Family of an employee or self-employed person who apply afterwards
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Familj till arbetstagare eller egen företagare som ansöker i efterhand as of 2025-02-25[3] Page name on Migrationsverket's Swedish site. The Swedish site also lists 'Medfoljande familj – arbetstillstand' under the live-with-someone hub, which is a signpost to the same page. |
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| Official name (English) | Family of an employee or self-employed person who apply afterwards as of 2025-02-25[1] Page name on Migrationsverket's English site. The English site's 'Accompanying family members – work permits' page under the live-with-someone hub redirects here. |
| Legal basis | Utlanningsforordning (2006:97) 4 kap. 4 a och 4 b §§, Utlanningslag (2005:716) 6 a kap. 9 § och 6 b kap. 14 § as of 2026-08-22[4][5] The provision a reader would expect – 5 kap. 3 § – is not the one used. Family of a work-permit holder run through Utlanningsforordning 4 kap. 4 a §: 'Uppehallstillstand far beviljas en familjemedlem till en utlanning om familjemedlemmen ar make eller sambo till utlanningen eller slakting i rakt nedstigande led till utlanningen eller till hans eller hennes make eller sambo, om slaktingen ar beroende av nagon av dem for sin forsorjning eller ar under 21 ar och utlanningen med stod av 5 kap. 10 § utlanningslagen … har beviljats ett tidsbegransat uppehallstillstand i fall som avses i 6 kap. 2 § forsta stycket.' Family of a self-employed person or of someone with means arranged otherwise run through 4 kap. 4 b §. Blue Card and ICT families have their own provisions in the act – 6 a kap. 9 § and 6 b kap. 14 § – and Utlanningsforordning 4 kap. 4 c § supplies the shared maintenance test for all three. Family of a researcher run through Utlanningslag 5 b kap. 19 §, which is stronger again ('ska beviljas'). |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-08-22[4] |
Who can apply
| Criminal-record condition | Not established from a qualifying source |
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Permit terms
| Initial duration | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value as of 2025-02-25[1] 'You can be granted a residence permit for the same period as your family member in Sweden, but never longer than your passport is valid.' There is no number: the term is defined relationally. initial_duration_basis carries the rule. |
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| How the initial term is set | matches the sponsor's permit |
| Renewable | Yes as of 2025-02-25[1] 'The residence permit can be extended.' |
| Work rights | full as of 2025-02-25[1] 'Yes, as a close relative of a person with a permit as an employee or self-employed person in Sweden, you will be granted a permit to work while you have a residence permit. This applies to adults and children who will reach the age of 16 (at minimum) during the current year.' Unrestricted as to employer or occupation. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
Requirements
| Who can sponsor | specific permits as of 2026-08-22[1][4] Not one of the three status classes but a named list of permits: a work permit, an EU Blue Card, an ICT permit, a permit for research, or a permit as a self-employed person. 'specific_permits' is the enum value for exactly this. The list is closed on the page's face and does NOT include seasonal work, au pair, working holiday, traineeship or the job-search permits. |
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| Eligible relations | spouse, registered partner, unmarried partner, minor child, adult dependent child as of 2026-08-22[1][4] The page splits the age line by the principal's permit and the split is real: for family of an EMPLOYEE, unmarried children under 21, and children of 21 or over where dependency on the principal or their partner is shown; for family of a SELF-EMPLOYED person, researcher, ICT holder or Blue Card holder, unmarried children under 18 only. Utlanningsforordning 4 kap. 4 a § frames the employee case as a descendant who is dependent or under 21. |
| Sponsor income requirement | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value[1][2][4] |
| Sponsor accommodation requirement | No as of 2026-08-22[1][4] Utlanningsforordning 4 kap. 4 c § tests income only; the housing condition in Utlanningslag 5 kap. 3 b § belongs to the ties routes and is not applied here. Nothing on the page requires the principal to show a home of sufficient size and standard. |
| Sponsor waiting period | Not applicable[1] None. The family member may apply as soon as the principal has applied – the page says 'has applied for or have been granted'. |
| Pre-entry language test | No as of 2025-02-25[1] None. |
| Sponsor and relation matrix |
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Process
| Where to apply from | from abroad only as of 2025-02-25[1] 'If you are applying for a residence permit for the first time, you must do so from outside Sweden … Your residence permit must be granted and issued before you enter Sweden.' One exception is named: a child born in Sweden may in some cases be granted a permit while here. Note that this is the AFTERWARDS route – a family member who applies together with the principal is handled inside the principal's own application and is recorded on each work route's family_inclusion block. |
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| Observed processing time | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value[1] |
| Fees | |
| Quota |
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Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2025-02-25[1] None stated. The permit's continuity is tied to the principal's – it runs for the same period and is extended with it. |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | No as of 2025-02-25[1] The applicant is the family member. |
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Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 5 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 5 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2025-02-25 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-22 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-22 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Family of an employee or self-employed person who apply afterwards
Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-02-25 · Accessed 2026-08-22 - [2] Maintenance requirement for the person in Sweden
Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2026-03-18 · Accessed 2026-08-22 - [3] Anstalld eller egen foretagare (Swedish-language work hub)
Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-02-25 · Accessed 2026-08-22 - [4] Utlanningsforordning (2006:97), consolidated text
Sveriges riksdag · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-22 - [5] Utlanningslag (2005:716), consolidated text, amended up to and including SFS 2026:1451
Sveriges riksdag / Regeringskansliet · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-22