Long-term residents in Sweden
If you are a citizen of a non-EU country and have lived in Sweden continuously for five years, you may be granted long-term resident status in Sweden. Long-term resident status means that you have certain rights specific to EU citizens and that you have more opportunities to work, study or start your own business in another EU country.
Long-term resident status is a legal status and is not the same as a residence permit. If you apply for long-term resident status in Sweden, the Swedish Migration Agency will only consider whether you can obtain such status in Sweden. We do not examine whether you can be granted a residence permit, e.g., on the basis of close family ties, studies or work. Nor do we examine whether you can obtain long-term resident status in another EU country.
Before submitting an application, carefully check whether you meet the requirements.
Requirements for long-term resident status
To be granted long-term resident status, you must
- have been resident in Sweden with a residence permit (or have been legally resident here on other grounds) without interruption for the past five years, calculated from the date on which the application is submitted
- be able to support yourself and your family
- be able to prove your identity
When you submit your application for long-term resident status in Sweden, you must meet these requirements.
There are no exemptions from the requirement of five years’ residence in Sweden. If you have not had a residence permit or other legal residence for five years when you submit your application, you cannot be granted long-term resident status in Sweden. Instead, you can apply for a permit on other grounds when your current permit expires.
You must not have had interruptions to your stay during these five years. Stays outside Sweden for periods longer than six consecutive months, or ten months in total during the five-year period, are counted as an interruption. Business travel and travel within Europe are also included.
If you are a refugee or a person in need of subsidiary protection, you can count the time from the date on which you submitted your application for asylum or your application for re-examination. If you have been granted a residence permit in Sweden as a person otherwise in need of protection, you cannot be granted long-term resident status.
Residence permits for visits and studies at a lower level than the doctoral level are not included in the period of residence. This is because you do not get this type of permit to settle in Sweden, only to stay here for a limited period of time. On the other hand, for example, the residence permit period for work, research and doctoral studies, or a stay in Sweden with right of residence, may be included.
Financial support (maintenance)
The requirement that you must be able to support yourself and your family means that you must have a long-term ability to support yourself and/or others. It is not enough to have a temporary income or sufficient assets at the time of application. You must show that you can support yourself and your family now and in the future with income of a lasting nature.
Proven identity
In order for you to be granted long-term resident status in Sweden, you must be able to prove your identity.