Author
Eligible beneficiaries and family members
As mentioned in the section related to the Residence permit, the 2016 temporary law and then 2021 amendments to the Aliens Act affected peoples’ ability to get a residence permit, the length of the residence permit as well as the ability to reunite with family members.[1]
In general, the right to family reunification is limited to core family members only, although other family members may be accepted under special circumstances. It also includes requirements on incomes and housing (i.e., the size and standards of housing). The right to family reunification is available to both refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. For refugees, these requirements must be met when family members apply for family reunification more than three months after the beneficiary was granted protection status. Until 1 December 2023, beneficiaries of subsidiary protection were also exempted from these requirements within the same time limit as refugees. However, since 1 December 2023, beneficiaries of subsidiary of protection are not exempted from these requirements.
Personal scope – sponsors and beneficiaries
With the Temporary law valid until 19 July 2019, only refugees had the right to be reunited with their nuclear family, while beneficiaries of subsidiary protection were subject a general ban save restricted exceptions. On 20 October 2022, the ECtHR ruled in the case M.T. and Others v. Sweden and found that in that particular case the restrictions to the right to family reunification for the applicants concerned, where the person in Sweden was a beneficiary of subsidiary protection, did not breach Article 8 of the ECHR or Article 14 in conjunction with Article 8.[2] The extension of the Temporary Law in 2019 removed the ban on family reunification for beneficiaries of the subsidiary protection which is now available to both. This was mainly the result of litigation efforts and a Migration Court of Appeal ruling where the denial of family reunification for a young Syrian child was considered in breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and Articles 3, 9 and 10 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child (CRC).[3]
Beneficiaries of international protection are required to have “well-founded” prospects of being granted a residence permit “for a longer time” in order to be entitled to family reunification.[4] With the exception of certain cases, e.g. in the case of cessation or withdrawal procedures, the Swedish Migration Agency considers that beneficiaries of protection, who since 2016 have temporary residence permits, have “well-founded” prospects of being granted such a residence permit in practice, unless it is clear from Swedish Migration Agency Legal Guidance that the situation in the county of origin has changed so fundamentally that protection status shall be withdrawn.[5]
The following persons are eligible for family reunification:
- Husband, wife, registered partner or cohabiting partner over 18 years;
- Children under the age of 18 years at the time of application (see below regarding when age is assessed in practice);
- Parents to a child with protection status.
- Other relatives and children over 18 years may be eligible to reunite with the sponsor in Sweden if a particular dependency exists.
As from 1 December 2023, residence permit may be denied if one of the spouses or cohabiting partners are under 21 years.
If the person in Sweden has a permanent residence permit, family reunification can also take place with the person they plan to marry or cohabit with in Sweden, subject to income and housing requirements (see below).
There is no difference in the law between the right to family reunification for heterosexual couples and for same-sex couples. In the case of a couple that has not lived together as partners at the time of application, residence permit may be granted if the relationship is considered serious.
In 2022, in a precedent ruling,[6] a case litigated by the Swedish Refugee Law Center, the Migration Court of Appeal found that when determining the age of the sponsor the relevant time should be the time of application of family reunification, rather than at the time of the decision on family reunification, if the reference person is under 18 years when the application for family reunification is lodged. There shall be no condition that the application must be lodged within three months from the decision of residence permit for the reference person if the reference person is under 18 years at the time of application. The Migration Court of Appeal referred to the CJEU case C-133/19.[7]
In addition to this precedent ruling, the Swedish Migration Agency issued a legal position in 2022 regarding the relevant time for determining the age of the applicant or the sponsor. According to the legal position: [8]
- For a child who apply to a reunite with a parent in Sweden:
- In principle, the relevant time is the time of application for family reunification, or,
- In cases when the application for family reunification is made within three months from when the parent was granted residence permit and protection status the relevant time is when the parent applied for asylum.
- For a parent who applies to reunite with a child in Sweden:
- In principle, the relevant time for determining the age of the child/reference person is the time of application for family reunification, or,
- In cases when the child was under 18 years when applying for asylum but has turned 18 years at the time of application for family reunification, that child is still considered as a child if the application for family reunification was lodged within three months from the date the child was granted residence permit.
