Many dream of reuniting with family members in Sweden after receiving a residence permit. It’s the start of a new life in the new homeland. This dream is not impossible, but it’s a process and often a lengthy one. Above all, it’s important that you meet the requirements for residence permits based family ties.
When you apply for a residence permit based on family ties, you have to:
- be married.
- or have been living together as common-law partners.
- or have entered into a partnership with each other.
- or plan to marry or become common-law partners in Sweden.
You also need to prove your relationship. This can be done by presenting a marriage certificate, certificate of partnership or other documents that show what kind of relationship you’ve had and how you intend to continue that relationship in Sweden.
You can also apply for residence permit based on family ties if you have children under the age of 18. If your child lives outside the EU, you as the parent has to apply for your childs residence permit. In some cases, other close family members can also apply for residence permit in Sweden based on family ties. This is possible if, for example, it’s a close family member with whom you’ve lived with in your home country.
Fulfilling the maintenance requirement is a must
The one of you with a residence permit in Sweden must live in a home large enough for, and be able to support, the both of you. And in some cases, even the person who wants to move to Sweden will have to show that they can support themselves.
It’s also important that your home is of sufficiently good standard. How large the home has to be and how large of an income you need to have depends on the amount of members in your family. If the one living in Sweden with a residence permit is a child under the age of 18, they don’t have to support the family member who wants to move here.
Another important requirement is that the person who wants to move to Sweden applies for and is granted visa or residence permit before coming here. You need to submit the application on time and with all necessary documents attached. You can easily make an application together with a lawyer to make sure you don’t miss anything important. Your application should be submitted to the Swedish embassy, a consulate or to the Swedish Migration Agency.
