Residence permit for people who have their own business

Residence permit requirements

To apply for a residence permit to start up your own business, you must

• have a valid passport (if your passport is about to expire, you should extend it because you cannot get a permit for longer than your passport if valid)
• show that you have considerable experience in the industry and previous experience of running your own business
• show you have relevant knowledge in Swedish and/or English
• prove that you are the person who is running the company, has executive responsibility and owns at least 50 per cent of the company
• your company’s services or goods must be produced and/or sold in Sweden
• show that you have enough money of your own to provide for yourself and any family members for the first two years (the equivalent of SEK 200,000 for you, SEK 100,000 for your accompanying wife/husband and SEK 50,000 for each accompanying child)
• present plausible supporting documentation for your budget
• show that you have created customer contacts and/or a network in Sweden
• show that after the trial period of two years, your company’s finances are in balance and that you can support yourself and any family members (the stipulated amounts are calculated on the basis of the Swedish standard for income support plus housing costs).
• in most cases you must pay a fee (fees for a residence permit)

The Swedish Migration Agency will do a financial assessment of your business plans.

To be registered as living in Sweden, you must have a permit that is valid for at least one year and you must be planning to live in Sweden for at least one year.

Self-employed persons who are going to work for less than three months in Sweden do not need a residence permit. The citizens of some countries must have a visa even for work lasting less than three months. Read more about visas under Visit Sweden.

Requirements for using the e-service

In order to use the e-service, you need

• copies of the pages in your passport that show your personal data, photo, signature, passport number, issuing country, validity period and if you have permission to live in countries other than your home country
• bank certificates showing that you have sufficient funds to support you and your family for the first two years (the equivalent of SEK 200,000 for you, SEK 100,000 for your accompanying spouse and SEK 50,000 for each accompanying child)
• bank certificates showing that you have enough money to buy the company and for the costs and investments you have reckoned on in order to run your business
• a purchase contract if you have purchased or are intending to buy the company or business
• a trading company agreement or share register
• a document showing that you have paid the purchase price, or your share of the purchase price, if you have purchased the company or business
• contracts with customers or suppliers and premises
• the two most recent annual accounts or financial statements (if the company has been in operation)
• a balance sheet and profit and loss statement for the current financial year up to the previous month
• a course certificate or other proof that you know Swedish and/or English
• qualification certificates from your studies
• employer’s certificates from previous employers
• a registration certificate for companies that you have had or have outside Sweden.

The documents should be translated into Swedish or English by an authorised translator. You must always submit a copy of the original documents.