What affects your chances of getting a residence permit? 

Last updated: 11/4-2023

You can be granted a residence permit if you are a refugee or a person eligible for subsidiary protection.

Every asylum application has to be examined separately. This means that the Migration Agency will examine your specific reasons for applying for asylum in Sweden.

You have to tell the Migration Agency who you are, why you fled and what you think would happen if you had to return to your home country. Describe as much as you can about yourself and your situation, even if it feels difficult to do so.

It's important that you tell the truth and that you don't change your account. These things can affect your chances of getting a residence permit.

The UN Convention on Refugees specifies what is required in order for a person to count as a refugee. As a refugee, you will receive a temporary residence permit, which applies for three years.

You will be regarded as a refugee if the Migration Agency's assessment is that you have well-founded reasons to fear persecution due to:

  • race
  • nationality
  • religious or political convictions
  • gender
  • sexual orientation
  • membership of a particular social group

If you are still in need of protection after three years, you can be granted an extension of your residence permit. An extension lasts for two years. After three years, you also have the possibility of applying for a permanent residence permit.

You have to apply for an extension before your temporary residence permit expires. You can make your application from two months before your temporary residence permit expires.

EU countries have shared rules for what is required in order for a person to qualify for subsidiary protection status. As a person with subsidiary protection status, you are eligible for a temporary residence permit lasting 13 months.

You will be regarded as eligible for subsidiary protection if the Migration Agency's assessment is that there is a risk that you will be:

  • Punished with the death penalty.
  • Subjected to corporal punishment, torture, or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
  • Injured due to armed conflict, despite not being a soldier.

If you are still in need of protection after 13 months, you can be granted an extension of your residence permit.

You have to apply for an extension before your temporary residence permit expires. You can make your application from two months before your temporary residence permit expires.

In exceptional cases, asylum seekers may be granted residence permits even if they are not judged to be refugees or persons eligible for subsidiary protection.

Such cases include having a particularly serious medical condition, having been subjected to human trafficking and having to participate in a criminal investigation.

You are not eligible for asylum in Sweden if you:

  • Have committed a war crime.
  • Have committed a crime against humanity.
  • Have committed another serious crime.
  • Are a threat to Sweden's national security.

If you risk being killed or persecuted in your home country, you may be granted a temporary residence permit even if you have committed any of the acts listed.

UR Skola have made a short film that explains the difference between the terms refugee and person eligible for subsidiary protection. The film is in Swedish, and has subtitles in Swedish, Arabic, Kurdish, Persian, Somali and Tigrinya.