Permit extension refused or delayed in Sweden: staying and working while you wait

All rules below are as of October 2026, per the Swedish pages of Migrationsverket and the statutes linked under Sources.

Who this article is for

This article is for people already living in Sweden on a time-limited uppehållstillstånd (residence permit) whose förlängning has been refused or is taking months:

• WP: holders of a work permit
• SP: partners, such as a sambo or spouse, on a permit based on a relationship with someone in Sweden
• ST: students on a study permit

It is not for these readers:

• EU citizens and their family members. They do not apply for a permit extension in the same way. See the EU family member residence card.
• Anyone who already has permanent residence or is thinking about citizenship. See permanent residence or citizenship.
• Visa holders and people who have not yet received a first permit. Start at the permits hub.

Prerequisites before any step applies

• You hold a current, time-limited permit, and you applied for the extension.
• Your application reached Migrationsverket before the permit's last day. For a work permit, Migrationsverket says you can apply at the earliest two months before the permit ends, and must apply before it ends.
• For the right to keep working, you have held your permit for six months or more.
• For an appeal, you hold a written beslut from Migrationsverket.

Step 1: stay and work while the application is pending

The rule that matters most is timing. As of October 2026, Migrationsverket's page on extending a work permit says: "Du måste ansöka innan ditt nuvarande tillstånd slutar gälla" (you must apply before your current permit ends). It adds: "Om du ansöker för sent, det vill säga efter att ditt uppehållstillstånd har slutat gälla, får du inte arbeta under väntetiden" (if you apply after the permit has ended, you may not work while you wait).

The same page warns that you risk losing certain social benefits and may be refused because you were in Sweden without a valid permit.

If you applied in time, the position depends on your permit type.

The work-permit waiting page states the six-month rule in both directions. "Om du har haft arbetstillstånd i sex månader eller mer och lämnade in din ansökan innan ditt nuvarande tillstånd slutade gälla, får du fortsätta arbeta i väntan på beslut." Then: "Om du har haft arbetstillstånd i mindre än sex månader får du inte arbeta medan du väntar på beslut" (under six months, no work while you wait).

For partner permits, the partner page says: "Du har också rätt att fortsätta arbeta eller studera om du har haft uppehållstillstånd i sex månader eller mer och ansökan är gjord innan det nuvarande tillståndet går ut."

The rule is in utlänningsförordningen 5 kap. 3 §: six months or more on the permit, and an application made while it was still valid.

Migrationsverket does not give a processing time. Its work-permit waiting page says: "Vi kan inte säga exakt hur länge du måste vänta på beslut" (we cannot say exactly how long you will wait). It points to its statistics page, Väntetider, for how long cases have taken.

Step 2: if the extension is refused

A refusal arrives as a beslut. Utlänningslagen (2005:716) 14 kap. 3 § lets you appeal a Migrationsverket decision refusing a residence permit or work permit to a migrationsdomstol (migration court), the migration branch of the förvaltningsrätt. The wider system, omprövning, överklagande and the court tracks, is covered in the separate foundation article on appealing a decision in Sweden.

You send the appeal to Migrationsverket. Per its page on appeals, "Vi bedömer om beslutet ska ändras för att det inte är korrekt" (we assess whether the decision should be changed because it is wrong). The page continues: "Det är oftast migrationsdomstolen som prövar överklagandet" (the migration court usually decides the appeal). The court service describes the administrative courts.

Migrationsverket's refusal page says: "I beslutet står det hur du gör för att överklaga och hur lång tid du har på dig" (the decision states how to appeal and how long you have).

On the deadline, two sources agree:

• Förvaltningslagen (2017:900) 44 § says an appeal must reach the deciding authority "inom tre veckor från den dag då den som överklagar fick del av beslutet genom den myndigheten" (within three weeks from the day you received the decision through that authority).
• Your own beslut states the exact last day. Follow that date.

