How to apply

The description below applies to you if you are the citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA and wish to move to live with a family member who is also a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA or is a Swedish citizen.

Applying online

How to proceed (for applications on paper forms, see further down):

1. Prepare your documentation Check which documents and personal data you require. The Swedish Migration Agency gives priority to applications that are completed in full, and you get a decision sooner.

Read more under ‘Required documents’.

2. Applying 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

3. Your family member must answer questions Your family member has to fill 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.

4. Visit the embassy 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.

You make an appointment by email, please send an email on Ambassaden.abu-dhabi-migration@gov.se, you will be then put on queue for interview and you will be contacted directly by the Embassy afterwards to arrange a time for interview.

At the embassy, you have to prove your identity by showing your passport, and you 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 may need to be photographed and fingerprinted for the residence permit card you will receive if you are granted a residence permit. This also applies to children.

You can find the address of the embassy under ‘Contact’ in the menu on the left.

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 Agecny, and your application may be rejected.

5. Wait for the decision 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.

6. Wait for the residence permit card If you are granted a residence permit, you will be issued with a residence permit card.

If you need a visa to enter Sweden The card is ordered automatically if you have already been photographed and fingerprinted. If you have not been photographed and fingerprinted, you should visit the embassy. Please bring your original passport. For biometrics, you can visit the Embassy during the Migration reception on Tuesdays between 09:00 and 11:00

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 here, you can collect it without making an appointment during the Migration reception on Tuesdays between 09:00 and 11:00.You must bring your passport with you and you must come in person for collection, Children over 2 years old must be present as well.

If you do not need a visa to enter Sweden If you have been granted a residence permit and do not require a visa, you travel to Sweden and arrange for the card there. Contact the Swedish Migration Agency to have your photograph and fingerprints taken.

Applying on a paper form

How to proceed:

1. Prepare your documentation Check which documents and personal data you need. The Swedish Migration Agency gives priority to applications that are completed in full, and you get a decision sooner.

Read more under ‘Required documents’ and on the Swedish Migration Agency website.

2. Pay the application fee you can pay for your application by a credit card by using your Visa or MasterCard or a bank transfer.

A bank deposit payment is also acceptable. Please bring hardcopy with you at time of application in the Embassy.

Here is the banking details:

Bank: Emirates NBD

Account name: Embassy of Sweden in Abu Dhabi

Account no: 1012081621902

IBAN: AE94 0260 0010 1208 1621 902

Branch name: Electra Street Branch, Abu Dhabi

Read more under ‘Fees’.

3. Present your application at the embassy You must first have an appointment, appointments are given by email only. Please send an email to Ambassaden.abu-dhabi-migration@gov.se

Bring alonog the completed application form together with all your documents and the receipt of payment.

You can find the address of the embassy under ‘Contact’ in the menu on the left.

4. Visit the embassy At the embassy, you 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.

You may 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 sent 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.

5. Wait for the decision The Swedish Migration Agency’s decision will be sent to your family member in Sweden, if you have authorised him or her to represent you.

6. Wait for the residence permit card If you are granted a residence permit, you will be issued with a residence permit card. You arrange for the card in the same way as described above under ‘Applying online’.