How to apply for a visa for Sweden

Question

I have a Pakistani passport and a settled status which is Indefinite leave to remain. I wanted to visit a family member in Sweden as they are studying there. What is the best way to apply for a visa?

I don't think my family needs it as my wife is a EU national and kids are British. For myself what do I need to apply for visa and what sort of visa? The stay will be 1 week or less.

Answer 1

Provided that:

• Your wife is an EU citizen, but not Swedish (which is the case)
• You are travelling with her or to join her,

Then:

• You are the spouse of an EU citizen
• As such, you benefit from EU freedom of movement in all EU countries (and non-EU Schengen countries) except your wife's country of citizenship
• But you are a visa national
• You should apply for a visa as a family member of an EU citizen. It's free, there's very little documentation to provide, they're supposed to deliver it within 2 weeks, and there are limited grounds for refusal (contrary to a "regular" visitor visa).

You will have the right to stay for up to 3 months in any relevant country, and are not subject to the 90/180 rule. You must be travelling with your wife or joining her.

The procedure is quite confusing as the form is the same as for a regular type C Schengen visa, which does not have a specific category for this, still lists lots of irrelevant questions, is usually associated with a documentation check list which works for the general case but not this one, etc.

More information here for a very similar case.

On top of that, the information from Swedish authorities is quite lacking, especially for UK residents, as the embassy in London points all visas towards VFS, who don't seem to take this kind of application into account (I haven't tried the application process though), and do not have any information on how to apply for one (contrary to at least some of the Swedish embassies in other countries, like here or here). Also usually if you go through VFS you will have to pay their fee, while going directly to the embassy should be free.

Your best bet is to contact the Swedish embassy in London (or whichever consulate is closer to you), asking about the procedure to apply for one. Make it clear that it's a visa for a family member of an EU citizen.

In theory you could even get to the border without a visa and get it on the spot if you have proper documentation, but you're nearly certain not to be allowed to board in the first place, so I wouldn't even try it.

And finally, indeed neither your EU wife nor your British children will need a visa. Your wife needs a valid EU passport or identity cards, your children will need a valid British passport, pay attention to validity issues.