I've been trying to get more information about what happens to our application now. I've called the Migration Board trying to get to speak to someone who knows, without any luck. Simon e-mailed our contact person at the Embassy in Canberra yesterday and at least got the name of the case officer assigned to our case. He didn't get a direct phone number though so I called the main number today in an attempt to reach her. As it turns out she's on holiday this week and returns on Monday. Just our luck, hey! At least I have her direct number now.

I guess it's not a good time being in this stage of the application right now since summer holidays are coming up in Sweden. Hopefully our case officer will hand us a decision before she goes on holiday. We're running out of time for Simon to be able to come over in mid-August since we need to book his flight (at a reasonable price), he needs to resign with at least a month's notice, empty and rent out his house and sort out all the other practical stuff and he can't really begin to do any of this before a decision has been made.

Also Simon found a perfect job today in Göteborg, doing what he's doing in Melbourne. I called the contact person and asked him if it was worth for S applying based on the fact that he has over 6 years of experience within the field but don't know Swedish. The company is an international company but the person I called told me that within this position all the communication they have with the customers as well as the information is in Swedish which would be hard for S. I got his email address and encouraged S to send him a letter and his CV and maybe something different will come up but this really got him down (understandably) and I don't seem to find the right words to cheer him up and make him think positive.

I wish I was there to help him out. Being supportive from Sweden is hard and we both could use some positive news soon...we're running out of energy and it's hard to keep the spirits up and stay positive. If he's not here by mid-August he'll miss my 30th birthday party and he'll also miss out on Swedish summer which would truly suck! I don't think I need to tell you that focusing on work is difficult too right now.

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On a more positive note (it's always good not to end the post as grumpy bum) I have to tell you that I found another couple where the girl is from Sweden (actually grew up close to were I grew up) and the guy from Melbourne. They now live in Stockholm, Sweden, and if you want to read more about their adventure you should visit their blog - Swedstralia.

In Sweden, having a job means being offered a range of benefits, from paid parental and sick leave to employment-based pension and optional unemployment insurance, all based on your salary. I'm not sure exactly how it works in Australia but I'll try to explain how it works in Sweden with the help of information from Sweden.se.

If you are sick, the Swedish system gives you the time and compensation needed to recover. Sick leave pay in Sweden typically amounts to 80 percent of your salary. Your first sick day is the waiting period (karensdag), which means that you do not receive any payment for this day. Your employer will pay for your sick leave for 13 days, following the waiting period. If you are on sick leave for more than seven days, you must also have a doctor’s certificate explaining why you are unable to work.

Parental leave is a central part of Swedish family life, making it possible to have children while continuing your career. Parental leave allows parents to stay home with their children while keeping their job. Parents are entitled to 480 days of paid leave per child, with both mothers and fathers entitled and encouraged to share the leave. The leave can be taken at any time until the child reaches the age of seven.

Parental benefits are paid out by the state, through Försäkringskassan (the Swedish Social Insurance Administration), and it comes with some restrictions of course. In line with the Swedish state’s strict policy of promoting sexual equality, mothers and fathers are expected to share the 480 days equally. It is possible for one parent to take up to 420 days of the total leave, but the remaining 60 days are then reserved for the other parent. The only exception to this rule is for single parents with sole custody. In these cases, the parent can take all 480 days leave. Fathers are also entitled to 10 extra paid days of leave when the child is born.  In addition to the paid leave of 480 days per couple per child, you are entitled to reduce your working time by 25 percent. This, however, is not compensated for by the state.

Most people are entitled to 80 percent of their salary. This applies for the first 390 days per child, for people who have been working legally in Sweden for over 240 days. If you have not been earning money in Sweden prior to your child’s birth, you are still entitled to parental benefits, paid at the basic level of 180 kronor per day. As you can tell it's rather complicated and I'll not go deeper into this here and now.

You can be entitled to unemployment pay if you while working, pay into an unemployment insurance program (arbetslöshetskassa or a-kassa). This will guarantee unemployment benefits, should you lose your job. These insurance programs are administered by the trade unions but require a separate membership initiated by the employee. Your fees and benefits will depend on your field of work and on the insurance program you choose.

Throughout our working life, all employees in Sweden earn income pension. In addition, many employers make extra monthly payments to a so-called occupational pension. The Swedish pension system is often pictured as a pyramid, with your basic income pension forming the base of the pyramid, your employer contributions in the middle and any personal pension savings plans you choose at the top. You can also choose when you would like to retire, with some people retiring as early as 55 years of age. But income pension and premium pension can only be drawn from the age of 61.

