Right to stay and permits

First, two different things

The right to stay says whether you may be in Sweden. Population registration (folkbokföring), run by Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency, says that you live here and gives you a personnummer. They are two procedures at two different agencies. This guide covers the first.

	EU/EEA/Swiss citizen	Non-EU family member	Non-EU citizen
Title	Right of residence (uppehållsrätt)	Residence card (uppehållskort)	Permit (uppehållstillstånd)
Application to Migrationsverket	No	Yes, if you stay over 3 months	Yes
After 5 years	Permanent right	Check with Migrationsverket	Depends on the type of permit

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

Up to 3 months you may stay with a valid passport or ID card and no other requirements.

Beyond 3 months you have a right of residence if you work, run your own business, study, or have sufficient means to support yourself. There is no form to fill in: as Migrationsverket puts it, if you have uppehållsrätt you do not need to contact them.

If you stay at least a year, you register with Skatteverket, and there you will have to prove your right of residence (an employment contract, savings and so on). That is covered in the guide to folkbokföring.

After 5 years of uppehållsrätt you have a permanent right of residence. You can ask Migrationsverket for a certificate, free of charge.

Non-EU family members of an EU citizen

Are you the spouse, partner or family member of an EU/EEA citizen who has a right of residence in Sweden, but hold a third-country passport? If you stay more than 3 months, apply to Migrationsverket for a residence card (uppehållskort), online or with form 144011. You can do this from inside Sweden. The card is valid for up to 5 years.

The official page is not clear about the fee, so check the current amount with Migrationsverket before you pay.

For family members of non-EU citizens (family reunification, anknytning), the rules were tightened in 2026. We cannot give you the details: check the rules in force on Migrationsverket before you plan the trip.

Non-EU citizens

There are three main routes to a permit: work (as an employee or running your own business), looking for work, and family ties (anknytning).

The employee work permit

You need a job offer and a high enough salary. The pay must be at least 90 % of the median wage. Since 16 June 2026 the median is SEK 38,300, so the floor is at least SEK 34,470 a month. The median in force on the day you apply is the one that counts. The salary must also follow the collective agreement or industry practice. For some occupations the threshold is lower: see the list on Migrationsverket.

The permit card

The permit comes as a card, the uppehållstillståndskort. Photo and fingerprints are given at the embassy if you need a visa or an in-person check. Many people do the passport check through an app instead.

For folkbokföring you need exactly this valid card: a permit from another EU country is not enough.

2026 changes

Common mistakes

• Applying to Migrationsverket for a permit as an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen. You do not need one: you have uppehållsrätt.
• Mixing up the right to stay with registration. Staying over a year also means folkbokföring.
• Trusting older guides on permanent permits. The rule changed on 12 July 2026.
• Working from the old salary floor. The median on the day you apply counts: today SEK 34,470 a month.
• Paying the fee before checking the requirements. The SEK 2,200 is not refunded.
• Assuming the family reunification rules are unchanged. They were tightened in 2026: check before you leave.