The Swedish Migration Agency answers: In what ways can you move to Sweden to be with your family?

In the first half of 2024, close family ties to someone in Sweden was the second largest basis for granting a resident permit in Sweden. The term “family immigration” is used somewhat commonly among the general public and in the media. But what does it actually mean – and can a person who lives here bring their family here in any other way?

Tempo­rary resi­dence permits on the grounds of close family ties

Moving in with a close relative is a common reason for settling in Sweden; in the first half of 2024, it was the second largest reason for moving here, after work permits. If you are a citizen of a third country, i.e. from outside the EU, you need a residence permit to move to Sweden to be with your family. The citizenship or permit of the family member in Sweden must have may vary, but you must either have

• Swedish citizenship,
• a permanent residence permit,
• permanent right of residence,
• a permanent residence card, or
• a temporary residence permit as a refugee or person eligible for subsidiary protection, based either on impediments to enforcement or special or exceptionally distressing circumstances.

The points above apply if the family member moving to Sweden wishes to apply for a residence permit in accordance with Swedish rules. However, it is possible to move to Sweden according to regulations that apply throughout the EU/EEA, if the person living in Sweden is a citizen of the EU/EEA. In this case, the family member does not need to apply for a residence permit, but can instead apply for a residence card. A Swedish citizen is not considered to be an EU/EEA citizen in this case, so family members of a Swedish citizen cannot apply for a residence card.

Read about the rules for close relatives of EU/EEA citizens

Main­te­nance requi­re­ment

The person who already lives in Sweden, your sponsor, must meet a maintenance requirement in terms of both housing and income. The sponsor must have a home that is of sufficient size and standard for themselves, the family members who want to move here, and any other people in the household. The sponsor must also be able to financially support everyone who will be living together.

The resi­dence permit is valid for two years

A residence permit on the basis of close family ties can be granted for a maximum of two years at a time, or for a shorter period if the applicant’s passport will expire in less than two years. Once you have had a residence permit and lived in Sweden for three years, you can apply for a permanent residence permit. In practice, this means that you can apply after no less than four years, because residence permits are granted for two years at a time.

How big your home must be

What is meant by “a home of sufficient size and standard” depends on the size of the family and how many children it includes. For two childless adults, a home is considered large enough if it has a kitchen or kitchenette and at least one room. If children will be living in the home, there must be more rooms – however, two children can share a bedroom. There are no requirements for how big the home must be in square metres.

The person in Sweden must have an income

Your sponsor in Sweden must be able to show that they have a steady income that is sufficient to support everyone who will be living together in the household. An income can be, e.g. salary/wages from work, unemployment insurance, or sickness benefits, and it is permitted to combine several sources of income in order to meet the maintenance requirement.

How much money you must have

The required income depends on how big the family is, as well as the sponsor’s housing costs. Your income after tax must be high enough so that after you pay your monthly housing costs, you still have a certain amount of money left over that can cover the costs of, i.e. food, clothing, personal hygiene, telephony, electricity, and insurance for everyone in the household. The amount is not the same for everyone. It depends on age and the number of people in the family. It also varies from year to year depending on the so-called “standard amount” set by the Swedish Enforcement Authority.

Read more about the maintenance requirement for family member immigration

Requi­re­ments for the family members who are moving to Sweden

It is mainly the person who already lives in Sweden who must meet certain requirements to bring their family here. However, there is a central requirement for the person who wants to move here: they must be able to prove their identity. You normally do this with a valid passport document. However, in some cases you can be granted a residence permit even if you cannot prove your identity, for example if a family with children who have lived together outside Sweden can prove their family relationship.

The person who wants to move here does not need to be able to support themselves financially; it is enough for their sponsor to meet the income and housing requirement.

Other requi­re­ments for exten­sion appli­ca­tions

Once you have been granted a residence permit on the basis of close family ties and moved here, at some point – usually after two years – it will be time to apply for an extension before your current residence permit expires. When you do this, you do not need to meet the same requirements as for the first application. Your sponsor is no longer responsible for the financial maintenance of you and any co-applicant family members. However, anyone extending their permit must be able to show that they intend to continue living with the person with whom they were granted a residence permit to live. To show this, you must fill out a declaration of cohabitation, which means that you have to answer questions about your relationship and housing situation. An extension application also requires a valid passport.

