If you want to appeal
If you have received a decision from the Swedish Migration Agency that you do not accept, you can appeal against it. You can find information here about what you need to do to appeal.
If you do not accept the Swedish Migration Agency’s decision, you have the right to lodge an appeal. If you lodge an appeal, it means you want the Swedish Migration Agency’s decision to be changed. The appeal will be considered by a court, but you should send your appeal to the Swedish Migration Agency. Your decision tells you how much time you have to appeal, often three weeks from the date you were notified of the decision. If you have a public counsel, he or she can help you with the appeal.
If you have applied for a residence permit, have had your application rejected and are in Sweden when you receive the decision, you should still make plans to return even if you choose to appeal. Your decision tells you whether you have the right to stay in Sweden while you wait for the court’s decision.
You can appeal against a decision not to grant a permanent residence permit if your application was rejected because you do not meet the requirements for maintenance or orderliness.
The Migration Court considers your appeal
The Swedish Migration Agency will always forward an appeal that arrives in time to the Migration Court.
Before the appeal is forwarded, the Swedish Migration Agency considers whether the decision should be changed. If the Swedish Migration Agency considers that the decision should be changed, a new decision is produced to replace the one that has been appealed. The new decision is attached when the appeal is forwarded. When the appeal has been forwarded, the Court decides whether the Swedish Migration Agency’s change to the decision was correct.
No later than seven days after your appeal has been received by the Migration Agency, the appeal must have been forwarded to the Migration Court.
From the date on which the Migration Court receives your appeal, you should address all questions concerning your appeal and the work of the court to the court. It is your own responsibility to watch out for the Migration Court’s judgements – the Swedish Migration Agency will not do this for you.
If you have a public counsel, you cannot get any money from the Swedish Migration Agency for travel to the counsel once your appeal has been lodged with the court.
If you change your mind and want to retract your appeal, you can inform the Swedish Migration Agency that you accept the decision. In such case, your appeal will not be considered and you cannot appeal against the decision a second time.
How to write an appeal
You will be advised on how to make an appeal in the decision documentation. If you wish to appeal against the Swedish Migration Agency’s decision, you should write a letter confirming which decision you want the Swedish Migration Agency to change, and explain why. Enclose documents or other proof in support of what you have stated, preferably in the original.
Your appeal letter should include your personal data and your case number. The case number is shown on the decision. If you are an asylum seeker, your case number is also shown on your Asylum Seeker card. Also state your telephone number and address where the Swedish Migration Agency or court can reach you.
It is important that the Swedish Migration Agency receives your appeal on time. In the table shown on this page you can see how much time you have to appeal – this depends on what type of decision it concerns. The time is counted from when you were notified of the decision.
If you are unable to appeal yourself, you can ask someone else to do it for you. You will then need to provide the Swedish Migration Agency with a power of attorney for the person helping you.
What is a power of attorney?
A power of attorney can be a signed letter in which the person applying for a permit allows another person to represent them. A power of attorney can, for example, give someone the right to apply, be informed of the reasons for a decision, or lodge an appeal for someone else. The power of attorney must be signed by the person who gives their power of attorney to another person, and must be presented in the original if required by the Swedish Migration Agency.
In order to give another person power of attorney, you will need to send a letter to the Swedish Migration Agency stating
- that it is a power of attorney
- the name, date of birth and address of the person giving someone else the power of attorney
- what the person who has the power of attorney has to do
- the name, personal identity number and address of the person who is given the power of attorney
- the signature of the person giving someone else the power of attorney
- the date and place where the power of attorney is signed.
Power of Attorney, form 107011
Pdf, 1.1 MB, opens in new window.
If you want to appeal against the Migration Court’s judgement
If you are not satisfied with the Migration Court’s judgement, you can appeal to the Migration Court of Appeal within three weeks of the date you were notified of the judgement. The Migration Court of Appeal is the last instance and decisions made there form the basis for the decisions of the Swedish Migration Agency and the Migration Courts in similar cases.
The Migration Court of Appeal only considers certain cases where there is no legal guidance or if the Migration Court has considered the case incorrectly. In most cases, the Migration Court of Appeal decides not to consider the appeal. In such case, it is the Migration Court judgement that is valid.
Not all decisions can be appealed
There are some decisions that cannot be appealed. Your decision tells you whether you can appeal against it or not. Amongst other things, you cannot appeal against:
- a decision after you have accepted the decision and signed a declaration of acceptance
- the Migration Court of Appeal’s decision not to consider your case
- your being granted a temporary residence permit.
If the Swedish Migration Agency receives an appeal against a decision that cannot be appealed, the appeal must still be forwarded to the Migration Court, if the appeal was submitted in time. The Migration Court will not, however, review the appeal.
Different times for different appeals
The Swedish Migration Agency needs to have your appeal before the deadline has expired. If you want to appeal against the court’s decision, you must send your appeal to the court, so that they receive it before the deadline has expired. The decision states how long you have to appeal.
When the deadline has expired, the decision is said to have acquired legal force. This means that the decision can no longer be appealed.
You have received | You can appeal |
|---|---|
a decision on expulsion | within three weeks of the date on which you were notified of the decision |
a decision on refusal of entry that is to be enforced immediately | within three weeks of the date on which you were notified of the decision |
a judgement of the Migration Court | within three weeks of the date on which you were notified of the decision |
a decision on status declaration | within three weeks of the date on which you were notified of the decision |
a decision on travel document | within three weeks of the date on which you were notified of the decision |
a decision on an alien’s passport | within three weeks of the date on which you were notified of the decision |
a re-entry ban for the Schengen countries because you did not leave Sweden on time | within three weeks of the date on which the Swedish Migration Agency made the decision |
a re-entry ban for any other reason | within three weeks of the date on which you were notified of the decision |
a decision on a special grant | within three weeks of the date on which you were notified of the decision |
subsidiary protection status declaration (if you believe you should be given refugee status instead) | within three weeks of the date on which you were notified of the decision |
a decision not to grant you a permanent residence permit | within three weeks of the date on which you were notified of the decision |
a decision to reduce or discontinue the daily allowance | within five weeks of the date on which the Swedish Migration Agency made the decision |
a decision on supervision or detention | at any time |