The length of time a foreign citizen is able to leave Sweden without jeopardising their right to stay in the country or their chances of being awarded citizenship or permanent residence depend very much on what grounds they have a right to be here.
Keep in mind that the only type of residence document which is truly permanent – as in, that cannot be revoked no matter how long you are away – is Swedish citizenship.
Every other type of residence expires if you are out of the country for long enough.
If you have the right to stay in Sweden temporarily and want to keep it or make it permanent
non-EU citizens
For this group (which also includes EU citizens in Sweden under Swedish law (residence permit holders) rather than EU law (people with right of residence)), the amount of time you can be away from Sweden varies depending on which permit you are on while living in Sweden.
Non-EU citizens in Sweden on work permits or as doctoral studentsfor example, need to provide documentation proving they have had a work permit as an employee (or have been carrying out doctoral research, in the case of doctoral students) and have lived and worked in Sweden for four years out of the past seven years when applying for permanent residency, so it is possible to leave Sweden for several years over this period and still qualify.
But people should still check the rules very carefully and make sure they can prove they have been in Sweden long enough.
Those in Sweden on family reunification permits (often referred to as sambo permits) need to provide the Migration Agency with details of any trips abroad of more than three weeks when renewing a residence permit, as well as whether they were travelling with the partner or spouse they live with in Sweden.
There do not appear to be any official guidelines for permanent residence permit applicants in Sweden as refugeesalthough the agency says in general for all types of residence permit that “shorter visits overseas, for example for holidays, do not affect your residence time [when applying for a permanent residence permit]. This is the case for other journeys overseas long as you have not moved from Sweden”.
For all non-EU citizens wanting to apply for citizenship, the Migration Agency specifies that any periods where you have been outside of Sweden for more than six weeks will be removed from the period of residence that counts towards the five years in Sweden.
This suggests that overseas trips of more than six weeks would probably be considered long enough to affect your residence time when seeking permanent residence, too.
EU citizens and non-EU family members
EU citizens who have lived in Sweden for five years or more and have either been working, studying, self-employed or self-supporting for that entire period automatically get permanent right of residence or permanent right of residence.
This also applies to non-EU family members of non-Swedish EU citizens in Sweden on an residence card (residence card) due to their relationship with an EU citizen, and EU citizens who have switched from one category to another – such as originally arriving as a student and then getting a job after graduation – you just need to have been legally living in Sweden under one or more of these categories for the entire five-year period.
Under the EU Free Movement Directivean EU citizen (or their non-EU family member) may be temporarily absent for periods not exceeding a total of six months within each year without losing their residence status, with each year starting on the anniversary of the date when the EU citizen commenced residence in Sweden.
The Migration Agency told The Local that it “respects the commission’s statement on its judgement”, and that six months away from Sweden is “acceptable as a rule”.
It also stressed that “it is difficult to give an exact time limit for how long a person can be outside Sweden because this is affected by individual circumstances”.
“The assessment of every case is individual and will be handled according to the information relevant to the case”.
UK citizens with post-Brexit residence status
The UK withdrawal agreement largely gives Britons living in Sweden with residence status (post-Brexit residence status) similar rights when it comes to residence as when they were EU citizens.
Brits arriving in Sweden after this date (or before this date under Swedish rules rather than EU rules) are subject to the non-EU rules listed above.
This means that British citizens with post-Brexit residence status can leave Sweden for up to six months each year without losing their post-Brexit residence status.
However, time spent abroad does seem to impact on the time people are considered to have been living in Sweden for the purposes of getting citizenship.
A Migration Agency officer told one British applicant in an email that longer trips abroad can affect the calculation of “the period of habitual residence” they are seen as having spent in Sweden.
“If the applicant travelled abroad for short visits or a holiday, for example, it has no impact on the period of habitual residence in Sweden. But if the applicant were abroad for more than six weeks in total during a yearthe entire time he/she was outside Sweden must be subtracted from the period of habitual residence.”
If you have the right to stay in Sweden permanently and don’t want to lose it
EU citizens
EU citizens who have lived in Sweden for more than five years automatically gain “a permanent right of residence”. If they wish to, they can apply for a free certificate of permanent residence, which can be used to document this right, but this is not required. You can lose your permanent right of residence if you move away from Sweden for more than two years (see here).
Non-EU/EEA citizens living with a non-Swedish EU/EEA citizen
Non-EU/EEA citizens who are living with a non-Swedish EU/EEA citizen can get a permanent residence card (permanent residence shoest) after five years in Sweden. Like their EU partners, they can lose their right to live in Sweden permanently if they move away from Sweden for more than two years.
UK citizens with post-Brexit residence status
UK citizens who have a permanent residence status (permanent residence status) in Sweden are treated more generously than EU citizens.
According to this Q&A from the European Commission’s lawyers, “the conditions for losing the new residence status are more beneficial compared to those in EU law on free movement as United Kingdom nationals and their family members can leave the host EU state for up to five years without losing their permanent residence rights”.
Other non-EU citizens
Non-EU citizens who have a permanent residence permit (Permanent residence or PUT), can lose their permanent residence permit if they leave Sweden for more than one year.
If they inform the Swedish Migration Agency before they depart, however, they can be away from Sweden for up to two years without losing their residence permit.
The same rules apply for EU or UK citizens who have a permanent residency permit (Permanent residence permit or PUT) rather than EU right of residence (right of residence) or post-Brexit residence status (residence status) – i.e. those who live in Sweden under Swedish rules rather than EU rules or the EU Withdrawal Agreement.
This article has been amended after The Local sent a follow-up question to the lawyer at the Migration Agency and was told that she was not an expert on citizenship and was, as a result, unsure as to whether the six-month rule would apply in citizenship cases for EU citizens.