Permit for a family member of a self-employed person in Sweden
If you are a citizen of a non-EU country and a family member of a person who has been given a residence permit as self-employed person, you can get a residence permit for the same period. It must be shown that you are being supported financially. If the permit for the self-employed person is for more than six months, you can also get a work permit.
Who counts as a family member?
The following are counted as family members: wife, husband, cohabiting partner, registered partner and unmarried children under the age of 18.
How to apply
If the whole family applies at the same time, it is the self-employed person who applies for the family in their own online application.
If that person is already in Sweden, you can make your own online application as a family member.
When you submit an online application, the self-employed person in Sweden must have a residence permit.
You will probably be required to pay a fee.
Enclose the following documents with your application
- copies of the pages in your passport showing your personal details, the passport’s period of validity and whether you have residence permits for countries other than your home country. If your passport is about to expire, you should renew it as you cannot obtain a permit for longer than the validity of your passport
- a copy of a marriage certificate or the equivalent (applies to married couples and registered partners)
- proof of national registration, a lease or proof of purchase for your residence, or another document showing that you have been living together in your home country (applies to cohabiting partners)
- a short letter from the person in Sweden in which they confirm that you are going to live together in Sweden, if you are not applying for a permit at the same time.
Make sure that the information on the documents you enclose is clearly visible. Check that the numbers and characters at the top and bottom of the passport pages is clear and legible.
If you have children under the age of 18 who are moving to Sweden with you, you must also enclose
- a copy of the child's passport, showing their personal data, photograph, signature (if applicable), passport number, country issuing the passport, the period of the passport's validity and whether the child has permission to live in countries other than their country of origin. If child's passport is about to expire, it should be renewed as the child cannot obtain a permit for longer than the validity of the passport
- birth certificate or equivalent document on which the parent's names appear
- consent from the other legal guardian that the child may move to Sweden, if the other legal guardian is not moving with them to Sweden. It must be clear for what time the child is allowed to stay in Sweden. A copy of the other legal guardian's passport or other ID documents must also be enclosed
- court decision if you have sole custody or death certificate if the other parent is deceased
- adoption documents if the child was adopted.
You must show your passport
The Swedish Migration Agency must check your passport before a decision can be made. You may therefore need to show your passport at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general if you are outside Sweden, or one of the Migration Agency's service centres if you are in Sweden.
In some cases, you can have your passport checked digitally, instead of showing it in person.
Read more about the digital passport check e-service
In some cases, you will not be required to show your passport, for example, if we have already checked your passport during a previous visit.
If you need to show your passport, we will contact you with information on how and when to do so.
If you need an entry visa or residence permit card to travel to Sweden, you will in most cases have your fingerprints taken and be photographed when you show your passport at an embassy or consulate-general.
The requirement to show your passport in person does not apply to children under the age of five, it is sufficient that the parent brings the child's passport to the visit. However, if the child needs a residence permit card, they must come along to be photographed for it.
Extending a permit
You can apply for an extension while you are in Sweden. If the whole family applies for an extension at the same time, it is the self-employed person who applies for the family in their own web application.
If the employee has already been granted an extension, you can make your application in the e-service.
Extending a permit if the self-employed person has been granted a permanent residence permit
If your family member is granted a permanent residence permit, different requirements apply for him or her when you apply for a residence permit at the same time. In most cases it is a requirement that the self-employed person meets a maintenance requirement.
If you intend to apply for an extension at the same time as the self-employed person has or is intending to apply for a permanent residence permit, you must enclose
- documents showing that your family member’s income is sufficient to support the whole family financially and that he or she has a home of sufficient size and standard for all of you to live in.
Permanent residence permit
To be able to receive a permanent residence permit you must have held a residence permit in Sweden for a minimum of three years. You can apply for a permanent residence permit in connection with an extension of your residence permit. You will then apply as a close relative of a person with a permanent residence permit. You should apply before your current permit expires.
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.
Shorter processing times for complete applications
For the Swedish Migration Agency to make a decision about your application, all the details need to be filled in and all necessary documents enclosed. This means that the processing time will be shorter if all the necessary information is included from the start than if information is added afterwards.
Note that the Migration Agency may in some cases need to further examine your application even if you have included all the required information and documents.
After the decision has been made
The decision is sent to the embassy or consulate-general you selected in your online application. When you are going to collect it, you have to bring your passport.
If you get a permit for more than three months, you are given a residence permit card. The card, which is proof that you have the right to be in Sweden, contains your photo and fingerprints.
If you need an entry visa or residence permit card to travel to Sweden, you will in most cases have your fingerprints taken and be photographed when you show your passport at an embassy or consulate-general. You need to do this even if you have previously had a residence permit card, as your photo and fingerprints are not saved. Contact the embassy or the consulate-general before your visit. When your residence permit card is ready, the embassy or consulate-general will hand over or send the finished card. Bear in mind that it can take up to four weeks to produce and deliver the card to the embassy or consulate-general after you have received your decision. Your residence permit card has to be presented along with a valid passport when you travel to Sweden.
Countries whose citizens need a visa to enter Sweden
External link, opens in new window.
Swedish embassies and consulates-general External link, opens in new window.
Read more about residence permit cards
If you can travel to Sweden without a visa, you should be able to present a copy of the decision when you enter the country. As soon as you come to Sweden, you have to visit the Migration Agency to be fingerprinted and photographed. When your residence permit card is ready, it will be sent to your address in Sweden.
Book an appointment at the Swedish Migration Agency to have your picture and fingerprints taken
Important information about insurance
If you need to seek medical care in Sweden, you may need to pay for the care yourself if you are not registered in Sweden in the Population Register, and do not have a Swedish Personal Identity Number. If you register in the Swedish Population Register, you can also be registered with the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, and covered by the country’s social insurance.
To be registered in the Swedish Population Register and receive a Swedish Personal Identity Number, you generally need to have been granted at least a one-year residence permit in Sweden, and you generally need to be planning to live here for one year or longer. Therefore, you should register in the Population Register as soon as possible after moving to Sweden.
Information about how to register at the Swedish Tax Agency External link, opens in new window.
If the Migration Agency refuses the application
If the Migration Agency refuses your application, you may appeal the decision within three weeks of the day you received it. Information on how to do this can be found in the decision.
This e-service should only be used by you as a family member who wants to submit an application after the self-employed person has already completed his or her application and received their work permit. If you want to apply together with the self-employed person, you must do so in the self-employed persons e-service when he or she makes their application.
If you do not apply online
If you cannot apply online, you must fill out the form Application for permit for family members of employees, researchers, athletes or coaches and self-employed persons, 133011, and submit it to a Swedish embassy or consulate-general in your country of residence. The application form specifies which documents to enclose. Every person who is going to move to Sweden has to make their own application. For children under 18, it is the legal guardian who applies for the child. Contact the embassy or consulate-general before you submit your application.
Swedish embassies and consulates-general External link, opens in new window.
If there is no possibility to submit an application in your country, you must apply at the embassy or consulate-general closest to your country of residence. Contact the embassy or consulate-general before you submit your application for further information.
If you are applying at an embassy or consulate-general, you pay the fee when you hand in your application. For more information about the fee, contact the embassy or consulate-general where you are applying, as they do not have the same fees and terms of payment as the Migration Agency.
