You want to extend Children living with someone in Sweden

You want to apply for an extension of a residence permit for a child who was born in Sweden, or who has moved to Sweden to live with a parent or another relative.

  • Important to know
  • How it works
  • Apply

On this page, you can find information about how to extend the residence permit of a child who

  • was born in Sweden
  • moved to Sweden alone, to live with a parent here
  • moved to Sweden alone, to live with another relative.

You can apply for an extension of the child’s residence permit. If the child has lived in Sweden with a residence permit for at least three years, you can also choose to apply for a permanent residence permit at the same time.

The conditions under which the child’s residence permit was originally granted must still be met
Among other things, this means that the child still lives with the person for whom they moved to Sweden.

The child must have a valid passport
Keep in mind that your child can never be granted a residence permit for longer than their passport is valid.

Requirements for the child to get a permanent residence permit

The child must meet the requirements for an extended residence permit

The child must live a well-behaved life (applies to children over age 15).

If the child is over 15 years of age, it is important that they cannot be expected to commit a crime in the future, should they be granted a permanent residence permit in Sweden. It is therefore required that children over 15 years of age who apply for a permanent residence permit must live a well-behaved life. To be able to assess this, the Swedish Migration Agency needs to look at how the child has behaved in their life so far, for example whether they have been convicted or suspected of any crime in Sweden or abroad.

There are no detailed rules on the types of crimes or the length of the penalty that may prevent a child from being granted a permanent residence permit. It is not only serious crimes that are taken into account. Even less serious ones can be an obstacle, if the child misbehaved in other ways at the same time.

If there is reason to suspect that a child will not live a well-behaved life in the future, the Swedish Migration Agency will weigh these concerns against the reasons for granting them a permanent residence permit. Here, we take the nature of a child’s misbehaviour into account and consider how long ago the events took place.

You must attach copies of these documents to the child’s application. Make sure that the information on your submitted documents is clearly visible.

Correctly made copies of the child’s passport

If the child’s passport is about to expire, you should extend it, because the child cannot get a permit for longer than their passport is valid.

Read more about what the passport copies must show

You can apply for an extension of the child’s residence permit no more than two months before the current permit will expire. You must apply before the current permit expires.

The child can be granted a residence permit for a maximum of two years, but never for longer than their passport is valid.

If the child receives a permanent residence permit, it is valid as long as the child is resident in Sweden.

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.

Children who will live with a parent

75% of applications receive a decision within:11 months

Children who will be living with a relative who is not their parent

75% of applications receive a decision within:1 months

Children born in Sweden

75% of applications receive a decision within:1 months

Adults: SEK 2,000
Children under 18 years of age: SEK 1,000

The following people pay no fee to apply:

  • family members of EU/EEA citizens. In this context, Swedes do not count as EU citizens
  • EU/EEA citizens who are applying for a residence permit
  • Swiss citizens and their family members
  • Japanese citizens
  • husbands, wives, cohabiting partners, registered partners and unmarried children under the age of 18 who are applying for a residence permit to live with a family member who has been granted a residence permit in Sweden due to their need for protection or exceptionally distressing circumstances.

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.

2024-12-16

Now you can see your complete deci­sion on My Page

If you are waiting for a decision from the Swedish Migration Agency, you can now see the complete decision on My page. Previously, you have only been able to see if the decision is positive or negative, and the justification has only been sent home to you in paper format.

2024-11-26

Citi­zens of Kazak­hstan, Kyrgyz­stan, Taji­kistan, Turk­me­nistan and Uzbe­kistan will from 2 December 2024 contact the Swedish Consu­late General in Istanbul

Until now citizens of, or persons otherwise legally residing in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, have had their applications for residence- and work permit handled by the Swedish Embassy in Moscow. From December 2 2024 you will instead have your applications handled by the Swedish Consulate General in Istanbul.

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.