In addition to all of the above all employees also are entitled to a minimum of five weeks of paid vacation per year.

The civic registration certificate (“familjebevis") finally arrived in the mail today. I had everything else ready Sunday night and since then I've just been waiting for the certificate. I called Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency) and ordered it Friday morning las week so I don't really understand what took so long...6 days. But that seems to be the story of this whole process...a reoccurring What took them so long?

Anyway, now I can finally send in my part of the application to the Migration Board office here in Jönköping (I'll do it tomorrow). I'm hoping that all will be processed quickly so we can get a decision, wheter the application is granted or rejected...at this point any decision would be helpful. I truly with every inch of my body hope it will be granted so that we then can book Simon's flight and start looking forward to him getting here.  I miss him so much, even more now after being down to Melbourne...it gets harder and harder.

The Migration Board has a goal; to deliver a decision within 6 months from the date the application was first handed in to the Embassy. I our case this happened 2010-02-23, meaning the process has been going on for about 3.5 months. I'm hoping for a decision within 4 weeks though. *Fingers crossed*

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The whole application process so far can be found in this post HERE.

Another reflection found on the website Australians Abroad - Aussies in Sweden that I would like to share with you because I thought it hit the spot on me too.

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An Aussie will have either a good or bad experience in Sweden based on several factors:

Expectations
If the person is expecting Sweden to be the same as Australia, they are much more likely to have adjustment problems. Australia and Sweden have different cultures so there are going to be differences. Neither is right or wrong or better than the other - just different.  

Standard of Living Reference
Australians typically measure standard of living by measuring material wealth and comforts. Swedish natives typically measure standard of living by measuring time with their family, outdoor experiences, and time to do things either alone or with their families. This "point-of-reference or perspective" is typically culture based and can cause conflicts when there is a change.

Social Interaction
Australian and Swedish natives form social interactions differently as a result of differences between the two cultures. As a general rule, Australians form friendships faster - but at the same time these friendships tend to be more transitory. Swedes form friendships much more slowly, with many of their friendships formed in childhood - these friendships tend to be "friends for life" relationships.

In General
Australians that enjoy living in Sweden tend to be those who have realistic expectations, have prepared for the differences between the cultures and values of Australia and Sweden, and that keep themselves open to change.

It is very important to recognise that leaving one's native country and moving to a new country - especially one that is culturally different, is always going to have difficult issues that need to be overcome. Most people that emigrate to - Sweden will base their "happiness in - Sweden" on their financial situation, support circle, and the ability to get a job or be socially active. A weakness in any of these three areas can have a drastic impact on how a person feels about moving and residing in Sweden.

Attitude will also have a major impact... the first few months will be exciting with many new people to meet and things to do, the next 3 to 6 months (and especially the first Swedish winter) are trying for most people - especially for those that are not either working or socially active. The more alone a person is, the harder this phase of the adjustment process is (having family, children, or other people around to interact with is important).

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At least Simon already experienced a Swedish winter, basically as "bad" as it gets actually :)

Addition 2010-06-08
Just to clarify I love the winter and I thought we did have an awesome winter this year. But from an Aussie point of view not being at all familiar or used to the cold weather and snow it might have been percieved as bad. But I rather have a white and cold winter than one with rain and slush (which is what we normally get most of the winter in south of Sweden unfortunately).

While browsing the net I found an interesting text about culture schock (on a website called Australians Abroad - Aussies in Sweden and from a text written by Duncan Mason) that I thought I would share with you since I could totally recognise myself in this, been there and felt this.

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People's negativity can often be placed in context when you think about which stage of culture shock they might be in. It's also very useful to know that the negativity and homesickness you feel is also only temporary.

Culture shock sounds like something you get when you go to Sibera or Kashmir or somewhere, but you can just as easily get it when going to to -Sweden , the UK and the USA or Canada - they are after all, different cultures.

There are four stages of culture shock (and sometimes even a fifth):

1. Honeymoon period - when everything is wonderful
2. Rejection - when everything is terrible
3. Regression - when the grass is oh-so-much greener back home
4. Recovery - when the new life begins to feel normal.
5. Reverse culture chock
   

Everyone goes through them to different degrees and at different speeds.

