(EDITED) The Swedish Sambo Visa in 2015 Part 2: The Process (updated 9 Nov 2015)

EDIT (9 November 2015):  I wrote the following blog post less than 2 months ago, and already the wait times have elongated substantially.  I have also learned a lot more.  So, the following contains several changes to the original post (published 7 September, and updated once previously on 25 October). 

This is just a quick run-down of the process for applying for a UT ("Uppehållestillstånd, or residence permit) on the basis of a relationship. And just another reminder: this is the process for NON-EU CITIZEN APPLICANTS.  EU citizens have a whole different process.  Read more about it on MV's website here.

I've edited this piece several times as I learn new information. What you're about to read is not pretty, and it is not going to feel good.  So, prepare yourself for it.  However, it is the truth and the reality of the situation we (or, more appropriately, Sweden) has found itself in due to the refugee bonanza.  One thing you need to do is take a slow, deep, calming breath, and when you're ready, say firmly to yourself:  "I AM GOING TO SURVIVE THIS." Because, you will.  It will hurt like hell, but you WILL MAKE IT THROUGH.

With that said.....

The First Leg of the Process

As mentioned previously in Part 1, the first "leg" of the process is submitting an application:

• Go to the migrationsverket website, and select "moving to someone in Sweden". 
• Under "How to Apply for a Residence Permit", select one of the two options that suits your situation: http://www.migrationsverket.se/English/Private-individuals/Moving-to-someone-in-Sweden.html
• If you are married or can prove you have physically lived with your boyfriend/girlfriend for 2+ years, choose the "Married or common law spouse" application.  
• If you are not married and have lived together with your boyfriend/girlfriend for less than 2 years (or not at all!), then choose the other "Planning to marry" application.
• Note: Marriage does not make your application go faster.  Please see Special Notes, below!
• If you are the one wanting to move to Sweden, you start the application first
• Create a login / password when you are prompted
• Begin your application
• Upload the documents requested
• Pay the fee
• Your partner will shortly receive a link to a similar application, in which s/he will fill out the information and submit it.  Then, your application will be complete.
• SPECIAL NOTES:
• Being married will not hasten your processing time.  Neither will pregnancy or having children.  We are all processed together in a lump sum.  The only thing that matters is if you can prove you have physically cohabited with your partner for at least 2 consecutive years (whether married or not) -- and in which case, you will receive permanent UT upon your arrival in Sweden, and not just temporary -- but the waiting time is still the same, whether you have been married for 8 years, or if you met your person online and met them only just once in person before applying.  Additionally, in October, priority requests were revoked, and applicants can no longer request a rushed processing due to pregnancy or other means.
• You can move immediately to Sweden and wait for your residence permit card in Sweden with your partner IF your partner is an EU citizen, but NOT a Swede (yes, you read that correctly).  There are EU Directives that Sweden follows that it does not apply it's own citizens.  If your partner is an EU citizen, but not a Swedish citizen, and you are either 1) Married, or 2) A common law spouse (you can prove you have cohabited with your partner for 2+ years), then you can move immediately to Sweden alongside your spouse so long as you can meet the laundry list of maintenance requirements for yourself (proof of sufficient finances, housing, full medical coverage, etc). But you will be able to look for work or study upon arrival. You will wait the same amount of time for your residence paperwork to process.  Everything you need to know about this situation is all listed here on MV's website:  http://www.migrationsverket.se/English/Private-individuals/EU-citizens-and-long-term-residents/Work-study-or-live-in-Sweden-for-EU-citizens/Residence-cards-for-family-who-are-non-EU-citizens.html
• A reader asked about applying in person versus applying online.   Applicants have the option of applying in person with a paper application at their local embassy or consulate general outside of Sweden.  This may be a necessity if you do not have access to a computer or whatnot.  The process is different if you choose this route - you will make an appointment, submit your application/documents, and do your interview all at once (view the 2nd image half way down this page for a visual of the process). My own opinion: As a matter of principal, you might want to avoid this option if at all possible.  Migrationsverket advises that you apply online, as it is quicker to get your documents registered, and more likely that you will not make errors in your application that might delay processing.  Also, although you do your interview right away, it will not hasten the processing of your file.  Applicants enter the queue to have their case reviewed by a Case Officer in the order that their applications are originally registered.  In January 2015 when I applied, application decisions were averaging "14 months for online applications, and 18 months for paper applications".  We later read on the JO.se website that MV penalizes paper applicants as a way to encourage people to use their online system.  And particularly if there is a long wait to schedule an appointment at your embassy, you may be doing more harm than good by waiting and applying in person.  Again, however, this is only my opinion based off of piecing together information - please leave a comment if you have personal experience with this, so I can update my page!

The Second Leg of the Process

The second leg consists of waiting for your interview invitation.  Once you receive it, you call your local Swedish embassy or consulate-general, to schedule an interview.

When I applied in January 2015, the invitations were coming about 4-6 months after the application was submitted. For those who originally applied as late as March 2015, the time estimate quoted by a Migrationsverket worker on the phone recently said it will be up to "8 to 9 months after applying, before you receive an email to schedule your interview".  For those who have applied as late as June 2015, MV is telling them that they can probably expect to receive the interview invitation approx. 10 months after applying.  So, you can see the pattern here.

