Residence Permits

You must apply for a residence permit before you enter Sweden. You must submit your application to a Visa Chancellery of a Swedish Embassy or a Swedish Consulate in the country you are residing or to a Visa Chancellery of a Swedish embassy close to you.

A temporary residence permit gives you the right to enter and stay in Sweden during the period specified on the permit. However, it does not give you the right to work unless the residence permit is combined with a work permit. A permanent residence permit gives you the right to enter, stay and work in Sweden for an unlimited period. Both temporary and permanent residence permits allow you to stay in other Schengen States for a period of not more than three months. 

Residence permits may be granted for the purpose of:

• A visit or a permanent stay based on family ties in Sweden
• A work or a study 
• A self-employment

Residence permit cards

If you receive a residence permit after 20 May 2011, you will be given a residence permit card. The card will have a chip where your biometric data will be stored. The UT card is proof of your residence permit. It is not an ID card or a travel document. When you enter Sweden, you must therefore show your UT card along with a valid passport. It will no longer be possible to get stickers inserted into passports.

If you are applying for a residence permit you will be photographed and will need to submit finger prints in connection with:
 
• submitting your application;
• during your interview (if you are called to one); or
• when you receive your residence permit.
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Family ties
A person who has an intention to live in Sweden must apply for a residence permit. It applies for a person who wants to live with his/her partner, a child under 18 years of age who wants to re-unite with his parents or other close relative who lives in Sweden.

The person who is the referent must be a Swedish citizen or have a permanent residence permit in Sweden.

Attention! From the 15 April 2010, the Swedish Riksdag has decided to institute maintenance requirements for relatives moving to Sweden. For more information, click here. The information is available in English and Swedish. 

If you want to live with a partner or a relative in Sweden you must apply for a residence permit. The Visa Chancellery will perform an interview with you. Your application and a copy of your interview will be sent to the Migration Board in Sweden for processing. The Migration Board will contact the referent person in Sweden to perform a similar interview or to fill in questionnaires, before a decision is reached. When a decision is taken, it will be sent to the Visa Chancellery where the applicant may receive it together with the permit.

The following documents are required:
Attention! All document should be submitted in two copies.

• Application for residence permit, completed, dated and signed. The applications must be filled in in Swedish or English.
  
  
• Two [2] coloured photographs, size 35x45 mm, recent and of true likeness, showing full face, taken against a plain, evenly lit and light background
  
  
• International passport and copies of all pages in the passport.
  
  
• Domestic passport (for ukrainian citizens).
  

• If you are married/registered partners, you should bring a marriage certificate/certificate of registered partnership in original and enclose a copy of this. If the marriage was concluded in Ukraine, the marriage certificate must be translated into English and verified by a notary public.
  
  
• If you live together abroad in a common law spouse relationship you should enclose documentation that proves that you are registered at the same address.
  
  
• Personbevis (civic registration certificate) from the reference person in Sweden. It must not be older than 3 months and for married couples the marriage should be evident from the civic registration certificate.
  
  
• Divorce certificate from earlier marriages and translation of it into English or Swedish.
  
  
• If you are not married or live together in a common law spouse relationship you should also enclose other documents which may prove the seriousness of the relationship (photographs, e-mail, telephone bills etc.).
  
  
• Application fee. The fee is 1500 SEK for adults and 750 SEK for children under 18. The fee should be paid in UAH(USD for Georgian citizens). Click here for fees.

Attention! For children under 18 years the original and a copy of a written consent to  settlement in Sweden from the parents/legal custodians and the original and a copy of the birth certificate are required. The written consent must have a stamp of notary public. If there is only one legal custodian, this should be proved by a decision from court, death certificate, or any other document proving this (orginal and copy together with a translation).

Visiting researchers
In order to be granted a residence permit as a visiting researcher in Sweden you must show that you have a hosting agreement with an approved research organisation.

A hosting agreement shows that the visiting researcher has undertaken to conduct a research assignment and that the research organisation hosts the visiting researcher. It must be signed by both parties. You will find forms for Hosting agreement in Swedish (form no. 230011) and english (231011) at the home page www.migrationsverket.se .

The hosting agreement must also contain details of:

• Purpose, duration and funding of the research project.
• The visiting researcher’s qualifications to complete the assignment
• The visiting researcher’s terms and conditions of engagement
• Comprehensive health insurance if the researcher will stay for less than one year in Sweden
• Sufficient funds for maintenance of the visiting researcher during the stay in Sweden and for the return journey. For more information about the amounts applicable, see the website of the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education at www.hsv.se

The following documents are required in two copies:

• Application form (126011 in Swedish or 127011 in English), completed, filled in in Swedish or English, dated and signed.

• International passport and copies of all pages in the passport.

• Two [2] coloured photographs, size 35x45 mm, recent and of true likeness, showing full face, taken against a plain, evenly lit and light background.

• A hosting agreement in original or a certified copy (signed by both the research organisation and the visiting reseracher).

• Application fee. The fee is 1000 SEK, which should be paid in UAH(USD for Georgian citizens). Click here for fees. No fee is charged for applications from students at the World Maritime University in Malmö or students who have received scholarships for studies in Sweden from SIDA, the Swedish Institute or other Swedish international organizations.

Residence permit for studies at a Swedish college, high-school or university
You can find information about residence permits for studies in Sweden under the headline "Study in Sweden".

Self-employed persons
If you stay in Sweden for more than three months in order to start a company or enter into a company partnership you must have a residence permit. As a self-employed person, however, you do not require a work permit.

The following documents are required:

• A commercial evaluation is needed in order to establish that your business plans are realistic. In addition, we must determine whether your business is expected to achieve satis factory profitability.
  
  
• There must be a documentary evidence that you have an access to the capital needed to establish or purchase a company.
  
  
• You must be able to support yourself and your family for at least one year in Sweden.
  
  
• You must supply a detailed documentation of your business plans. You must submit a market forecast, a profit and a liquidity budget, and a properly budgeted balance sheet. You must also give the details of your customer references, banking connections, experience in the field concerned, and any training or education you may have received. If you have purchased an existing company, you must enclose the two most recent annual reports with your application.
  
  
• You must also enclose a report/statement of opinion from an approved/authorized accountant in Sweden concerning your company plans. This should make clear whether the plans are realistic and whether a company is expected to make a reasonable profit. You have to pay the accountant’s costs in this respect yourself.
  
  
• Application form, completed, dated and signed.
  
  
• International passport and copies of all pages in the passport.
  
  
• Two [2] coloured photographs, size 35x45 mm, recent and of true likeness, showing full face, taken against a plain, evenly lit and light background.
  
  
• Application fee. The fee is 2000 SEK, which should be paid in UAH(USD for Georgian citizens). Click here for fees.

For further information please contact the Visa Chancellery (see open hours below). You may also contact the Swedish Migration Board.

Click here for open hours Visa Chancellery