Phase 1: Honeymoon period

During the first few days of your stay in a new country, everything usually goes fairly smoothly. You are excited about being in a new place, where there are new sights and sounds, new smells and tastes. You may have some problems, but usually you accept them as just part of the newness. You may find yourself staying in hotels and find that "the red carpet" has been rolled out - you are taken to restaurants, movies and tours of the sights. Unfortunately, this euphoric honeymoon phase can come to an end fairly soon, as you start dealing with day to day problems, e.g. getting your kids’ favourite foods. It may feel like people no longer care about your problems. You might even start to think that the people in the host country don't like foreigners.

Phase 2: Rejection

This can lead to the second stage of culture shock, known as the rejection phase- You may begin to feel aggressive and start to complain about the host culture /country. However, it is important to recognise that these feelings are real and can become serious. This phase is a kind of crisis in the 'disease' of culture shock. It is called the rejection phase because it is at this point that you start to reject the host country, complaining about, and noticing only, the bad things that bother you. At this stage you either get stronger and stay, or get weaker and go home (physically, or more often just mentally).

Phase 3: Regression

If you don't survive stage two successfully, you may find yourself moving into stage three: the regression phase. The word regression means moving backward, and in this phase of culture shock, you spend much of your time speaking your own language, watching videos from your home country, eating food from home. You may also notice that you are moving around school or around town with a group of students who speak your own language - and you may spend most of your time together complaining about the host country/culture. Also in the regression phase, you may only remember the good things about your home country. Your homeland suddenly seems very attractive. All the difficulties that you had there are forgotten and you find yourself wondering why you ever left. You think of your home country as a wonderful place where nothing ever went wrong for you. Of course, this is not true, but an illusion created by your culture shock 'disease’.

Phase 4: Recovery

If you survive the third stage successfully (or miss it completely) you will move into the fourth stage of culture shock called the recovery phase or the "at-ease-at-last phase." In this stage, you become more comfortable with the language and you also feel more comfortable with the customs of the host country. You can now move around without a feeling of anxiety. You accept the food, drinks, habits and customs of the host country, and you may even find yourself preferring some things in the host country to things at home. You still have problems with some of the social cues and you still don’t understand everything people say, however, you are now 90% adjusted to the new culture. You start to realise that no country is truly better than another - it is just that each has a different lifestyle and different ways to deal with the problems of life. Finally you have become comfortable in the new place.

Phase 5: Reverse culture schock

Much later, you may find yourself entering the fifth phase of culture shock. This is called reverse culture shock or "return culture shock" and occurs when you return home. You have been away for a long time, becoming comfortable with the habits and customs of a new lifestyle and you find that you are no longer completely comfortable in your home country. Many things may have changed while you were away and - surprise! surprise! - it may take a little while to become at ease with the cues and signs and symbols of your home culture.

Culture shock can be very difficult and distressing. There is a risk of sickness or emotional problems in many of the phases of culture shock. Remember to be kind to yourself all the time that you are overseas, and when you get home, give yourself time to adjust. Be your own best friend. Seek help if you think you need it. It is often enough just to know that others have been through it and know how you are feeling!

I had a letter waiting on me from the Migration Board when I got back to Sweden yesterday. I would have been very upset if I didn't so it was no surprise. A surprise though was that the letter was dated 31 of May, only three days ago, and that all the letter gave me absolutely no new information, it only said that Simon applied for a residence permit to come to live in Sweden with me and that I should go to the website and print out the form I need to fill out and send back within four weeks.

How the hell did that take them 4 weeks to sort that out? And why was I told when I called the Migration Board before I left that I couldn't just print out the form from the website and send in but actually had to wait for the papers to be sent to me? Even though I already new the case number. This is truly doing my head in, why can't they at least provide the same information!

Anyway so what I have to provide them with now, within four weeks from 31 of May, is the following:

• The form T77 filled out.
• Another civic registration certificate (“familjebevis") for me. I did provide the Embassy in Australia with this but apparently they need another one that is no more than a month old. I called Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency) and ordered one today.
  
• Copy of my passport/ID (which I also provided to the Embassy in Australia but ok, I'll do it again).

It's also optional to add the following to further establish that Simon and I are in a real relationship:

• Copies of passport with stamps proving that I've been in Australia to visit Simon.
• Copies of tickets proving that I've been visiting Simon.
• Copies of photos.

So I better get started. I won't recieve the civic registration certificate until Monday so I plan on having everything ready by then and send it in Monday arvo after work.

