Below comes a brief explanation of the process of applying for a residence permit. For more detailed information and a list of the required documents, please follow the link to the website of the Swedish Migration Agency.
Moving to someone in Sweden - Swedish Migration Agency (migrationsverket.se)
How to proceed:
Check which documents and personal data you require. A complete application will get processed quicker.
Read more under ‘Required documents’.
Follow the Swedish Migration Agency’s instructions for applying online over the Internet. You attach documents electronically and pay the application fee using a VISA card or a MasterCard.
Swedish Migration Agency web application
Your family member fills in a questionnaire. Once you have sent in your application, he or she will automatically receive an email with instructions. The family member must reply to the questions within two weeks.
Wait for the email you receive asking you to make an appointment at the embassy. Only then will the Swedish Migration Agency have gone through both your application and your family member’s replies and have transferred your case to the Embassy.
Once you have been prompted to do so you are welcome to contact the Embassy by phone or email. You will then get an appointment.
You can find the address and contact information of the Embassy under "Contact" in the menu.
At the Embassy, you have to prove your identity by showing your passport, and most applicants will be interviewed. Children applying for a residence permit are also interviewed. If the child is too young or too immature, the person looking after the child is interviewed instead.
Bring along the originals of the documents you attached to your online application. In its email, the Swedish Migration Agency may also have asked you to bring additional documents with you.
You will also be photographed and fingerprinted for the residence permit card you will receive if you are granted a residence permit. This also applies to children.
After the interview, your case is transferred back to the Migration Agency in Sweden. If you have neither attended the interview nor made contact with the embassy, your case is nevertheless sent to the Swedish Migration Agency, and your application may be rejected.
When the Swedish Migration Agency has reached its decision, you will be informed of this by email. The actual decision will be sent to your family member in Sweden, if you have authorised him or her to represent you. Otherwise you will be informed of the decision by the Embassy, which will contact you by calling the telephone number you provided when applying for a residence permit.
If you are granted a residence permit, you will be issued with a residence permit card.
It can take up to four weeks for the residence permit card to be made and delivered to the Embassy. Once the card has arrived The Embassy will contact you and give you a date for collection. You must bring your passport with you.
Applying with a paper application at the embassy
An applicant unable to apply online follow the same steps as above with the following exception.
Instead of step 2. Above, filling in the application form online, you contact the embassy and request an appointment. The Embassy will usually give you an appointment within a week or two.
After getting an appointment from the Embassy, you need to deposit the appropriate application fees by visiting the Standard Chartered Bank (North Gulshan Branch) and then visit the Embassy at the given appointment date.
Bring your prepared documents, payment receipt and your passport in original. The Embassy will register your application and forward it to the Migration Agency in Sweden. The rest of the process is the same as above.
Read more under ‘Fees’.