Permits for family members of someone with long-term resident status in the EU

If you are granted a residence permit in Sweden, your family can be granted permits for the same period as you. Your family members can start working or studying immediately after they arrive in Sweden. They do not need to wait for a decision regarding their residence permit application. A student may work alongside their studies without applying for a special work permit.

How your family members apply

Each family member, including children, must fill out Form 137011, Application for a residence permit for persons with long-term resident status in another EU Member State and their family members, and send or submit it to the Swedish Migration Agency no more than three months after they enter the country.

Application for a residence permit for persons with long-term resident status in another EU Member State and their family members, Form 137011 Pdf, 1.4 MB.

Addresses and opening hours of the Swedish Migration Agency

Postal addresses of the Swedish Migration Agency

If your family member is a citizen of a country whose citizens need an entry visa to travel to Sweden, then before travelling to Sweden they must apply for a visa at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general in their country of origin, or in another country outside Sweden where they currently live. The application will be examined in accordance with the Visa Code. Among other things, this means that their application may be rejected if the authority that takes the decision assesses that they are unlikely to leave the Schengen area after their visit and that the purpose of their journey is not what they have stated in their application.

Countries whose citizens need an entry visa to travel to Sweden External link, opens in new window.

Read more about applying for an entry visa

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

Your family member must also submit

• copies of the pages of their passport that show their personal details, photograph, signature, the period of validity of the passport, the country where it was issued, and whether they have permission to live in countries other than their country of origin. For the passport to be approved, it must have a signature. Read more about making correct passport copies.
  
• a copy of their marriage certificate or equivalent attestation (for married couples and registered partnerships)
  
• documents showing that you lived together in your country of origin (applies to cohabiting partners)
  
• birth certificate or other documents showing that you are related (applies to all children and parents of persons over the age of 21)
  
• documents showing that persons over 21 years old are dependent on their parent or child in Sweden for their financial support (maintenance)

Once we have received the appli­ca­tion

Each family member will need to present their passport

Before we can make a decision regarding their residence permits, the Swedish Migration Agency must verify the passports of your family members. This means that each of your family members may need to present their passport at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general if they are outside Sweden, or at one of the Swedish Migration Agency’s service centres if they are already in the country.

In some cases, they will not be required to present their passport. For example, if the Swedish Migration Agency has already verified their passport during a previous visit, they need not present it again.

If your family members need to present their passports, we will contact you and your family members with information on how and when they should do so.

The requirement to present a passport in person does not apply to children under the age of five. In that case, it is enough that the parent brings the child’s passport to their own appointment. However, if the child needs a residence permit card, they must accompany their parent or guardian so they can be photographed for it.

For the passport to be approved when they present it, it must be valid and have a signature. If the passport is not signed, the Swedish Migration Agency will ask you to complete the application with other documents

Resi­dence permit card

If your family member receives a permit for more than three months, they will receive a residence permit card. The card is a certification that your family member has permission to be in Sweden and contains, among other things, their photo and fingerprints. Your family member will be photographed and asked to provide their fingerprints when they come to have their passport verified. Even if they have had a Swedish residence permit card before, your family member will still need to be photographed and fingerprinted. This is because the Swedish Migration Agency is not permitted to save this type of personal data.

Read more about residence permit cards

Addresses and opening hours of the Swedish Migration Agency

After the deci­sion

The decision will be sent to your family’s address in Sweden. Once the residence permit card is ready, it will be sent to you and your family within about one week.

If the Swedish Migra­tion Agency rejects the appli­ca­tion

If the Swedish Migration Agency rejects your family member’s application, they can appeal the decision within three weeks after the date on which they received the decision. Information on how to appeal is provided in the decision.