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The whole application process so far can be found in this post HERE.

It never ends. I called the Migration Board today asking about Simon's application. I called them as soon as the customer service opened at 8.30 am this morning. Luckily it took me about two minutes before I got through, though the news they had for me was not good at all. The application was registered in the system on the 30th of April but the woman I spoke to told me that they it would take 1-2 months(!) before I get the papers sent to me that I need to fill out since they are so busy at the moment. I tried to convince her that I needed the process to go faster than that and asked her if there was anything I could do to speed it up. But no...I just have to wait.

It sucks big time. Simon and I had just started to make some plans on how to proceed and they included Simon getting here in beginning of July so he wouldn't miss out on Swedish summer. Now we might have to wait until August before we get a decision from the Migration Board, and there is no guarantee it will be a positive one. I was extremely upset and sad after I hung up...again. It's hard on me but it's even harder on Simon who has to prepare to leave everything in Australia, get the house and yard ready, rent out his house and sort out what to do with his furniture and stuff, quit his job and so on. Not knowing when this is going to happen sucks and makes it extremely difficult to plan ANYTHING!

I will keep bugging the Migration Board and see if I get a different answer the next time I call. They seem to give different answers depending on who you get to speak to. We'll also look into other options as far as Simon getting here on a Working Holiday Visa and how that might effect the application for the residence permit, if he needs to still be in Australia when the decision is delivered etc. So many questions and so much frustration right now. All we want is to be together, should that be so freaking hard!!?

One positive thing is that I'll be in Simon's arms in just one week. I can't wait!

Nothing is ever running smoothly or being easy. I should have learned that by now. Since it's been over two weeks since Simon's interview (April 9th) I called the Swedish Migration Board on Monday to see if they had registered the application papers from Australia yet. After spending over 30 min in a phone queue I only found out that they hadn't and I couldn't get the paper work I need to fill out sent to me before they recieve the case from Australia. I was asked to call back next week.

I then asked Simon to give the Embassy a call and see if they could give him a case number and some more information. He gave them a call on Tuesday and got the case number and the same information I got, the application has not been registered in Sweden yet.

I'm a bit unpatient at the moment since I want to get the papers sorted before I leave to go to Melbourne so I then gave the Migration Board another call today, spent another good 30 min in phone queue only to find out that the application had been sent from Australia THIS Tuesday, the same day Simon called them. They had obviously totally forgot about it even though they knew that we wanted to rush the application process if possible and they've said at the Embassy that they were going to send the papers as soon as they possibly could.  So it's been lying on someone's desk for OVER TWO WEEKS!

Anyway, I'm very upset but not much I can do about it. I did get information this time about the form they will send me though (form T77 - pdf in Swedish) and I can prepare the answers to the questions at least. I'm not allowed to send it in though before I recieve the letter in the mail from the Migration Board. But first the application has to reach Sweden and be registered, which would take around two weeks then I guess according to earlier information we've recieved. I don't have two weeks. I leave for Melbourne in two weeks! I will give the Migration Board another call....or ten...next week to try to rush things and prepare the answers to the questions before then.

It's 2010, ever heard of email?? Why do the papers need to be sent by snail mail?

The whole application process can be found HERE.

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Stupid facts that has very little relevance to this:

A grown up garden snail moves about 48m/hour. The distance between Melbourne and Stockholm is about 15590 km which means it would take a snail 324792 hours or 37 years to get from Melbourne to Stockholm. Let's hope the process goes a bit faster than that...

I slept like crap last night, I have no idea why. Kept waking up and had trouble going back to sleep again. Maybe it was because I was nervous about Simon’s interview which he had at noon (or 4 am Swedish time). Anyway, I spoke to him this morning before work and the interview had gone well. I don't know all the details, we couldn't speak for long since he called me from his mobile. But as I suspected they asked questions about how and when we met, about our relationship, about my parents' names, where I went to high school, what I work with, our plans for the future, about Simon’s work and education and so on.

He was also told that the application would be sent to Sweden now, to the Migration Board and an administrator should have the application on his/her desk within two weeks. When I'll hear from them all depends on how busy they are at the moment. Hopefully I’ll hear from them before I leave for Melbourne.

Ideal would of course be if the process would be finished and they would have made a decision before I go but I’m not sure if hoping for that is being a bit too optimistic. But if that was the case we would be able to make plans about what we should do while I’m down there.

