Step 1 – Registration
After you have submitted an asylum application, the Swedish Migration Agency will assess which country is responsible for processing your asylum application, according to the Dublin Regulation.
If Sweden is responsible for handling your asylum application, the Swedish Migration Agency will proceed with the assessment of your asylum application. You can stay in Sweden while you are waiting for the Swedish Migration Agency to determine whether you have the right to protection in Sweden.
After your application has been registered, you will have the status of asylum-seeker until a final decision is made. You will also receive a so-called LMA card. The card is not an identity card, but a certificate that you are an asylum-seeker and that you are allowed to be in Sweden while you are waiting for a decision.
You can work as an asylum-seeker in Sweden in case you have a certificate (called ‘AT-UND’) indicating that you are not required to have a work permit.
If you do not earn your own money and cannot support for yourself in Sweden, you can apply for financial support at the Swedish Migration Agency.
The Swedish Migration Agency can arrange accommodation for you if you have no place to stay. You can also choose to arrange accommodation on your own too.
Find more information on how to access such services at the website of the Swedish Migration Agency, available in English and Swedish.
Step 2 – Interview
You will be given the opportunity to explain the reasons for seeking asylum in Sweden during an individual interview with an employee of the Swedish Migration Agency. The asylum interview is a very important step in the asylum procedure. During the interview, you have an opportunity to provide as much information as possible in support of your asylum application and present all available documents in support of your asylum claim. It is important to give a full account of what happened to you and what you fear if you are returned to your country of origin. If you have specific needs, you can safely disclose them at any time during your interview and ask for specialistic support. If you need an interpreter, you can ask for one.
All the information you provide during your application for asylum (documents, records during asylum interview with you) will not be shared by the Swedish authorities with your home country or anyone else.
Step 3 – Decision
What can be the decision in my case?
After the decision, the Swedish Migration Agency will contact you, through the contact you have provided, to inform you about the outcome of your asylum application.
The decision that will be given to you on paper is written in Swedish, but you will receive oral information about the decision through an interpreter in a language that you understand.
There are four possible outcomes of the asylum procedure:
- You are recognized as a refugee and issued a temporary residence permit with an initial duration of 3 years, which can be extended periodically for 2-year periods.
- You are granted subsidiary protection and issued a temporary residence permit with an initial duration of 13 months, which can be extended for 2-year periods.
- You are granted a residence permit due to exceptionally/particularly distressing circumstances with an initial duration of 13 months, which can be extended for 2-year periods.
- Your asylum application is denied.
If you are granted asylum (the first three outcomes, i.e. refugee status, subsidiary protection or residence permit due to exceptionally/particularly distressing circumstances), you have the right to live and work in Sweden on equal ground as Swedish citizens. As proof of your residence permit, you will receive a residence permit card from the Swedish Migration Agency.
After receiving a temporary residence permit, you should register with the population register at the Swedish Tax Agency as soon as possible on the website of the Swedish Tax Agency. Registration is necessary to be entitled to the benefits of the Swedish social security system and to attend Swedish language courses. After you have registered with the population register, you can also apply for a Swedish identity card.
If your asylum application is denied, you can sign a ‘declaration of acceptance’ if you agree with the decision of the Swedish Migration Agency. If you do not agree with the decision of the Swedish Migration Agency, you can appeal the decision.