Hello, thank you for turning with your question to Fråga Juristen! There are several different residence permits and most of them allows you to work, therefore it is hard for me to understand which permit you are applying for. Depending on your country of origin and the time you have already spent in Sweden different rules also apply. The rules especially differ depending on whether you are an EU-citizen or not, I will therefore shortly describe the different rules and then advice you on how to move forward.

EU-citizens

If you are an EU-citizen you might have the right of residence in Sweden, or any other EU-country really, without a residence permit. An EU-citizen has the right to reside in any member state if:

• He/she has an employment or is running his/her own business,
• Has come to Sweden in order to seek employment (gives the person a right to stay in the country for up to six months),
• Is studying at a recognised school, has sufficient funds and a full-covering health insurance, or
• Has sufficient funds and a full covering health insurance.

If you are an EU-citizen and fulfils one of these demands you therefore have the right to reside in Sweden without a residence permit.

Non-EU-citizens

If you are not a citizen of an EU-member state you have to have a residence permit in order to live and work in Sweden. This is regulated through a law named: utlänningslagen. Your question provides several possibilities for different residence permits.

According to utlänningslagen 5th chapter 5 § a permanent residence can be given to someone who during at least four out of the last seven years have had a residence permit for studying on a research-level. Research-level is defined as atleast a PhD or similar.

If you have been in Sweden legally for more than five years utlänningslagen chapter 5 a opens up for the possibility to consider you to be “varaktigt bosatt” (approximately: permanently residing) and grant you a permanent residence based on that.

Utlänningslagen’s 6th chapter opens up for the possibility to get a work permit after completing your studies. For that to be relevant to you, you already need to have been offered a job. On Migrationsverket’s website you can find more detailed information about the requirements.

Conclusion and how to move forward

As you can see it is hard for me to give you any advice since I do not know enough about your situation. What I can tell is that according to föraltningslagen, which regulates all governmental branches’ conduct, all authorities have to inform you about your rights. Migrationsverket therefore has an obligation to inform you about what possibilities you have. The first thing I would do is therefore to contact Migrationsverket. If they do not help you, I advise you to contact a lawyer in order to get the best assistance. Familjens Jurist knows all the relevant legislation and by booking an appointment with them they can also advise you on what permits you are eligible for.

I hope I have managed to bring some clarity to your question!