Children born in Sweden are counted as family immi­grants

The “family immigration” category includes more than just people from outside the EU who want to move to Sweden to be with their relatives – children born in Sweden to parents who are non-EU citizens also need to apply for a residence permit on the basis of close family ties.

Other ways to bring your family here

When we talk about family immigration, we are usually talking about being granted a residence permit on the basis of close family ties, as described above. However, there are other ways for a person living in Sweden to bring their family here, for example if they themselves have a residence permit as an employee or student. In this case, a family member can be granted a residence permit to live with the employee or student. Even if this means that they will be living with a close relative in Sweden, they will not normally categorised as “family immigrants”. Instead, they will receive a sub-category of the same type of permit as the person in Sweden has – that is, a work permit or a residence permit for studies.

The requirements for an employee or student to be allowed to bring their family here differ from the requirements to apply for a residence permit on the basis of close family ties.

Requi­re­ments for a resi­dence permit as a close rela­tive of an employee

During the period January–June 2024, employment was the biggest basis for granting a residence permit. Close relatives of employees make up a large proportion of the of the total number of granted work permits – it is thus common for an employee’s family to accompany them to Sweden. Among other things, this is confirmed by the statistics for July 2024, when 906 employees were granted a work permit and 867 close relatives got a residence permit to move to Sweden with them.

See more statistics related to residence permits on the basis of work

A person who has a work permit in Sweden and wants to bring their family here must have an income that covers the cost of housing and the normal amount for themselves and their family members. This is the same normal amount that applies to family immigration.

If the whole family applies at the same time, it is the person who has found a job who applies for the family in their own online application. Otherwise, their family can apply later, once the employee has already arrived in Sweden and started working. If the employee has not yet arrived in Sweden, they are not expected to have arranged accommodation already, and there are therefore no housing costs for the Swedish Migration Agency to take into account when assessing whether they can support their family. In such a case, the Swedish Migration Agency calculates a so-called “standard rent”, i.e. an amount that is used when there is no actual housing cost.

Read more about permits for family members of employees

Requi­re­ments for a resi­dence permit as a close rela­tive of a student

Every year, thousands of people come to Sweden to study or complete their doctorates. If they have family members who want to move here with them, a student can apply for permits for their family in their own residence permit application, if the application is made digitally. If the student has already applied for themselves, their family can also apply for a residence permit retrospectively.

In July 2024, 2,425 residence permits for higher education and 776 residence permit as a close relatives of students were granted.

See more statistics related to residence permits for studies

A family member of a student or doctoral student must demonstrate that they can support themselves financially during their stay, either with their own money or with the student’s help.

Read more about permits for family members of doctoral students

Family immi­gra­tion statistics

In 2021, the Swedish Migration Agency received 33,130 applications for a residence permit to move to Sweden to live with someone. The figures for 2022 and 2023 were 30,830 and 26,870, respectively. The inflow of applications has thus been relatively steady in recent years.

Of the applications received in 2021, 17 290 have been granted. Of the applications received in 2022 and 2023, 15 050 and 9 120 applications have been granted respectively.

Of those who were granted residence permits in 2023 on the basis of close family ties, most came from Syria, followed by Eritrea and Afghanistan.

All figures above refer to first-time applications.

Policy news

In July 2024, the Government commissioned a special investigator to conduct a review of the Swedish regulations for granting residence permits on the basis of close family ties. The purpose of the investigation is to make family immigration to Sweden more restrictive and appropriate.

Among other things, the investigator will take a position on how to limit the opportunities for certain non-Swedish citizens to act as sponsors. The investigator will also propose certain stricter requirements, including with regard to the maintenance requirements and the scope of the circle of relatives for residence permits on the basis of close family ties.

The results of this work will be reported in August 2025, so no changes will take effect in the near future.

Read about the special investigation (in Swedish) External link, opens in new window.