Proving one’s identity
For several years, one of the major obstacles to family reunification related to the obligation to prove one’s identity, as laid down in law. A number of precedent-setting rulings from the Migration Court of Appeal, the first from 2012, have allowed for the reunification of families who are unable to prove their identity. The Migration Appeal Court handed down a ruling on 5 March 2018, stating that for refugees and their nuclear family the level of proof of identity could be relaxed because it was unreasonable to expect them to approach their national authorities to obtain a passport and thereby endanger the situation of remaining family members in the country of origin.[9] In such cases a DNA test would be taken as a first instance measure as a means of proving identity. The Swedish Migration Agency has accepted this standard of proof both for refugees and for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection in cases where the family has lived together. Moreover, the Swedish Migration Agency stated in October 2021 that due to the Taliban take-over in Afghanistan, Afghan citizens cannot acquire new passports. Therefore, if other conditions are met, Afghans applying for family reunification may be exempt from the obligation to prove their identity and present a passport. A DNA test could in these cases assist in making the identity sufficiently probable. The Swedish Migration Agency continued to apply this position in 2024.[10]
DNA testing is offered by the Swedish Migration Agency to applicants in cases where the biological relationship has not been sufficiently established. If it is evident that such relationship does not exist, or if the application will be rejected on other grounds, DNA testing will not be offered. Costs for test-taking, transport and analysis of tests are covered by the State. If DNA testing is not offered by the Swedish Migration Agency, the applicant may pay for and present a DNA analysis. The applicant can get reimbursed if the DNA analysis verifies the biological relationship and the residence permit is granted.[11]
The Swedish Migration Agency may issue a temporary alien’s passport in cases where the applicant is granted residence permit but has no valid travel document.
Material requirements and procedure
Material requirements
Everyone who wants to bring their family members to Sweden must be able to financially support both themselves and their family members and must have a domicile of sufficient standard and size. Refugees whose family applies for family reunification within three months of the sponsor being granted a permit are exempt from this requirement. The exemption only applies to families who have cohabited, or when the relationship otherwise is considered as well established. Unaccompanied minors applying to be reunited with their parents are exempted from the maintenance requirement.
The income requirement is based on a standard amount for each member of the household that must be met after the rent/housing cost has been deducted. For 2024, the standard amount as from 1 January was:
- SEK 6,090 / 546 € for a single adult
- SEK 10,061 / 901 € for spouses or partners living together
- SEK 3,255 / 292 € for each additional child aged 6 years or younger
- SEK 3.906 / 350 € for each additional child aged 7 to 10 years
- SEK 4,558 / 408 € for each additional child aged 11 to 14 years
- SEK 5,208 / 467 € for each additional child aged 15 years or older [12]
The sponsor should have an accommodation of sufficient size and standard. For two adults without children a home is big enough if it has a kitchen or kitchenette and at least one room. If children are going to live in the home, there must be more rooms. Two children can share a bedroom.[13]
With the changes in the Aliens Act that came into force 20 July 2021, some exceptions were introduced to the maintenance requirement. When there are special reasons, the maintenance requirement may be lifted fully or partly. The preparatory work gave as an example that there could be special reasons for persons who have retired from the labour market or who are unable to work due to disability or sickness.
In 2024, the ECtHR gave three judgments regarding the application of the maintenance requirement in Sweden.
In the ECtHR case Dabo v. Sweden (App. No. 12510/18), of 18 January 2024, the ECtHR found no violation of Article 8 concerning an application for family reunification submitted by an applicant from Syria with refugee status in Sweden. Family reunification with his wife and five children was rejected by the Swedish migration authorities because he did not fulfil the maintenance requirement. The applicant argued that in reality hardly anyone could meet the maintenance requirement as it was applied. The applicant estimated he would need a monthly salary of at least 45,000 SEK (approx. 3,900 EUR) before tax to meet the maintenance requirement — a sum few employees earn. The ECtHR found that the decision to deny the family residence permit did not violate the principle of the best interests of the child nor Article 8 of the ECHR. The Court observed that the best interests of a child, of whatever age, cannot constitute an unassailable consideration that requires the admission of all children who would be better off living in a Contracting State. The Court concluded that in the circumstances of the present case, the domestic authorities struck a fair balance between the interests of the applicant and those of the State in controlling immigration, and that they did not overstep the margin of appreciation afforded to them when refusing the request for family reunification.
In the ECtHR case, Okubamichael Debru v Sweden (App. No.49755/18), of 25 July 2024, the ECtHR found no violation of Article 8 concerning an application for family reunification submitted by an applicant from Ethiopia in Sweden. The Court noted that the refusal of family reunification was justified because the maintenance requirement was not fulfilled and the applicant applied outside the three months exemption period, thus the national authorities had duly assessed the circumstances of the case. The applicant invoked difficulties to fulfil the income requirement due to his health status and age. The Court found that there were no exceptional reasons to be exempted from the financial requirement. Thus, the Court found that national authorities struck a fair balance between the private interest of the applicant and the State’s interest to control immigration and found no breach of Article 8 of the ECHR.[14]
In the ECtHR case DH and Others v Sweden (App. No. 34210/19), of 25 July 2024, the ECtHR found no violation of Article 8 concerning an application for family reunification submitted by an applicant with refugee status in Sweden, who was a woman with disabilities. The Court noted that the applicant’s mobility was reduced to some extent, that she was unable to perform some kinds of work, including hard physical labour, and that she did not succeed in finding employment in the period from when she was granted a residence permit, until the decision to refuse family reunification became final. However, the Court found that the applicants had not submitted any substantiation of their claim that the applicant had disabilities to such an extent that she was unable to work, or that she had applied for work in vain. The Court found that the refusal of family reunification was justified because the maintenance requirement was not fulfilled.
