Help for immigration; I got married and moved to Sweden from the US

Hey! I’ve been reading a lot of posts lately for people seeking help to either get married or move to Sweden from the states, so I thought I’d post my own route to getting into Sweden!

Facts: I am American and was single when I first came to Sweden.
           I had a volunteer visa for 2yrs so I had the right to be in Sweden for more than 90days at a                           time.
           My husband is an EU citizen who works in Sweden and is in the process of waiting for citizenship to Sweden. He has an “Uppehålls rätt” through his job.


Step one- getting married within Sweden

Here are the steps I went through to get my application for marriage accepted:
1. Gather paperwork (passport, proof of being single from the states; tax return, or if not accepted then a “record of no record” from a county in the US. I had mine mailed to a US friend and she took a pic and sent it to me, I then scanned it on my phone app and emailed it to my case worker)
2. Go to skatteverket for your hindersprovning (marriage license application approval)
3. Set a time with a Swedish officiant (I did mine in Lidingö) and Bring witnesses.
4. Get married :)

Step two- apply for residence card

1. In my case, my husbands uppehålls rätt allowed me to stay in Sweden during application process..
2. Go to migration office
3. Apply for uppehålls kort (passport for both spouses and marriage certificate needed)
4. Wait about a month or so for approval
5. This card gives you full benefits of a permanent resident although it’s only valid for 5yrs at a time.

If your spouse doesn’t have the same as mine, you must apply outside of Sweden and travel on tourist visas until you get your permanent resident permit.

Hope this helps someone like me! My process appears simple; it took me over 3 months to get it figured out for my marriage and 1yr for the resident card, so my pain is your gain!

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