If you are unable to make an online application
An online application will help you to apply correctly
When you apply online, you will receive clear instructions on how to fill out your application and what to include with it. It will be easier to do it correctly and increase your chances of receiving a decision faster.
Power of attorney
Your family member in Sweden can, as a representative, apply in the e-service (internet application) for you if you give him or her a power of attorney. The power of attorney can be submitted together with the application in the e-service. You can submit a power of attorney for your family member when you visit the embassy or consulate-general.
If neither you nor your relative in Sweden are able to submit an online application, you can apply at the embassy or consulate-general in the country you are in.
1
Fill in the application
Fill in the forms:
- Application for a residence permit to take up residence in Sweden
- Family details.
On the application, you enter details about yourself and the person in Sweden you want to move to.
If you have children under the age of 18 who are accompanying you to Sweden, you should also fill in the form
- Application for a residence permit to settle in Sweden for children under the age of 18.
Fill in a separate form for each child.
What you should submit together with your application
- copies of documents that show the relationship (e.g. marriage certificate, birth certificate) and translations of these documents into Swedish or English.
- a copy of the identity page in the passport (read more about what the copies must look like).
You should also submit a power of attorney so that your family member in Sweden can represent you and be your representative. This makes it easier to complete your application if something is missing and when it is time for the Swedish Migration Agency to inform you of the decision.
Consent for children under 18 years of age
In Sweden, both parents or legal guardians have the right to participate in decisions concerning the child. Therefore, the other parent or legal guardian who is not accompanying you to Sweden must give their consent to the child being allowed to move to Sweden. A consent may be a letter signed by the other legal guardian in which he or she writes that he or she gives his or her consent for the child to move.
The letter of consent should contain
- name, date of birth, and address of the parent giving their consent
- name and date of birth of the child that the consent applies to
- that the parent/legal guardian gives their consent for their child to be granted a residence permit to settle in Sweden
- signature of the parent/legal guardian providing their consent and their name in block letters.
The application form tells you which documents you must attach.
Forms
Family details, Appendix to your application, form 239011
Pdf, 876.4 kB, opens in new window.
Power of Attorney, form 107011 Pdf, 1.1 MB, opens in new window.
Consent for a child to settle in Sweden, form 217011 Pdf, 1.1 MB, opens in new window.
2
Submit your application to the embassy or consulate-general
You must submit your application to the Swedish embassy or consulate-general in the country where you live. If the country does not have a Swedish embassy or consulate-general that processes migration matters, you should instead contact a Swedish embassy or consulate-general in another country.
Check in advance if you need to make an appointment to submit an application.
Most applicants must pay a fee for submitting their application.
3
The application is sent to the Swedish Migration Agency
Once you have submitted your application, it will be sent to the Swedish Migration Agency.
Once the Migration Agency has received your application, a letter will be sent to your family member in Sweden with questions about his or her income, residence and your relationship. Your family member must answer the questions within two weeks.
The Swedish Migration Agency will then decide whether your family member meets the maintenance requirement. If your family member meets the maintenance requirement or is exempt from it, you will be allowed to come for an interview at the embassy or consulate-general. If your family member does not meet the requirements for maintenance and housing, the Swedish Migration Agency will refuse the application.
4
Interview
If your family member in Sweden meets the maintenance and housing requirement, or is exempted from the maintenance requirement, you or your family member in Sweden will receive a notification that you should make an appointment for a visit to the embassy or consulate-general. During the visit, you will need be photographed and provide your fingerprints. You will also be interviewed and will be asked questions about your relationship with the person in Sweden. Children who are applying must also attend the interview. Bring your passport and the originals of the documents you handed in or sent in with your application. The passport and the original documents will be checked at the embassy or consulate-general.
If you are granted a residence permit, you will receive a residence permit card. The card contains your fingerprints and a photograph of you, among other information. The fingerprints and photo are only stored on the card’s chip.
5
The Swedish Migration Agency continues to process
After the visit to the embassy or consulate-general, the Swedish Migration Agency will continue the processing. In some cases, an oral interview is also conducted with the family member in Sweden. When the Swedish Migration Agency has enough information, a decision is made.
In order for the Swedish Migration Agency to be able to make a decision in your case, all information must be completed and all necessary documents must be included. This means that the processing time is shorter if everything needed is included from the beginning, than if the application is supplemented afterwards.
Please note that in some cases, the Swedish Migration Agency may need to investigate an application further even though all the documents have been included.
Pending a decision
The decision must be issued before you travel to Sweden. While you are waiting on a decision, you can apply for an entry visa to temporarily visit Sweden. It is the embassy in the country you live in that reviews your application for an entry visa and an individual assessment is always done. A prerequisite for being granted an entry visa is that the embassy deems that your intention is to leave Sweden when your visa expires. If you are granted an entry visa to visit, it is important that you return home when it expires and wait there for a decision in your residence permit case. A residence permit cannot normally be granted if you are in Sweden.
You can only apply for a visa at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general in the country that you are in. In countries where Sweden does not have its own embassy or consulate-general, Sweden cooperates with other member states. When other member states represent Sweden, that country’s rules apply. Other countries may have a different practice that prevents you from obtaining a visa while you are waiting for your application for a residence and work permit in Sweden to be decided on.
If you have a visa exemption and are waiting on a decision for a residence permit, you can also visit Sweden temporarily.
The Swedish Migration Agency does not recommend that you apply for a residence permit for a visit that is valid for stays that exceed 90 days in Sweden, as you cannot be granted two residence permits at the same time. The Swedish Migration Agency will make a decision in the case that is the most advantageous for you. If an application for a residence permit for a visit is submitted in Sweden you run the risk of having your application for a residence permit in order to move to someone rejected. If you are outside Sweden, you must wait until a decision is made in the application that is most advantageous for you. This may mean that the dates that you apply for a residence permit for a visit may have passed when the decision is made. The Swedish Migration Agency therefore recommends that you do not apply for a residence permit for a visit in these cases.
If the extension of your visit to Sweden cannot wait, you can request that your application for a residence permit to move to your family member be revoked. You will then need to submit a completely new application for a residence permit to move to someone after you have returned home from your visit to Sweden.
If you change your mind and no longer want to apply
If you want to withdraw your application, you must say so in a written letter to the Swedish Migration Agency. In the letter, you must state your name, date of birth, personal identity number (if you have one) and your case number. Also state your telephone number and address so that the Swedish Migration Agency can reach you if we have any questions. You must sign the letter. If you have given a power of attorney to someone, that person can withdraw the application on your behalf.
6
Receiving the decision
If you have given somebody authorisation to represent you, that person can appeal on your behalf. He or she will let you know what is in the decision.
If you have not given a power of attorney to anyone, the embassy or consulate-general will contact you once the decision is made. If you want to know the full decision, you must visit the embassy or consulate-general.
You must then bring your passport.
Residence permit card
If you come from a third country whose citizens are required to have a visa to enter Sweden you will need the residence permit card when you travel to Sweden. You will therefore be photographed and asked to provide your fingerprints in connection with the visit to the embassy or consulate-general.
Your residence permit card will be sent to the embassy or consulate-general you visited when you did your interview. You will then receive the card from them. Ask the embassy or consulate-general if they will send you the residence permit card or if you need to visit them to pick it up. In order for the residence permit card to be sent to someone in Sweden, that person must have a power of attorney in your case and you must notify the Swedish Migration Agency well in advance of the decision that the card should be sent there.
If you do not need a visa to travel to Sweden, you can travel without the residence permit card and provide documentation for a residence permit card at the Swedish Migration Agency after you have arrived in Sweden.