Sweden's decision to abolish permanent residency for future applicants in certain categories came into effect on July 12th.
The new law makes any future immigrants with residency in Sweden on the basis of asylum, subsidiary protection, "exceptionally distressing circumstances" or Long Term Residence (LTR) ineligible for permanent residency.
Instead, they will receive LTR permits which need to be renewed every five years.
Many foreigners in Sweden have, quite understandably, interpreted the words "abolish permanent residency", to mean that the law will strip permanent residency away from people who already have it, or that it will mean that in future no one will be eligible for permanent residency.
Neither of these is true.
Who will have their permanent residency revoked under the new law?
No one. This law only affects applications for permanent residency decided on by the Migration Agency after the law came into force on July 12th, 2026.
This means that if you had already received permanent residency by July 12th, 2026, you are not affected by this law.
Is permanent residency being abolished in future for everyone?
No. If you are living in Sweden on a work permit, on a permit for studies or research, on a permit for a self-employed or self-sufficient foreigner, or as the spouse or partner of a Swedish citizen, you will still be able to apply for and receive permanent residency even after this law came into force on July 12th.
So who is it being abolished for?
The phase-out of permanent residency permits primarily targets people who are in Sweden on asylum-related grounds. So this includes:
- Refugees and individuals with subsidiary protection status (alternativt skyddsbehövande)
- Resettled refugees (vidarebosatta), who previously received permanent residency immediately upon arrival
- Individuals granted residence permits due to exceptionally distressing circumstances (synnerligen ömmande omständigheter)
- Individuals granted permits due to certain persistent impediments to the enforcement of a removal order
- Foreigners given a deportation order after committing a crime given a residence permit because of enforcement obstacles (verkställighetshinder).
- People who used the track change (spårbyte) law to shift to a work permit after their asylum application was rejected
- Family members (anhöriga) who are granted residence based on their connection to any of the categories listed above.
The new rules also end the link between Long Term Residency (LTR) and permanent residency. Under previous law, anyone granted LTR after living in Sweden for five years automatically received permanent residency. After July 12th, these people now instead receive a five-year permit.
This will mean that some Swiss citizens become ineligible for permanent residency as LTR is currently their only route.
Are there any transitional rules for people who have already applied for permanent residency?
No. As with the new stricter citizenship rules that came into effect on June 6th, the government opted not to include transitional rules in the new law.
This means that anyone who had already applied for permanent residency but had not received a decision by June 12th will have their case assessed under the new law, meaning those seeking permanent residency through LTR or through one of the asylum-related categories above is likely to be refused.
Will people no longer eligible for permanent residency be barred from citizenship?
No. As permanent residency is currently a requirement for citizenship, the new law also creates a new alternative path to citizenship for people who have been in Sweden long enough to meet the residency requirement, but who are no longer eligible for permanent residency.
They will be eligible for citizenship if they have "well-founded prospects of being granted a lasting residence permit".
Holding LTR is likely in itself to be enough to provide such "prospects." Citizenship applicants without LTR will need to show that they are likely to have lasting grounds to stay. After ten years in Sweden, that requirement will be waived entirely.