Work Permit With Family

If you are a citizen of a non-EU country and are a family member of a person who has a work permit, you can get a residence permit for the same period. If the permit is for more than six months, you can also get a work permit.

Who counts as a family member?

The following are counted as family members: wife, husband, cohabiting partner, registered partner and unmarried children under the age of 21. Unmarried children who are 21 years or older can be given a permit in certain cases. The requirement is that they are being supported financially by you or your partner.

Children born in Sweden

If you have a child that was born in Sweden you must apply for a residence permit for your child. The child can not get a permit until he or she has a passport, but you can send in an application and complete it with a copy of the passport later. You must also register the child’s nationality with the Swedish Tax Agency.

Main­te­nance requi­re­ment

Your close relative with a residence permit to work in Sweden, is subject to a maintenance requirement. This means that he or she must have enough income to cover the cost of housing and living expenses for him- or herself and the family members. The maintenance requirement does not apply when you family apply for an extension.

How to apply

If the whole family applies at the same time, it is the person who has the employment who applies for the family in their own online application.

If that person is already in Sweden, you can make your own online application as a family member from your home country or any other country outside Sweden where you live.

When you submit an online application, the employee in Sweden must have a residence permit.

You will probably be required to pay a fee.

Enclose the following docu­ments with your appli­ca­tion

• copies of the pages in your passport showing your personal details, the passport’s period of validity and whether you have residence permits for countries other than your home country. If your passport is about to expire, you should renew it as you cannot obtain a permit for longer than the validity of your passport.
• a copy of a marriage certificate or the equivalent (applies to married couples and registered partners)
• proof of national registration, a lease or proof of purchase for your residence, or another document showing that you have been living together in your home country (applies to cohabiting partners)
• the form Frågeformulär om försörjning och bostad, filled in by the person in Sweden and with the documents required to prove that the person in Sweden can support him- or herself and the family.

Make sure that the information on the documents you enclose is clearly visible. Check that the numbers and characters at the top and bottom of the passport pages is clear and legible.

If you have children under the age of 18 who are moving to Sweden with you, you must also enclose

• a copy of the child’s passport, showing their personal data, photograph, signature (if applicable), passport number, country issuing the passport, the period of the passport’s validity and whether the child has permission to live in countries other than their country of origin. If the child’s passport is about to expire, it should be renewed as the child cannot obtain a permit for longer than the validity of the passport
• birth certificate or equivalent document on which the parents’ names appear
• consent from the other custodial parent that the child may move to Sweden, if the other custodial parent is not moving with them to Sweden. It must be clear for what time the child is allowed to stay in Sweden. A copy of the other custodial parent’s passport or other ID documents must also be enclosed
• court decision if you have sole custody or death certificate if the other parent is deceased
• adoption documents if the child was adopted.

Conclusion

You can apply for an extension while you are in Sweden. If the whole family applies for an extension at the same time, it is the employee who applies for the family in their own web application.

If the employee has already been granted an extension, you can make your application in the e-service.

If your family member is granted a permanent residence permit, different requirements apply for him or her when you apply for a residence permit at the same time. In most cases it is a requirement that the employee meets a maintenance requirement. This means that in addition to a sufficiently large income he or she also needs to have a home that is of an adequate size and standard for all of you to live in.

If you intend to apply for an extension at the same time as the employee has or is intending to apply for a permanent residence permit, you must therefore enclose

• documents showing that your family member’s income is sufficient to support the whole family financially and that he or she has a home of sufficient size and standard for all of you to live in.