You want to apply Self-employed people

You want to apply for a residence permit to run your own business in Sweden. If your family will be accompanying you, they can apply at the same time.

  • Important to know
  • How it works
  • Apply

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA, you will in most cases need a permit to work in Sweden.

These requirements must be met in order for you to be granted a residence permit:

You must have a valid passport

You must have good experience in the industry and in running your own business

You must have relevant knowledge of Swedish or English
If you have contact with, for example, many suppliers or customers in Sweden, you must have very good knowledge of Swedish.

You must be the one running the business and own at least 51 percent of it
You must be the one running the business and have crucial responsibility for the business. You must be able to prove that you own at least 51 percent of the business.

You must have a credible basis for your budget
The Swedish Migration Agency will conduct a financial assessment of your business plans.

You must have established customer contacts or networks

You must be able to support yourself financially
You must be able to show that you can support yourself and any accompanying family financially. To meet this requirement, you need to have at least SEK 200,000 in a bank account in your name. The bank account does not have to be in Sweden, but it must be possible to transfer the money to this country.
In addition to this, you need to show that you have SEK 100,000 for your accompanying spouse, and SEK 50,000 for each accompanying child.

You must have enough funds to run the business
You need to have enough money to cover the expected costs and investments running the business will involved, and enough money to buy the business, if that is what you plan to do. It must be your own money; loans are not normally accepted.

Translate documents
All submitted documents should be in Swedish or English. If you have translated your documents, the translation should be certified. You must also include a copy of the document in its original language.

Plan which embassy to visit to present your passport
You may need to present your passport at an embassy before you can receive a decision. In the application, you must therefore state which embassy you want to visit. Not all Swedish embassies and consulates-general handle migration cases, so it is important to check which one you should contact:

You must attach copies of these documents to your application

Make sure that the information on your submitted documents is clearly visible.

Correctly made copies of your passport
You can never be granted a permit for longer than your passport is valid.
Read more about what the passport copies must show

Documents showing that you can support yourself financially
Bank statements from your bank for the last three months and bank certificates or bank statements showing that you have enough money to support yourself financially for two years. This corresponds to SEK 200,000.

A bank certificate or bank statements showing that you have enough money to run the business and to buy it, if that is your plan
You must show that you have enough money to cover the costs and investments that you expect running the business will involve. If you are planning to buy the business, you must also have enough money for the purchase.

Purchase contract if you have bought or are going to buy the business

Documents showing that you have paid the purchase price, if you have bought the business

Certificate of incorporation for your business in Sweden

Partnership (trading company) agreement or share register

Contracts with customers, suppliers, and business premises

Balance sheet and profit and loss statement
For the current financial year, up to and including the previous month.

Certificate proving your language skills in Swedish or English
Course certificate or other proof that you know Swedish or English at the relevant level.

Degree certificates/diplomas from the education programmes you have completed

Employer's certificate from your previous employers

Annual accounts or annual reports
If the business has been active before, you must attach the two most recent annual accounts or annual reports.

Certificate of incorporation for any companies that you have or have previously had outside Sweden

A representative can apply for you, if you grant them power of attorney. In that case, the person who applies for you must attach a copy of the power of attorney to your application.

Power of attorney (107011) Pdf, 1.1 MB.

Read more about power of attorney

Documents to attach if your family is applying with you

Correctly made copies of each family member’s passport
Your family member can never be granted a residence permit for longer than their passport is valid.
Read more about what the passport copies must show

Documents showing your relationship
If you are married: marriage certificate, marriage record, or similar document.
If you are cohabiting partners: documents showing that you have lived together, such as population registration certificates, a joint rental contract, or proof of the joint purchase of a home.

Documents showing that you meet the maintenance requirement
Bank statement from your bank for the last three months. The bank statement must show that you have enough money to financially support both you and the family members who are applying, for two years. This means the equivalent of SEK 200,000 for yourself, SEK 100,000 for your accompanying spouse, and SEK 50,000 for each accompanying child.

Birth record or birth certificate stating the names of the child’s parents

Sole custody decision
If you have sole custody of your child, you must attach a court decision to this effect. If the other parent is deceased, you must submit a death certificate.

Consent that the child may move to Sweden
If a child has two parents/legal guardians and the child’s other parent/legal guardian will be remaining in their country of origin, you must attach a statement of consent from the other parent/legal guardian to the application. You must also attach a copy of the other parent or legal guardian’s passport or other identity document.