Procedure
The procedure is initiated by the family members abroad, who are the applicants in this procedure, however it may be initiated by a representative in Sweden (the sponsor or someone else) provided they are given a Power of Attorney to do so. Applications are either handed in at a Swedish Embassy or Consulate that provide this service or made through the online application form of the Swedish Migration Agency.[15]
For applications made by family members other than the spouse, partner or child of a BIP, there is currently an application fee of SEK 2,000 / EUR 174,62 per adult and SEK 1,000 / EUR 87,31 per child.[16]
According to the Aliens Ordinance Act, Chapter 4, Section 21 a, an application for family reunification shall, unless there are any particular reasons, be decided on within 9 months. According to the Administrative Procedure Act, Section 12, an applicant may in all applications to authorities at first instance request a decision if more than six months has passed since the application. The Swedish Migration Agency must then within four weeks either decide on the case or take a separate decision to reject the request. A decision to reject such a request may be appealed to the Migration Court.
In 2024 , the average waiting time from applications to decisions was 409 days for first time applications, and 197 days for subsequent applications.[17]
In 2024, a total of 45,743 applications for residence permits based on family ties were lodged (of which 23,672 were first time applications). The Swedish Migration Agency issued a total of 50,075 decisions (of which 29,999 were first time applications). 56 % of the first-time applications and 93 % of subsequent applications were approved. By the end of the year 2024, a total of 36,888 family reunification applications were pending (of which 24,496 first time applications). Across all instances, 1,754 residence permits were granted in first time application cases of family reunification where the person in Sweden was a former asylum seeker.[18]
In case of a negative decision, applicants may submit an appeal before the Migration Court within three weeks of receiving the decision from the Swedish Migration Agency.[19] There is no general right to be assigned a legal representative.
[1] For further details see AIDA, Country Report Sweden, 2021 Update, May 2022, available here, 101.
[2] ECtHR, M.T. and Others v. Sweden, Application No 22105/18, 20 October 2022, available here.
[3] Migration Court of Appeal, MIG 2018:20, 13 November 2018, available in Swedish here.
[4] Aliens Act, Chapter 5, Section 3 Note that the Swedish translation of “reasonable” in Article 3 of the Family Reunification Directive is equal to “well-founded” rather than reasonable.
[5]Swedish Migration Agency Legal position RS(080/2021, Migrationsverket Rättsligt ställningstagande Kravet på välgrundade utsikter att beviljas varaktigt uppehållstillstånd – RS/080/2021 (version 3.0), available in Swedish here.
[6] Migration Court of Appeal, Decision MIG 2022:11, 8 December 2022, available in Swedish here.
[7] CJEU, Case C-133/19, B.M.M., B.S., B.M., B.M.O. v. Belgium, 16 July 2020, available here.
[8] Migration Agency, Rättsligt ställningstagande. Tidpunkt för bedömning av barns ålder i ärenden om uppehållstillstånd på grund av familjeanknytning – RS/001/2022 (version 3.0), updated May 2023 available in Swedish here.
[9] Migration Court of Appeal, MIG 2018:4, UM-2630-17, 5 March 2018, available here.
[10]Migration Agency, Rättsligt ställningstagande. Afghanska medborgares möjligheter att skaffa pass – RS/087/2021, 11 October 2021, available in Swedish here.
[11] Aliens Act Chapter 13 Section 15 and 16.
[12]Aliens Act Ordinance Chapter 4, Section 4d
[13] Migration Agency Regulation 2022:8, available in Swedish here.
[14] ECtHR, First Section, Okubamichael Debru v. Sweden (App. No. 49755/18), of 25 July 2024.
[15] Migration Agency, ‘Make an online application’, available here.
[16] Utlänningsförordningen/Aliens Ordinance Act Chapter 8 Section 5.
[17] Swedish Migration Agency Monthly statistical report December 2024.
[18] The Swedish Migration Agency, ‘Annual Report 2024’, Dnr: 1.3.2-2025-1844, 21 February 2024, available in Swedish here.
[19] Aliens Act Chapter 14 section 3.