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/consulate Wait for an email from the Swedish Migration Agency 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 contacting the Embassy by email

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 here

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.

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. Otherwise you will be informed of the decision by the Embassy, which will contact you on the telephone number or e-mail you provided when applying for a residence permit.

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 residence permiet card is ordered automatically once a positive decision is made if you have already been photographed and fingerprinted. If you have not been photographed and fingerprinted, you should visit the Migration reception at the Embassy by appointment. Once given an appointment confirm it and bring your passport.

It can take up to four weeks for the residence permit card to delivered to the Embassy. Once the card has arrived at the Embassy, you can collect it by appointment. You must bring your passport with you. If you want to know whether your card has reached the Embassy, you can contact us by telephone during our phone hours, Monday-Thursday between 3.00 - 4.00 p.m., or by email. Please state your file/control number when contacting the embassy.

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. 

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

2. Pay the application fee The application fee must be paid by the applicant to the Embassy account please read more about it under fees

3. Present your application at the Embassy You can submit an application in person at the Embassy of Sweden. To submit your application please e-mail us to book an appointment. 

The Embassy will only receive the application, application fee and related documents and forward it to the Swedish Migration Agency for processing.

4. Visit the Embassy Once the Swedish Migration Agency has started to process your case, the applicant for a residence permit will receive a notification to make an appointment for an interview at the embassy. In connection with that visit, the applicant will also be photographed, provide fingerprints and passport and other original documents will be checked.

After the interview, your case is sent to the Migration Agency in Sweden who will then take a decision in the case. 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 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 on the telephone number or e-mail you provided when applying for a residence permit.

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’.