Consent for a child to settle in Sweden (217011) Pdf, 1.1 MB.

Adoption documents, if your child is adopted

You can act as a representative for your spouse, registered partner, or cohabiting partner and apply on their behalf. To do this, you must have a power of attorney and attach it to the application.

Power of attorney (107011) Pdf, 1.1 MB.

Read more about power of attorney

Other rules apply if you are a citizen of the EU/EEA or Switzerland, or if you have long-term resident status in another EU country.

EU/EEA citizens with right of residence

If you are an EU/EEA citizen, you have the right to live in another EU/EEA country if you fulfil the requirements for right of residence through work, your own company, your studies, or by having sufficient funds to support yourself. If you have right of residence, you do not need to apply for a residence permit to live in Sweden.

EU/EEA citizens

Swiss citizens

If you are a citizen of Switzerland, you can move to Sweden to work, study, start your own business, or live on your own funds. If you want to remain in Sweden for longer than three months, you must apply for a residence permit for Swiss citizens.

You want to apply – Swiss citizens

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country, you can move to Sweden to work, study or live on your own funds. If you plan to stay longer than three months, you need to apply for a residence permit for long-term residents.

You want to apply – Long-term residents in another EU country

If any of your family members also want to apply for a residence permit, they can do so at the same time as you. “Family members” are considered to include spouses, registered partners, cohabiting partners, and children under the age of 18.

If anyone in your family decides later that they want to move to Sweden to join you, they must submit their own application afterwards.

You want to apply – Family of an employee or self-employed person who apply afterwards

If your family is granted residence permits, your adult family members and children who will turn at least 16 during the current year are permitted to work.

You must be able to financially support your family

If your family applies with you, you must be able to show that you can financially support both you and your family for two years. This means the equivalent of SEK 200,000 for yourself, SEK 100,000 for your accompanying spouse, and SEK 50,000 for each accompanying child.

You can be granted a residence permit for a maximum of two years, but never for longer than your passport is valid.

Your residence permit can be extended.

If your family is accompanying you to Sweden, they can be granted a permit for the same period as you, but never longer than the period of validity of their passports.

Employees/self-employed people: SEK 2,000.
Adult family members: SEK 1,500
Children: SEK 750

Citizens of Japan do not pay an application fee.

You will not receive a refund if your application is rejected.

It is not possible to say exactly how long you will need to wait for a decision. There are many things that affect the waiting time, for example whether your application is complete to begin with or whether we need to request more information, or whether we need to check with other authorities when investigating your case.

Here we show statistics on how long it has taken for people who have applied for the same permit as you. The statistics are based on cases decided in the last 12 months.

Complete applications

75% of recently decided cases have been decided within:25 months

Incomplete applications

75% of recently decided cases have been decided within:22 months

If you are applying for a residence permit for the first time, you must do so from outside Sweden, otherwise your application may be rejected.

If any of the following describe your situation, you can apply for a residence permit while you are in Sweden:

  • You have previously had a work permit and are applying for a residence permit to run your own business within the period of validity of your previously granted work permit, and the conditions for that permit have been met.
  • You have a residence permit for studies at a university or in a higher education programme at a university or university college and have completed studies equivalent to 30 ECTS or completed one semester of doctoral education.
  • You have a residence permit to look for work after completing your studies.
  • You have a residence permit for highly qualified individuals, to look for work or investigate the possibilities of starting a business in Sweden.

Keep in mind that you must apply for a residence permit before your current residence permit expires.

If your application is rejected, you must leave Sweden

If you are currently in Sweden and your application is rejected, you must prepare to leave the country. If you do not leave Sweden voluntarily, you may need to regularly report to the Swedish Migration Agency in a process known as supervision, or be placed in a detention centre run by the Swedish Migration Agency. Your case may also be handed over to the police.

News

2025-05-20

What counts as a salary?

One of the requirements for being granted a work permit is that the salary must enable you to make a good living. A new ruling from the Migration Court of Appeal clarifies what counts as a salary.

2025-04-01

From 1 April, the possibility of changing tracks will end

On 1 April, the Swedish Parliament’s decision to remove the possibility of changing tracks will come into force. This affects those who have been granted, or applied for, a work permit after an asylum application has been rejected. Your co-applicant family members will also be affected.

The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for considering applications from people who want to live in Sweden, seek protection or become Swedish citizens. Our work is based on Swedish laws and international conventions, with a focus on legal certainty and effective reception and return.