Ninety days is where the visa-free visit ends and Swedish immigration law starts. The visitor’s residence permit is the only standard way past that point for a non-EU visitor. Here is who gets how long, what you must show, and why applying from home beats applying from a Swedish sofa.
When you need this
You are a non-EU citizen planning more than 90 days in Sweden: a long summer, a winter with grandchildren, an unpaid volunteer placement, a long medical treatment. Or you are already here, visa-free or on a Schengen visa, and want to stay on. Or your work or study permit is ending and you’d like a few more months before going home.
Do you need the permit at all?
Swedish law is short on this point: a foreigner who stays in Sweden more than three months must hold a residence permit. For visitors, that permit is the uppehållstillstånd för besök, the visitor’s residence permit. The Swedish Migration Agency, Migrationsverket, decides it.
| You are | What applies |
|---|---|
| Staying under 90 days in total | Don’t apply. The Schengen rules apply, plus a visa if your passport needs one; see the Schengen 90/180-day rule |
| EU or EEA citizen | No permit; free movement and right of residence apply, see EU citizens in Sweden |
| Swiss citizen staying over three months | A residence permit for Swiss citizens, not this one |
| Long-term resident of another EU country | A long-term-resident permit, not this one |
| Holder of an expiring Swedish permit | Visa-free or with a valid Schengen visa, you may stay up to 90 days after expiry without it |
| Everyone else staying over 90 days | The visitor’s residence permit |
Leaving Sweden and coming back doesn’t reset anything. Schengen days are counted back over a rolling 180-day window, and the three-month rule is about how long you stay. Asking for a “long-stay tourist visa” doesn’t work either. Sweden’s national (D) visa is granted only for special reasons, and Migrationsverket sends visitors to the residence permit instead.
One narrow alternative exists. Sweden has bilateral visa-waiver agreements with twenty countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand but not the United States. They can add three months in Sweden only, if you request it before your 90 days end. Migrationsverket’s visit pages describe only the permit route, so read the 90/180 guide before relying on an agreement.
How long you can stay
The purpose of your visit sets the ceiling. Migrationsverket decides the actual length case by case.
| Purpose | Maximum total stay |
|---|---|
| Tourist | 6 months |
| Close relative (sibling, child or grandchild of someone in Sweden) | 6 months; 9 with special grounds |
| Parent who no longer works (e.g. a pensioner) visiting a child in Sweden | 1 year |
| Friend or partner | Exceptional cases only; 6 months |
| Medical treatment | Estimated treatment period, at most 1 year |
| Visiting student or doctoral exchange student, not admitted in Sweden | 1 year |
| Unpaid volunteer or trainee; European Solidarity Corps volunteer | 1 year |
| Missionary | 3 years, granted 1 year at a time |
| Monk or nun, first permit | 2 years |
| Business or conference visit | Exceptional cases only |
The six months are total time in Sweden, so visa-free days you’ve already spent count toward them. Self-employed people whose business is outside the EU can also qualify for a temporary assignment in Sweden, if they own at least 50% of the company and lead it. Paid trainees, admitted students and couples need other permits: see partner permits and student residence permits.
Requirements
Every applicant must meet the same core conditions:
- A passport valid at least three months beyond the end of your visit.
- A real visit: visiting is the only purpose, and you intend to leave.
- Money: at least SEK 700 for each day. You can show your own bank statement, pay slip or employment certificate. A host or guarantor can cover you instead by filling in Migrationsverket’s maintenance form (255011).
- Medical travel insurance valid in Sweden for the whole stay. Migrationsverket recommends at least EUR 30,000 in cover, valid across Schengen, for emergency care, urgent hospital treatment and medical repatriation.
The insurance is waived if you hold a valid EHIC, or are a UK resident with a GHIC. It is also waived for Australian citizens or permanent residents living in Australia, Algerian citizens living in Algeria, and people already in the Swedish Population Register. Don’t treat it as a formality. Swedish regions charge visitors from non-convention countries the full cost of acute and planned care. Our guide to healthcare for visitors explains who pays what.
Documents must be in Swedish or English, and translations should be certified. If you are visiting someone, they should send you an invitation on form 249011 and a copy of their ID card. Children travelling without a parent need a certificate or power of attorney from at least one guardian.
How to apply
- Pick your category and collect the documents above, plus its extras: a medical certificate, a certificate from the organisation, or the child documents.
- Apply in the e-service if you are 18 or over, have an email address and can pay by Visa or Mastercard. A household can apply together there. On paper, each person files their own form (165011) at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general that handles migration cases.
- Pay the fee: SEK 1,500 per adult, SEK 750 per child. It isn’t refunded if you’re refused. Japanese citizens, Swiss citizens and family members of EU/EEA citizens pay nothing. Swedes don’t count as EU citizens for this rule.
- Attend the in-person visit with your passport. You may be interviewed, sometimes by video from another embassy.
- Wait for the decision. It goes by post to your embassy or representative. You can follow the case on Migrationsverket’s My page.
Don’t file a visitor’s application while another application, for work or to live with a partner, is still pending. Migrationsverket warns that the ongoing application might be rejected.
Apply from home, not from Sweden
Most online advice says you can simply extend once you’re in Sweden. That’s possible, but it’s the riskier route. The Aliens Act’s main rule is that a permit is applied for and granted before you enter Sweden. Extending an ongoing visit from inside the country is allowed when there are vägande skäl, weighty reasons.
Migrationsverket does accept applications from people already here, sent by post or through the e-service. The timing is the problem. Its published statistics show 75% of decisions take up to three months for applications from abroad, and up to four months for applications made in Sweden. That is longer than most people have left of their 90 days. The agency’s pages don’t say that a pending application lets a visa-free visitor stay past day 90. So start from home, about four months before you want to travel, and earlier still for a summer stay.