I don't know why I'm a bit nervous, it's not me who has an interview at the Embassy tomorrow, it's Simon. I don't think he has anything to worry about though. The person interviewing him seems very relaxed. When Simon talked to her today asking what he should wear (I know it sounds silly but we had a discussion about it and we didn't really know, is it formal or not?!) and she said he could come in shorts and thongs if he wanted to (remember thongs means flip-flops and nothing else in Australia). Plus he didn't have to bring anything at all, no pictures or anything like that.

Simon has to drive up to Canberra meaning a drive of about 650 km or 7 hours! He's staying over at a friends house tonight (and tomorrow night) about 3 hours from Melbourne so he doesn't have to drive the whole way the same day, but still the things you do for love, hey?! ♥

I'll update you on how he went and the type of questions they ask him tomorrow.

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And by the way, it's getting closer only five weeks to go before I leave for Melbourne...

Last updated: 2010-06-24

I'll continously update this post with the progress of Simon's residence permit application.

February

• 2010-02-18 - Simon sends in the application to the Embassy of Sweden in Canberra.

• 2010-02-23 - The application is recieved by the Embassy.

March

• 2010-03-16 - After calling the Embassy (after not hearing anything from them yet) we're asked to provide additional information to help prove that Simon and I are indeed partners. We are also informed that they will get back to Simon regarding a time for an interview. Friends and family are asked to write letters and send to the Embassy.


• 2010-03-23 - Simon recieves an e-mail from the Embassy saying that he should get in contact to set up an interview. He has to go to Canberra to be interviewed in person at the Embassy (since there is no Swedish Consulate in Melbourne).


• 2010-03-25 - Simon calls and sets up an appointment for the interview.

April

• 2010-04-09 - Simon has his interview at the Embassy of Sweden in Canberra. He's told the application will be sent to Sweden and it'll be with an administrator at the Swedish Migration Board within two weeks.


• 2010-04-26 - I call the Swedish Migration Board (phone:+46 (771) 235 235) to find out if the application has been registered yet which it hasn't and I'm asked to call back the following week.


• 2010-04-27 - Simon calls the Embassy of Sweden and gets a case number and the same information I recieved by the Migration Board, that the application isn't registered in Sweden yet.


• 2010-04-27 - The application is sent from Australia to Sweden.


• 2010-04-29 - I call the Migration Board again and find out that the application was sent from Australia on the 27th. I'm extremely upset. I also recieve information on the form that will be sent to me once the application reaches Sweden.

• 2010-04-30 - The application is registered in Sweden.

May

• 2010-05-05 - I call the Migration Board and recieve information that the application was registered in Sweden on the 30th of April and that I can expect it to take 1-2 months before I recieve the form I need to fill out.


• 2010-05-31 - A letter is sent to me from the Migration Board with information about where to find the form I need to print out and fill in and other additional information I'll have to send in to complete Simon's application. I have four weeks to do this.

June

• 2010-06-09 - The civic registration certificate (familjebevis) arrives from the Tax Agency (Skatteverket).

• 2010-06-10 - The application is sent in to the Migration Board.

• 2010-06-22 - I finally reach our case officer and I'm told that her goal is to have a decision for us within two weeks unless something unexpected comes up or she needs me to supply more information. If this falls through we know before July 6.

• 2010-06-24 - Simon recieves his passport back and  I recieve a letter letting us know that Simon has been granted a residence permit and a work permit for two years.  We are VERY happy! The process ended up taking just around 4 months.

Maybe things will work out after all. Simon spoke to the people at the Embassy in Canberra today and set up an appointment for the interview. It sounds like the letters we sent in helped prove our case and after what I understood they don't think there will be any issues for us getting the application approved.

But I'm not going to jump up and down of joy yet. We'll still have to see what happens. But Simon didn't have to bring print outs of our e-mail conversations or lots of photos of us to the interview if he didn't want to so it sounds like they believe that we're not in a scam relationship. I'll make sure he still brings some pictures, like the photo book I gave him for Valentine's Day. It sounds like the interview will be more like an informal conversation so that's good. Since Easter is coming up the interview is booked for the 9th of April, so two more weeks to wait. After Simon has had his interview, the application will be sent to Sweden and it's my turn to get questioned.

Simon also has been sending in some applications for jobs in Sweden. Apparently there might be an issue with him working within the security/alarm business (at least as a technical engineer) not being a Swedish citizen. We're trying to find out all the facts about this.

