On 6 June 2026, the hemvist — habitual residence — requirement for a spouse, registered partner or sambo of a Swedish citizen rose from 3 years to 7 years. Migrationsverket applies this change with no transition period, so a pending application filed under the old rule is still decided under the new one. If you are married to, registered with, or living with a Swedish citizen, you may not know which residence period now applies to your case. You may also be unsure whether an application you already filed is protected. This guide sets out who qualifies for the shortened 7-year path and the conditions attached to it. It also covers the general rule everyone else follows, and what happens if your case is already in Migrationsverket's queue.
Quick reference: hemvist required, by relationship or status
| Category | Hemvist required |
|---|
| Spouse, registered partner or sambo of a Swedish citizen | 7 years (up from 3) |
| General rule (everyone else) | 8 years (up from 5) |
| Nordic citizens and former Swedish citizens | 2 years |
| Stateless persons | 5 years |
| Refugees | 7 years |
| Applicants under 21 | 7 years |
Who qualifies for the 7-year hemvist path
If you are married to, in a registered partnership with, or cohabiting (sambo) with a Swedish citizen, you need at least 7 years of hemvist, per Migrationsverket. Two further conditions attach to that figure: you must have lived together for 5 years, and your partner must have held Swedish citizenship for 5 years. Migrationsverket treats all three relationship statuses the same way. Marriage, registered partnership and sambo cohabitation give you access to the identical shortened path, with no status ranked above another. This is a sharp increase from the earlier rule, which required only 3 years of hemvist for the same group.
Both 5-year conditions must be met before Migrationsverket applies the shorter period instead of the general rule. Whether the two periods must run at the same time, or can be satisfied on separate timelines, is not stated on Migrationsverket's published pages. Treat this as an open question rather than an assumed rule until Migrationsverket confirms it.
If your partner was not always a Swedish citizen
If your partner previously held citizenship of another country, or was stateless, your partner must have been a Swedish citizen for at least 5 years before you can rely on the 7-year path. This condition interacts directly with the cohabitation requirement above. If your partner naturalized recently, your own access to the 7-year path effectively waits on your partner's citizenship date, not on when you began living together. Migrationsverket's published pages do not state what applies to your case in the years before your partner reaches that 5-year mark. Whether you then fall back to the general 8-year rule until your partner's own 5-year mark arrives is not confirmed on the sourced pages. Treat this as an open question rather than an assumed fact until Migrationsverket clarifies it.
The general 8-year rule, and who else gets a shorter one
If you do not qualify for a shorter path, you need 8 years of hemvist, up from 5 years, effective 6 June 2026, per Migrationsverket. This general rule is the default for every applicant outside the recognized exceptions. Several groups keep a shorter route, for comparison. Nordic citizens and people who previously held Swedish citizenship need only 2 years. Stateless applicants need 5 years. Refugees and applicants under the age of 21 need 7 years, the same period as the spouse and partner path above. The relative gap between the shortened spouse path and the general rule has narrowed sharply. It was previously a 2-year difference: 3 years against 5. It is now a 1-year difference: 7 years against 8.
What changed on 6 June 2026, and what it means for a pending application
The new rules apply from 6 June 2026 with no transitional arrangement, per Migrationsverket. Migrationsverket assesses every undecided case under the new rules, even one filed before that date. If you applied under the old 3-year rule and Migrationsverket had not issued a decision by 6 June 2026, your case moves to the new 7-year requirement automatically. Filing date offers no protection; only a decision issued before 6 June 2026 falls under the old rules. This is the detail most likely to catch a pending applicant off guard, since many assume an application filed before a rule change is grandfathered in. It is not. For the wider context behind this shift, see the broader 6 June 2026 rule change.
The self-sufficiency and orderly-life conditions
Beyond the hemvist period, if you are between 18 and 67 years old, you must show annual income or self-employment earnings from non-subsidized employment of at least three income base amounts before tax. For 2026, that threshold is SEK 250,200. You must also have led an orderly and honourable life. Certain groups are exempt from the income test: students, pensioners, and people with a disability that prevents work. If you fall into one of these categories, state your exemption directly to Migrationsverket rather than assuming the requirement no longer applies without confirming it. A criminal conviction does not disqualify you outright, but it triggers a qualifying waiting period before you become eligible, with the length depending on the offense.
The Swedish society and language knowledge tests
The first test, covering knowledge of Swedish society only, is administered from August 2026 to applicants aged 16 to 66 in Stockholm by the Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR). A Swedish-language test is introduced at a later stage. If you are younger than 16 or older than 66, this test does not apply to you. Migrationsverket has not yet fixed a date for the language-test rollout on its published pages, so treat any specific month for that stage as unconfirmed until Migrationsverket reconfirms it. The society test sits on top of the hemvist and income requirements covered above; passing it does not substitute for meeting either one.
How to apply, and how long the decision takes
You apply via e-service or paper form, pay a SEK 2,900 fee, and attend a mandatory in-person identity check at a designated Migrationsverket office. Bring the identity documents the in-person check draws on, along with the other documents Migrationsverket requests for your specific case. Once your application is in, 75% of recently decided adult citizenship cases were resolved within 54 months, per Migrationsverket's own published figure. That figure is not broken out by application pathway. Treat it as a general benchmark across all citizenship routes, not a promise specific to the spouse or partner path. Before reaching this stage, most applicants first go through the partner permit that precedes this residence period.
Frequently asked questions
Does cohabiting (sambo) count the same as marriage for Swedish citizenship?
Yes. The 7-year path applies equally to marriage, registered partnership, and sambo cohabitation. Migrationsverket does not rank one status above another for this purpose.
Does applying before 6 June 2026 protect a pending case from the new rules?
No. Migrationsverket assesses every case not yet decided by 6 June 2026 under the new rules, regardless of when you filed it. Only a decision issued before that date falls under the old rules.
What if your partner was not born a Swedish citizen?
You can only use the 7-year path once your partner has held Swedish citizenship for at least 5 years. What applies to your case before that 5-year mark is not stated on Migrationsverket's published pages, and this guide treats it as an open question rather than a confirmed rule.
Which residence period actually applies to your case
If you are married to, registered with, or cohabiting with a Swedish citizen, the 7-year hemvist path replaces the earlier 3-year rule from 6 June 2026. Two conditions apply: 5 years of cohabitation, and your partner's own 5-year citizenship mark. Everyone outside this group now needs 8 years, up from 5. No pending application escapes the new rules by virtue of its filing date; only a decision made before 6 June 2026 falls under the old ones. Income and orderly-life conditions apply on top of hemvist regardless of which path you follow. For the remaining application paths, see the citizenship and permanent residence overview. See what to do if a citizenship application is refused.
Sources