Whether you may stay while the appeal is decided is not automatic. The refusal page says: "Om du har överklagat beslutet kan du i vissa fall stanna kvar i Sverige medan du väntar på domstolens beslut" (in some cases you can stay while you wait for the court). It adds: "Det står i beslutet om du har rätt att stanna eller inte medan ditt överklagande prövas" (the decision states whether you may stay).

If you stay longer than the decision allows, the page says you are in the country illegally and may get an återreseförbud (entry ban) to Sweden and the Schengen area, of up to five years (utlänningslagen 8 kap. 24 §).

If you had held your work permit for six months or more and applied before it ended, utlänningsförordningen 5 kap. 3 § lets you keep working until the decision on your permit is final. If the refusal comes with an utvisning (removal) decision and you appeal, that means until the court's ruling has fått laga kraft (become final). If you held the permit under six months or applied late, this does not apply.

A migrationsdomstol decision is appealed to Migrationsöverdomstolen under utlänningslagen 16 kap. 9 §. Under 16 kap. 11 § it requires prövningstillstånd (leave to appeal). The practical steps for any rejection are in appealing a rejected decision in Sweden.

Step 3: forcing a decision on a delayed extension

Förvaltningslagen 12 § gives a route when the case drags on. It says: "Om ett ärende som har inletts av en enskild part inte har avgjorts i första instans senast inom sex månader, får parten skriftligen begära att myndigheten ska avgöra ärendet." If the authority has not decided within six months, you may ask in writing for a decision. It must then, within four weeks of receiving the request, either decide the case or refuse the request in a separate decision.

Migrationsverket has its own form, 270011. As of October 2026 the form sets the waiting period by case type:

• Most cases: more than six months since you applied.
• Work permits and permits for long-term resident third-country nationals from other EU countries: four months from the application.
• EU Blue Card: 90 days from the application.

The form says Migrationsverket will not handle a request sent before the period has passed. It also says: "Du kan lämna en begäran endast vid ett tillfälle under den tid som Migrationsverket handlägger ditt ärende" (you can make the request only once while the case is open). Migrationsverket "kommer inom fyra veckor antingen avgöra ditt ärende eller avslå din begäran" (will within four weeks either decide your case or refuse your request).

If the request is refused, that refusal can be appealed. The form says the request cannot be used for a citizenship case. The full walk-through is in forcing a Migrationsverket decision.

The official sources call this a begäran om att ärendet ska avgöras (a request to decide the case), not a dröjsmålstalan.

Step 4: travel while you wait

Migrationsverket is blunt about this. Its waiting pages for work, partner and study permits say: "Om du reser utomlands när du har ansökt om förlängning av ditt uppehållstillstånd, kan det bli svårt för dig att komma tillbaka till Sverige om du behöver visum för att resa in i Sverige" (if you travel abroad, it can be hard to return if you need a visa to enter).

There is one exception. Migrationsverket says: "Vid särskilda händelser, till exempel plötslig sjukdom, dödsfall i familjen eller viktiga jobbrelaterade uppdrag, har du möjlighet att ansöka om ett nationellt visum, så kallad D-visering" (in special events such as sudden illness, a death in the family or important work assignments, you can apply for a national visa, a D-visering). The work page says you apply at a Swedish embassy or consulate in the country where you are. Not everyone can get one. Migrationsverket excludes extensions of these permits: athlete or coach, trainee, seasonal worker, ICT, EU Blue Card and self-employed. A D-visering decision takes two to three weeks.

If you can avoid travelling until the decision arrives, do.

What to do first

1. Application date: compare the date it reached Migrationsverket with the date your permit expired.
2. Refusal: find the last appeal date in the beslut today.
3. Delay: send form 270011 once the waiting period for your permit type has passed.
4. Travel: postpone any trip, unless a special event qualifies you for a D-visering and your permit type is not excluded.

More guides sit in the hub Appeals, Rejections & Disputes. For the underlying permit rules, see the permits hub.