You want to apply Family of an employee or self-employed person who apply afterwards

You are a family member of a person who has applied for or have been granted a work permit, an EU Blue Card, an ICT permit, a permit for research, or a permit as a self-employed person. You now want to apply for a residence permit to live with this person in Sweden.

  • Important to know
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Citizens of countries outside the EU/EEA in most cases need a residence permit to live with someone in Sweden.

If you are a family member of someone who already has been granted a work permit, an EU Blue Card, an ICT permit, a permit for research, or a permit as a self-employed person, you can submit your own application afterwards.

“Family members” of an employee are considered to include spouses, cohabiting partners, registered partners, and unmarried children under the age of 21.

In certain cases, unmarried children who are 21 years of age or older can be granted a permit. In such cases, it must be determined that they depend on you or your partner for their financial maintenance.

The category “family member of a self-employed person, researcher, ICT permit holder and EU Blue Card holder” includes spouses, cohabiting partners, registered partners, and unmarried children under the age of 18.

These requirements must be met in order for you to be granted a residence permit:

You must have a valid passport

The family member in Sweden must have or have applied for a permit as an employeeor self-employed person

The family member in Sweden must be able to support you financially
When you apply for a residence permit to live with a family member who has been granted a permit as an employee or self-employed person, they are subject to a maintenance requirement. This means that they must have an income that allows them to financially support themselves and their family.

To meet the maintenance requirement, your family member in Sweden must have an income that can cover housing costs and living expenses for themselves and their family members.

 

In the first instance, the Swedish Migration Agency looks at this person’s income from salary/wages, but if this is insufficient, it is also possible to count income from business activities or personal wealth.

The following types of income count

  • taxed income from the employment for which they have been granted a permit
  • parental benefits or sickness benefits, provided that they have ongoing employment and their parental leave or sick leave is not assessed to be longer than 18 months
  • income from business activities assets.

Amount of income

Your family member’s income after tax must be high enough so that after paying their monthly rent, they still have a certain amount of money left over that can cover the costs of food, clothing, hygiene, telephone, and insuring everyone in their household, among other things.

For 2024, the amount they must have left after paying their rent is:

  • SEK 6,186 for a single adult
  • SEK 10,219 for cohabiting spouses or cohabiting partners
  • SEK 3,306 for children 0–6 years of age
  • SEK 3,967 for children 7–10 years of age
  • SEK 4,5629 for children 11–14 years of age
  • SEK 5,290 for children 15 years of age or older.

 

If your family member in Sweden has a child with which they do not live, and they pay child maintenance to the child’s other parent, their salary/wages must also be sufficient to cover their child maintenance.

Housing costs

The housing costs that the salary/wages must be sufficient to cover each month depend on the type of home in which your family member lives:

  • If they live in a rented flat, they must include both the rent and the cost of heating and water in this calculation, if these are not included in the rent.
  • If they live in a tenant-owner flat, they must include any fees paid to the tenant-owner association and the interest on any home loans in your calculation. They must also include necessary operating costs (such as water and heating), if these are not included in the monthly fee.
  • If they live in a freestanding house, they must include the interest rate for any home loans and necessary operating costs (such as water and heating) in their calculation.

Amortisation of home loans is not included in housing costs. They also do not need to include the cost of electricity in their calculation, as this cost is included in the so-called “standard amount”.
The person in Sweden must calculate their total, actual housing costs.

What income does not count?

They may not count income from

  • a family member
  • unemployment insurance (unemployment benefits) or an activity allowance
  • various forms of grants or scholarships
  • subsidised employment (for example, when the Swedish Social Insurance Agency or the Swedish Public Employment Service pays all or part of the salary/wages)
  • undeclared work or employment without the legal right to work.

Your family member in Sweden must show that they have enough money of their own to support themselves and their family, corresponding to SEK 200,000 for themselves, SEK 100,000 for you as an accompanying spouse, and SEK 50,000 for each accompanying child. This money must be sufficient for the entire permit period, which is normally two years.

A person with a residence permit as a researcher or who possesses an EU Blue Card does not need to meet any maintenance requirement when their family applies for a residence permit.

Translate documents
All submitted documents should be in Swedish or English. If you have translated your documents, the translation should be certified. You must also include a copy of the document in its original language.

Plan which embassy to visit to present your passport
You may need to present your passport at an embassy before you can receive a decision. In the application, you must therefore state which embassy you want to visit. Not all Swedish embassies and consulates-general handle migration cases, so it is important to check which one you should contact:

You must attach copies of these documents to your application

Make sure that the information on your submitted documents is clearly visible.

