without waiting for the residence card decision.

If you are an EU/EEA citizen, you cannot register your right of residence with the Swedish Migration Agency. If you are going to be resident in Sweden for at least one year, you must contact the Swedish Tax Agency to register in the population register. If you are going to work and live in Sweden but do not meet the requirements to be registered in the population register, you can apply for a coordination number from the Swedish Tax Agency. Read more about coordination numbers on the Swedish Tax Agency's website.

Coordination number, Swedish Tax Agency External link, opens in new window.

After you have had right of residence and lived in Sweden for five years, you will have permanent right of residence. If you want proof of your permanent right of residence, you can apply for a certificate of permanent right of residence.

If you are going to be in Sweden for more than three months, you must apply for a residence card from the Swedish Migration Agency, even if you have already been registered in the population register by the Swedish Tax Agency.

Read more about the requirements for getting a residence card and how to apply

Under certain circumstances, a Swedish citizen who has resided in another EU/EEA country and used his/her freedom of movement there may be counted as an EU/EEA citizen in Sweden. In cases were a Swedish citizen has used their free movement in the United Kingdom before 31 December 2020 and returned to Sweden, the Swedish citizen can be counted as an EU/EEA citizen, despite the fact that the United Kingdom no longer is in the EU.

You can apply for a residence card if you and your family member, who is a Swedish citizen, meet the following requirements:

• The Swedish citizen has resided in another EU/EEA country with right of residence for at least three months. Some examples of how freedom of movement can be used in another EU/EEA country are to work, look for work, study or have sufficient financial resources to provide for oneself in that country.
  
• You and your family member were living together in the other EU/EEA country immediately before moving to Sweden.

Yes, by submitting a complete application.

Resi­dence cards for an EU/​​​EEA citi­zen's family who are non-EU/​​EEA citi­zens

Apply for a perma­nent resi­dence card – for family members of EU/​​EEA citi­zens who are citi­zens of a non-EU/​​EEA country

Perma­nent right of resi­dence for EU/​​EEA citi­zens – apply for a certi­fi­cate

Resi­dence permit requi­re­ments for long-term resi­dents of the EU

Permits for family members of those who are long-term resi­dents of the EU

Long-term resi­dent status in Sweden

Processing times can vary. Two cases submitted at the same time can have different decision dates. This is because the processing consists of several steps before a decision can be made. Different steps take different amounts of time. One reason why one case may take longer than another is if the Swedish Migration Agency needs to request additional information.

The Swedish Migration Agency does not grant priority. All applications are to be processed quickly and simply based on the circumstances in the case. This means that similar cases are to be processed in similar ways with roughly the same processing time regardless of whether it is an online application or a paper application. However, we do not process cases in order based on when they are received by the Swedish Migration Agency, but rather it depends on what type of application it is and what the application looks like: if the application needs to be supplemented, if an oral investigation needs to be done, or if the application for various reasons needs to be investigated further. Rules of processing order are only used for cases that are similar to one another, for example, cases where an oral investigation is needed.

If you feel that the processing of your application is taking a long time, you can submit a written request for the Swedish Migration Agency to decide the case. For applications for a residence permit for a long-term resident in another EU country, and for a certificate of permanent right of residence, such a request can be made earliest four months after the application was submitted. For applications for a residence card, permanent residence card and long-term resident status in Sweden, at least six months must have passed since you submitted your application. The Swedish Migration Agency must then either decide your case or reject your request within four weeks.

A request for the Swedish Migration Agency to decide your case must be made in writing. We recommend you fill in the form 270011, Request to decide a case, and send it to the Swedish Migration Agency.

For each case, only one request can be made.

Request to decide a case, form 270011 Pdf, 661.8 kB, opens in new window.