Who is a long-term resident?
Persons who have lived in an EU country for at least five years with a residence permit can apply for long-term resident status in that country. A person who is granted long-term resident status receives a special EC/EU residence permit, which means that the person has certain rights similar to those of an EU citizen. This gives them more opportunities to move to another EU country in order to work, study, start their own business, or live on their pension, for example.
Residence permits for persons with long-term resident status in another EU country
If you have long-term resident status in an EU country, you can move to Sweden to work, study or live on your own funds, such as a pension from your country of origin. If you want to stay in Sweden for longer than three months, you must apply for a residence permit.
Long-term resident status in Sweden
If you have stayed in Sweden for five years with a residence permit, or have been legally resident on other grounds, you can apply for long-term resident status in Sweden. If you are granted long-term resident status in Sweden, you will also be granted a permanent residence permit in Sweden.
Read more about long-term resident status in Sweden
Who can be granted long-term resident status in the EU?
To be granted long-term resident status, you must have lived in an EU country for at least five years with a residence permit. You must also be able to support yourself. To obtain this status, you must apply for a special EU residence permit. Contact the relevant country’s migration authority for information on how to apply.
Please note that Denmark and Ireland are not covered by the long-term resident status rules. This means that you cannot apply for long-term resident status in these two countries.
Countries which are covered by the directive on residence permits for long-term residents
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
If you have been granted long-term resident status, your residence permit card will state
Austria:
Daueraufenthalt – EG
Belgium:
Résident de longue durée – CE or
EG – langdurig ingezetene
Bulgaria:
дългосрочно пребиваващ в ЕC
Croatia:
Osoba s dugotrajnim boravištem – EZ
Czech Republic:
Povolení k pobytu pro dlouhodobě pobývajícího rezidenta – EU
Cyprus:
Long term resident – EC
Estonia:
Pikaajaline elanik – EÜ
Finland:
P EY 2003/109 EY or
P EG 2003/109 EG
France:
Carte de résident de longue durée – CE (prior to 20 June 2011)
Carte de résident de longue durée – Communauté Européenne (after 20 June 2011)
Germany:
Daueraufenthalt – EG or
Daueraufenthalt – EU
Greece:
επί μακρόν διαμένων – ΕΚ
Hungary:
Huzamos tartózkodási engedéllyel rendelkező – EK
Italy:
Soggiornante di lungo periodo – UE or Soggiornante di lungo periodo – CE
Latvia:
Pastāvīgī dzīvojosa persona – ES
Lithuania:
Ilgalaikis gyventojas – EB or
Leidimas nuolat gyventi ilgalaikis gyventojas ES
Luxemburg:
Resident de longue duree – UE
Malta:
Residenti għat-tul – KE
Netherlands:
EG – langdurig ingezetene
Poland:
Pobyt rezydenta długoterminowego UE
Portugal:
Residente CE de longa duração
Romania:
Rezident pe termen lung – CE
Slovakia:
Osoba s dlhodobým pobytom – ES
Slovenia:
Rezident za daljši čas – ES
Spain:
Residente de larga duración – UE or
Residencia re larga du UE
Some countries also use the English term for long-term resident status. In which case it will state: Long-term resident – EC on the residence permit card. Please note that there may be other ways of indicating the status than those above.