The card, travel and what it doesn’t give
Everyone granted the permit gets a residence permit card, which proves your right to be in Sweden. If your nationality needs an entry visa, you give fingerprints and a photo at an embassy and wait for the card before you fly. You then enter with the card and your passport. Visa-free nationals give biometrics after arriving. If you applied in Sweden, the card arrives by post about a week after the decision.
With the card you can also make short trips: a national residence permit lets you visit other Schengen countries for up to 90 days in any 180. Days in Sweden under the permit don’t use up that allowance. Carry the card with your passport at every border.
What the permit does not give you:
- Work. It is “only valid for one visit and does not give you the right to work or settle in Sweden”. That includes remote work for a foreign employer, see Sweden for digital nomads. Migrationsverket can revoke the permit if you work without the right to. Unpaid volunteering normally needs no work permit, but more than 90 days still needs this one.
- A personnummer. Population registration generally applies to people planning to live in Sweden for a year or more, which few visits reach. Without a personnummer, BankID and many logged-in services stay closed.
- Subsidised healthcare, unless an EU card or convention covers you.
One more thing for long stays: Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency, treats six consecutive months in Sweden as stadigvarande vistelse, settled residence. That can make your income taxable in Sweden, so check before a nine- or twelve-month visit if you have earnings abroad.
If you’re refused
The decision explains how to appeal and the deadline for doing it. A court then reviews the case. If you were refused while in Sweden, the decision also sets a date by which you must leave the Schengen area. After that you are unlawfully present and may get an återreseförbud, a re-entry ban covering all of Schengen. The refusal is registered in the Schengen Information System. Book the trip home without a stopover in another Schengen country; Migrationsverket says you may not have one.
Since 1 October 2026, Swedish authorities no longer recognise ordinary non-biometric Russian passports. Holders need a new passport before they apply.
Practical information
| Item | Detail (checked 2026-10-15) |
|---|---|
| Application fee | SEK 1,500 adult, SEK 750 child; no refund on refusal |
| Fee-exempt | Japanese and Swiss citizens, family of EU/EEA citizens |
| Funds to show | At least SEK 700 per day of the visit |
| Recommended insurance | At least EUR 30,000, valid in all Schengen countries |
| Waiting time, 75% of cases | 3 months applying from abroad; 4 months from inside Sweden |
| Tourist maximum | 6 months in total |
| Where to apply | Migrationsverket e-service, or a Swedish embassy or consulate-general |
| Live details | Migrationsverket, “Visiting Sweden for more than 90 days” |
FAQ
How can I stay in Sweden longer than 90 days?
If you are not an EU or EEA citizen, apply to Migrationsverket for a visitor’s residence permit, ideally before you travel. Swedish law requires a residence permit for stays over three months. Tourists can get up to six months in total, retired parents visiting a child in Sweden up to a year. Nationals of twenty bilateral-agreement countries have a narrower extra route.
How long can a tourist stay in Sweden with a visitor’s permit?
At most six months in total, including the time you have already spent in Sweden. Migrationsverket sets the actual length case by case. Close relatives of people in Sweden can get up to nine months with special grounds, and parents who no longer work can visit their child for up to a year. Other purposes, such as medical treatment or volunteering, have their own ceilings.
Can I apply for a visitor’s residence permit while I am in Sweden?
Yes, but it is the riskier route. The law’s main rule is that permits are granted before entry, and an ongoing visit may be extended from inside Sweden if there are weighty reasons. Migrationsverket accepts in-country applications, but 75% took up to four months when checked, and its pages do not promise you may stay past day 90 while waiting.
How much money do I need for a Swedish visitor’s permit?
At least SEK 700 for each day of the visit, shown with a bank statement, pay slip or employment certificate. A host or guarantor in Sweden can cover you by filling in Migrationsverket’s maintenance form. On top come the application fee of SEK 1,500 per adult and SEK 750 per child, which is not refunded on refusal, and medical travel insurance.
Can I work in Sweden on a visitor’s residence permit?
No. Migrationsverket states that the permit is valid for one visit and gives no right to work or settle in Sweden, and it can revoke a permit if you work without the right to do so. Remote work for a foreign employer is not carved out either. Paid work needs a work permit; unpaid volunteering normally does not, but over 90 days still needs this permit.
Do I need travel insurance for a Swedish visitor’s permit?
Yes, unless you are exempt. You need individual medical travel insurance valid in Sweden for the whole stay; Migrationsverket recommends at least EUR 30,000, valid in all Schengen countries. Exempt are holders of a valid EHIC, UK residents with a GHIC, Australian citizens or permanent residents living in Australia, Algerian citizens living in Algeria, and people in the Swedish Population Register.
Can I travel to other Schengen countries with a Swedish visitor’s permit?
Yes, for short trips. A national residence permit from a Schengen state lets its holder travel to the other Schengen states for up to 90 days in any 180-day period while it is valid, and days spent in Sweden under the permit do not count towards that allowance. Carry the residence permit card together with your passport at every crossing.
Related guides
- The Schengen 90/180-day rule — count the days you have left, and the bilateral-agreement route in full.
- Do you need a visa to visit Sweden? — the visa lane that covers your first 90 days.
- Healthcare for visitors — what the insurance requirement protects you from.
- Sweden for digital nomads — why laptop work isn’t covered by a visitor’s permit.
- Long stays: renting for a season — finding somewhere to live once the permit is granted.
Facts verified 2026-10-15. Sources: Migrationsverket, Sveriges riksdag (Utlänningslagen 2005:716), EUR-Lex and the Official Journal of the EU, Skatteverket, Region Västmanland — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.