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Sweden self-employed visa: how long the Residence permit to run your own business takes, what it costs, and whether it leads to permanent residence
Business
Residence permit to run a business you own at least 51 percent of, with decisive responsibility. Requires industry and self-employment experience, relevant Swedish or English (very good Swedish if many Swedish customers or suppliers), a credible budget, customer contacts or networks, and own money to run or buy the business (loans are not normally accepted). Maintenance: at least SEK 200,000 in a bank account in your name for two years, plus SEK 100,000 for an accompanying spouse and SEK 50,000 per accompanying child. First grant at most two years, never longer than the passport. Permanent residence may be applied for after at least two years running the business, if you can support yourself through the business and live a well-behaved life. Time alone is not enough.
Source: Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) · verified 2026-08-15
Does Residence permit to run your own business lead to permanent residence?
- Residency
Temporary on grant; permanent residence is a later application after 24 months
Extension page: “You must have had, and met the conditions for, a residence permit as a self-employed person, and have run your own business in Sweden for at least two years.” Also: support yourself through the business and live a well-behaved life. The leftover-after-housing figure on that page still prints “In 2025, that amount is SEK 6,186” while the work-extension page prints SEK 6,243 for 2026 — flagged for a human; not stored as this route’s funds field. Old 48-month figure contradicted the two-year rule and has been replaced, with the extra conditions recorded in the summary.
Open the authority's page for this fact
Source: Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) · verified 2026-09-25
Do you need a job offer for Residence permit to run your own business?
- Job offer
Not required
Source: Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) · verified 2026-09-25
What education does Residence permit to run your own business require?
- Education
Not yet checked
We have not yet checked this field against the official source. That is not a finding that the page we read does not carry a rule.
Source: Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) · verified 2026-08-15
How much money do you have to show for Residence permit to run your own business?
- Funds
From SEK 200,000
Bank funds in your name for two years: at least SEK 200,000. Plus SEK 100,000 for an accompanying spouse and SEK 50,000 per accompanying child. Separate from money needed to run or buy the business. Loans are not normally accepted for the business capital.
Source: Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) · verified 2026-09-25
How much does Residence permit to run your own business cost to apply for?
- Application fee
SEK 2,000
Self-employed application fee only: “Employees/self-employed people: SEK 2,000.” Adult family members SEK 1,500 and children SEK 750 are separate. Japanese citizens pay no application fee. This is not the employee fee of SEK 2,200 printed on the employees page.
Source: Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) · verified 2026-09-25
How long does Residence permit to run your own business take to process?
- Processing time
No commitment to a processing time
Open the authority's page for this fact
Source: Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) · verified 2026-09-25
We tell you when we re-read a route you follow, in the note from that check, with the official link.
What does Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) actually require?
Quoted from the pages named beside each rule, not paraphrased.
- Language
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.
Source: Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) · verified 2026-09-25
Not published on the pages we read
We checked for each of these and the page carried no figure. The absence is recorded with the reason, so this page states nothing the authority does not.
Processing time
Page opened 2026-09-18: “It is not possible to say exactly how long you will need to wait for a decision.” Statistics for cases decided in the last 12 months. Complete applications: “The number of decided cases is too small for us to show the waiting time.” Incomplete applications: “75% of recently decided cases have been decided within: 11 months.” That is history, not a promised range. The previous complete 8-month figure is no longer published. Old 3–9 month range deleted.
Source: Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) · verified 2026-09-25
What changed when we last checked this record
Self-employed apply page opened 2026-08-15. Old stored age 18, dollar funds, dollar fee, 3–9 month processing, 48-month permanent-residence figure, and a homepage officialSourceUrl have been removed. The 48-month figure contradicted the Agency’s two-year self-employment rule.
Source: Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) · verified 2026-08-15
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