Sweden Lists 5 Conditions Foreign Parents Must Meet to Get Residence Permit

• The Swedish Migration Board published detailed rules on how foreign parents can relocate to join their children in Sweden
• Parents from outside the EU and EEA must meet specific conditions tied to their child's residency status and the nature of their relationship
• The Migration Board places significant weight on timing and emotional dependency between parent and child

The Swedish Migration Board has published a detailed breakdown of the rules governing how foreign parents can obtain a residence permit to live with their child in Sweden.

The guidance applies to parents of children under 18 who already hold permission to reside in Sweden. It specifically targets citizens from countries outside the EU and EEA, as well as EU citizens who do not hold the right of residence in the country.

Key conditions parents must satisfy

To be considered for a residence permit, a parent must hold a valid passport, and the child in question must be under 18 and actively living in Sweden.

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Where a parent also has a partner residing in Sweden, the Migration Board will first assess the application based on that relationship, meaning a separate spousal or cohabitant permit application should be filed before any parental permit is sought.

Parents who previously lived with their child outside Sweden face additional requirements before they can qualify to join them.

The child must hold one of the following: Swedish citizenship, Nordic citizenship, a permanent residence card, a permanent residence permit, permanent residence status, or a temporary permit with well-founded prospects of becoming permanent.

Where the child holds only a temporary permit, they must have lived in Sweden under it for a minimum of two years before the parent becomes eligible to apply. Exceptions exist for children recognised as refugees, provided the family relationship existed before the child entered Sweden, or where other special circumstances apply.

Why timing and emotional ties matter

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Beyond documentation, the Migration Board weighs the history and quality of the parent-child relationship heavily. For an application to succeed, the parent and child must have been living together in their country of origin immediately before the child relocated to Sweden.

Both parties must also demonstrate a social and emotional dependence on each other that makes living apart genuinely difficult, and this dependence must have predated the child's move to Sweden.

A dependence that is purely financial, or one that developed only after the child had already settled in Sweden, is not considered sufficient grounds for approval.

Timing of the application is equally important. The Migration Board advises parents to apply as soon as possible after the child receives their qualifying permit, as a delayed application can lead to outright refusal, particularly where the bond between parent and child appears to have formed only after the separation began.

Source: YEN.com.gh