• Shortly after you schedule an appointment, you may receive an email asking you to upload documents to support your relationship. 
• My fiancé (in Sweden) received this email, asking him to upload pictures, call logs and flight stubs.  We were then instructed for me to bring the originals of these documents in to my interview.
• At the interview, you are to bring originals of everything you have submitted, including your passport and single status documentation.
• It is also highly recommended you bring any and all other content.  Pictures, all flight stubs you have, call logs... we even had 9 friends/family members write us personal statements confirming our relationship, just to be safe.
• You will be asked a variety of questions.  Some of them are standard questions that all applicants are asked, essentially reiterating what you two submitted in your application.
• If there are any additional questions Migrationsverket may have about your application, they will ask you these questions at this time.
• Your interview will be typed up onto a submission form, and you will be given the chance to read and review it, correct any details, and then sign the document.  You will be notified that this is the only time you will be able to provide any other details about your relationship and application, so speak now or forever hold your peace.  I write more about the interview in Part 4.

The Third Leg of the Process

The third leg consists of waiting for your decision after the interview.  In this period of time, you will be told by MV to NOT visit Sweden. For all the information you could possibly want to know about being able to visit Sweden during the wait, see my Sambo Visa Part 11 post by clicking this link here.

The Final Leg of the Process

After your interview, you enter the final leg of your wait:  Waiting to be assigned a case officer, who will either give you your decision, or ask for you to supply even more paperwork (which will push you into the longest permit processing group).  So for god's sake, SUBMIT A PERFECTLY COMPLETE APPLICATION THE FIRST TIME.

It is hard to determine how long this last wait will be, especially since it seems MV stopped sending out invitations to do the interview about 8 months ago.  I don't know many people who applied after February 2015 who have received their interview email yet (in fact, I haven't even heard of one single case, as of 9 Nov 2015). MV has been quoted many times as saying people who have applied in 2015 can expect an 18-20 month processing window (regardless of what their website says), so... it's hard to tell.  If you applied on or after 15 February 2015 and received your interview email, feel free to leave an anonymous comment on this blog post so others can track the progress!

Processing Times

As of September 2015, MV now updates the processing times ("handläddningstider") monthly. Here is the link: http://www.migrationsverket.se/English/Private-individuals/Moving-to-someone-in-Sweden/Processing-time.html.  I have deleted all the original discussion below about wait times at the date I published this blog post, because it has become just woefully outdated, and I'm trying to keep this post current.

The link above also defines who falls into which processing bucket. Essentially, they are as follows:

1. If you are a non-EU citizen moving to be with your Swedish spouse, girl/boyfriend or partner, and all of your paperwork is perfectly in order, and you hail from a reputable country, you are in the middle processing bucket.  
2. If you are a non-EU citizen who does not have reliable paperwork, or whose relationship is called into question by MV for requiring more investigation, you fall in the last processing bucket.  
3. Only refugees, refugee children (or other unaccompanied children), EU citizens, or people who failed to submit a complete application and are due for rejection, are processed in the first bucket.  

We personally have been told such extraordinarily different things by different officials, that it's hard to determine what is true about the real wait times.  By law, the whole application process should not take longer than 9 months start to finish (see question #34 on page 15 of this document here.)  However, this is to be seen rather as a "guideline", apparently.  On the following page, question #39, it explicitly then says that there are absolutely no consequences if 9 months is exceeded.  You will be neither immediately granted access (thereby giving MV incentive to follow their own 9 month "guideline"), nor will you be rejected.  You just keep waiting.

Further legislation supporting the 9 month processing time can be found on page 18 of this Alien's Ordinance governmental document, under "Processing Times".

The most unintentionally cruel thing we went through, was at my interview.  I must have misunderstood the woman who interviewed me.  She had advised us to call MV a couple weeks after our interview to ask on the progress, "if we hadn't heard anything yet".  We waited 2 weeks, and then called. Johan spoke to someone who basically laughed at him and said it would take 12 months - but whether that was the total amount of time, or the wait time now after we'd done the interview, we were unsure.

So, at the end of the day, we have assumed it will take us 14 months. That was the "worst case scenario" time frame when we first applied; now it seems its the best case scenario.

The Decision:

• I have little to share about the decision, as at this point in time, we are still awaiting ours.  We were interviewed on July 8th, and hope to hear something back by early November.  But here are some things we have learned along the way:
• The decision will be sent to you by email, but it won't be your decision -- just a notification that a decision has been reached, and for you to call the embassy to receive the results.
• If your home country does not require a tourist visa for its citizens to visit Sweden, then once you get your decision, you are allowed to take the email with you straight to Sweden, make an appointment at the Migrationsverket office to get fingerprinted and photographed for the Residence Permit card, and then head to Skatteverket to apply for a Personnummer.  Your Residence Permit card will come in the mail (I believe the time estimate for receiving it is a couple weeks).  If you do require a tourist visa in order to visit Sweden, you will need to do your biometrics at the Swedish embassy in your home country, and wait for them to send the residence card to you (which could take about a month, according to MV's website.

If you have been waiting over a year to receive your decision, you can always consider leaving an official complaint with the Riksdagens Ombudsmän here: https://www.jo.se/en/How-to-complain/Complaint-form/

Next up.... Part 3! How to survive The Great Wait.