Last updated 2010-06-16

Embassy of Sweden Canberra

• http://www.swedenabroad.com/Page____29354.aspx

Swedish Migration Board

• http://www.migrationsverket.se/info/521_en.html
• http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/3696
• http://www.skatteverket.se/
• http://www.migrationsverket.se/download/18.56e4f4801246221d25680001175/blut_114021_en.pdf -

General information about Sweden and living in Sweden

• http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/

Finding a job in Sweden

• http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Working in Sweden
• http://www.arbetsformedlingen.se/
• http://ec.europa.eu/eures/
• http://www.thelocal.se/jobs/
• http://www.stepstone.se/?lang=en

Study

• http://www.hsv.se/2.539a949110f3d5914ec800056285.html
• http://www.studyinsweden.se/

Swedish tuition for immigrants (SFI)

Municipalities are required to offer Swedish language instruction to all adult immigrants who lack basic Swedish language skills. This should normally begin within three months of registration of residence in the municipality. Depending on the learner's educational background and previous knowledge, she or he is placed in one of three differently paced study tracks.

• Jönköping (pdf - info in Swedish)

News

• http://www.thelocal.se/

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In the blog

• The whole category - Move to Sweden
• Our residence permit application progress
• More information on how to apply for a residence permit

The plan is for Simon to move to Sweden for a while and we've applied for a residence permit. Simon could apply for a Working Holiday Visa since he's under 30 but we've choosen to try to get a residence permit first and if that doesn't work out he'll apply for the Visa instead.

I though I would provide information about the process and what's going on since I thought it would have been helpful to read about it from someone who has experienced it. All the information will end up in the category Move to Sweden and the posts will have the new Sweden banner that you can see in this post.

The rules vary depending on your citizenships and of course the relationship (if you're married or not, related, have kids and so on). Everything I'm writing applies to an Australian citizen who wants to move to a Swedish citizen and since Simon and I are in a new relationship we fall under the category; Future husband/wife or common-law spouse so naturally that's what I'll be focusing on too.

A lot of the information can be found on Migrationsverket's homepage (the Swedish Migration Board) so I'll just provide the useful links for you here in the blog. The information is often available both in Swedish and in English but I'll provide you with links to the English pages.

The application

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When sending in the application Simon needed to provide the following;

• Of course the application form, called Form 115 021 (pdf). Easily downloaded from the webpage and filled out.
• A valid passport (that he needed to send in with the application)
• Two passport photographs, not more than six months old
• A civic registration certificate (“familjebevis") for me. I ordered the certificate from Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency). Unfortunatly I had to call them and order it since it wasn't something I could order on their webpage but I got it sent to me in a day or two so that wasn't really a problem. I then scanned the document and emailed to Simon, the orginal wasn't needed.

After calling them today he's also been asked to provide additional information in the form of;

• A copy of my passport
• Copy of any joint bank accounts or if we owned or rented something together (which we haven't so unfortunatly we don't have anything like that).
• Since the relationship is so new there are other ways for us to prove to the Migration Board that we are in fact partners and that is to ask family members and/or friends to write a letter and outline how they are related to us and when and where they have met the two of us. So we'll be asking our parents and a friend each to write such letters for us. Good thing we both met eachothers parents and friends :)

So what happens next?

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1. We'll provide the additional information to the embassy.
2. Simon will be given an appointment with the embassy in Canberra for a personal interview. He needs to bring photos of the two of us to show the person interviewing him. He also needs to provide the application fee (500SEK), money that will not be returned if the application is refused.
3. After that the embassy will forward the documents to the Swedish Migration Board.
4. The Swedish Migration Board will then send me a questionnaire with questions about our relationship. I must return the questionnaire within 4 weeks upon recieving it.
5. A decision will be made by the Swedish Migration Board.

The purpose of the investigation is to determine identity, family status, and how long the relationship has existed. You should expect the decision to take about six months from the date you apply.

How long is the permit valid?

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If you lived together with your relative in your country of origin/domicile, the Migration Board will normally grant you a permanent residence permit (PUT). This entitles you to live in Sweden for as long as you like.

If you did not live with your relative in your country of origin/domicile but intend to set up home together on your arrival here, the Migration Board will normally grant you a permit for 12 months (in some cases for six months). You then have to apply for an extension to your permit. If you are still living together, your permit will be extended for a further 12 months (or six months).

When you have had a limited residence permit for two years and your relationship is still intact, you will be granted a permanent residence permit.