Correctly made copies of your passport
You can never be granted a permit for longer than your passport is valid.
Read more about what the passport copies must show

Documents showing your relationship
If you are married: marriage certificate, marriage record, or similar document.

If you are cohabiting partners: documents showing that you have lived together, such as population registration certificates, a joint rental contract, or proof of the joint purchase of a home.

Completed questionnaire about financial maintenance and housing
The form Questionnaire on maintenance and housing – completed by the person in Sweden and with the attachments required to show that the person can support themselves and their family.

Examples of documents that can be attached include rental agreements, purchase contracts, and notices, as well as income information for the person in Sweden, such as employment contracts and payslips.

Questionnaire on maintenance and housing (102511) Pdf, 1.2 MB.

A representative can apply for you, if you grant them power of attorney. In that case, the person who applies for you must attach a copy of the power of attorney to your application.

Power of attorney (107011) Pdf, 1.1 MB.

Read more about power of attorney

Correctly made copies of your child’s passport
Your child can never be granted a residence permit for longer than their passport is valid.
Read more about what the passport copies must show

Birth record or birth certificate stating the names of the child’s parents

Sole custody decision
If you have sole custody of your child, you must attach a court decision to this effect. If the other parent is deceased, you must submit a death certificate.

Consent that the child may move to Sweden
If a child has two parents/legal guardians and the child’s other parent/legal guardian will be remaining in their country of origin, you must attach a statement of consent from the other parent/legal guardian to the application. You must also attach a copy of the other parent or legal guardian’s passport or other identity document.

Consent for a child to settle in Sweden (217011) Pdf, 1.1 MB.

Adoption documents, if your child is adopted

Documentation showing that a child over age 21 is dependent on you or their other parent for their financial maintenance
If you are a family member of an employee with a work permit, children up to the age of 21 can apply for a permit as a family member. In some cases, children over the age of 21 can also be granted a permit, but then they must be dependent on their parents for their financial maintenance. In these cases, you need to attach documentation showing that the child or children is/are dependent on you or their other parent for their financial maintenance.

Other rules apply if you are a citizen of the EU/EEA or Switzerland, or if you have long-term resident status in another EU country.

EU/EEA citizens with right of residence

If you are an EU/EEA citizen, you have the right to live in another EU/EEA country if you fulfil the requirements for right of residence through work, your own company, your studies, or by having sufficient funds to support yourself. If you have right of residence, you do not need to apply for a residence permit to live in Sweden.

EU/EEA citizens

Swiss citizens

If you are a citizen of Switzerland, you can move to Sweden to work, study, start your own business, or live on your own funds. If you want to remain in Sweden for longer than three months, you must apply for a residence permit for Swiss citizens.

You want to apply – Swiss citizens

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country, you can move to Sweden to work, study or live on your own funds. If you plan to stay longer than three months, you need to apply for a residence permit for long-term residents.

You want to apply – Long-term residents in another EU country

You can be granted a residence permit for the same period as your family member in Sweden, but never longer than your passport is valid.
The residence permit can be extended.

Adult family members: SEK 1,500
Children: SEK 750

It is not possible to say exactly how long you will need to wait for a decision. There are many things that affect the waiting time, for example whether your application is complete to begin with or whether we need to request more information, or whether we need to check with other authorities when investigating your case.

Here we show statistics on how long it has taken for people who have applied for the same permit as you.

Complete applications

75% of applications receive a decision within:3 months

Incomplete applications

75% of applications receive a decision within:13 months

If you are applying for a residence permit for the first time, you must do so from outside Sweden, otherwise your application may be rejected. Your residence permit must be granted and issued before you enter Sweden.

If the application is for a child who was born in Sweden, it is possible to get a residence permit even if your child is already in Sweden. However, this rule does not apply if either parent has an ICT permit, an EU Blue Card, or a permit for research in Sweden.

Yes, as a close relative of a person with a permit as an employee or self-employed person in Sweden, you will be granted a permit to work while you have a residence permit. This applies to adults and children who will reach the age of 16 (at minimum) during the current year.

News

2025-03-05

The Swedish Migration Agency's new website has now been launched

On 5 March, the Swedish Migration Agency launched a completely new version of migrationsverket.se, with a new structure and a more user-friendly navigation. The purpose of the new website is primarily to make it easier for visitors to find the information they need.

2025-01-07

New EU Blue Card rules now apply

As of 1 January, new requirements and rules apply for anyone who wants to apply for an EU Blue Card and existing Blue Card holders.

The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for considering applications from people who want to live in Sweden, seek protection or become Swedish citizens. Our work is based on Swedish laws and international conventions, with a focus on legal certainty and effective reception and return.