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 in Sweden 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 consulate Migration Agency will send you an e-mail. Wait for the email you receive asking you to make an appointment at the Consulate. 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 Consulate.

Click here to book an appointment for interview

Please note that you can not have two appointments at the same time at two embassies/Consulates. If you contact another Embassy or Consulate to book an appointment and obtain another appointment time, your booking in the Consulate will automatically be cancelled.

At the Consulate, you have to prove your identity by showing your passport, and you will be interviewed. Children applying for a residence permit are also interviewed.

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.

You can find the address of the Consulate under ‘Contact’

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 Consulate, 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.

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

It can take up to four weeks for the residence permit card to be made and delivered to the Consulate. Once the card has arrived here, you should visit the Consulate during the visiting hours. Do not forget to bring your passport.

Applying on a paper form

If you cannot or do not want to apply online, you apply on a paper form that you submit to the Consulate.

1. Prepare the 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’

2. Pay the application fee Payment must be made at the Consulate. Please bring exact change.

Read more under ‘Fees’.

3. Present an application at the Consulate After you have booked an appointment online bring all the documents to the Consulate.

Click here if you want to book an appointment to hand in your application

You can find the Consulate's address under ‘Contact’

The Consulate sends your documents to the Migration Agency in Sweden.

4. Interview Migration Agency will send you an e-mail. Wait for the email you receive asking you to make an appointment for an interview at the Consulate. 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 Consulate.

Click here to book an appointment for interview

At the Consulate, you have to prove your identity by showing your passport, and you will be interviewed. Children applying for a residence permit are also interviewed.

Bring along the originals. 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 Consulate under ‘Contact’

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 Consulate, your case is nevertheless sent to the Swedish Migration Agency, and your application may be rejected.

5. Wait for a decision You can check the status of your case from the Migration Agency website with your file number. At the same time, your family member in Sweden will be informed of the decision. After your decision has been made you can contact the Consulate.

6. Arrange for a residence permit card If you are granted a permit for more than three months, you will receive a residence permit card. You arrange for the card in the same way as described above under ‘Applying online’.

Important:

If you want to apply for a residence permit to move to someone in Sweden, submit your application online, all information will be received by the Swedish Migration Agency directly. The processing can then begin more quickly as the application does not need to be sent to Sweden from the embassy or consulate.

Read more on the Swedish Migration Agency’s website