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The original was posted on /r/tillsverige by /u/JJamsB on 2023-09-26 20:57:12.

Hi Folks,

I finally gained citizenship this year after years of dealing with MV and I wanted to share my tips for those who are still in the trenches. Please take this information at your own risk.

  1. Before you apply email MV and ask for a defined list of exactly which documents they require for the specific type of permit you’re applying for. Do not call. The people on the phone will give you a different answer every time you call them. This will take weeks for them to reply, but this step is CRITICAL. Be sure in the email you inform them that the lists on the website are incomplete and you require a defined list.
  2. Make your application and submit the documents you’re able to via the e-service. (You won’t be able to submit all the documents they will have listed as a requirement in step 1.)
  3. Note the date you applied, and read the top of this form to find out how it applies to you. Put it in your calendar so you can send it in (electronically for faster processing) as soon as you pass the minimum wait.
  4. When you are ready to submit that form, you MUST update all documents that you initially submitted with your application. The extra documents you noted in step 1 must also be as up-to-date as possible. If you do not do this, you will be rejected. Of course some documents cannot be updated (like a passport), so skip updating those, but re-submit ALL documents
  5. Submit the form I linked above, along with all your updated documents to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) DO NOT zip them. DO NOT send a google drive link. I recommend you send them as separate PDFs. Make sure to put an appropriate subject line like “Request to conclude a case (inklusive stödjande dokumentation) - XXXXXX” where the X’s are your case number.
  6. If you are granted your permit, then congratulations. You can stop reading.
  7. If you are rejected, you need to act fast, you only have a limited amount of time to sway this person’s decision. There may be information in the rejection letter that describes what you had not fulfilled in order to have your application granted. In my case there was no information, and there was no name attributed to the case worker that rejected me. If there’s no name listed for the case worker that rejected you, you need to call the regular MV contact number, and find out who rejected you by quoting your case number or reference number on the rejection letter.
  8. Once you have the person’s name, or if you received it on your rejection letter, call them via the switchboard (you will not have to wait in line on the phone!). (Remember, time is ticking at this point). Many of these case workers only have an hour or two per day that they answer the phone, so you need to be on the phone the minute their phone line opens up each day.
  9. If you cannot get through to them on day 1, or your case worker just doesn’t answer their phone, send them an email. Migrationsverket follows a standard emailing format: [email protected] (so John Doe would be [email protected]).
  10. Continue to try calling this person every day and sending them an email with your phone number every day until they respond or answer their phone. Don’t just spam the same email, say you have tried to contact them and could they please get back to you asap.
  11. Once you get them on the phone, if you don’t know you were rejected, you can ask. Kindly ask that if you fulfill the requirements you didn’t when you submitted the request to close your case within a day or two, would they be willing to reassess your request to close your case? If they say yes, then you need to ask for a timeframe on how long this will take once you submit your extra materials**.** If they say more than two weeks, then remind them that you only have two weeks to appeal. This should get them to say that they will move your case on to a case worker proper. If they do not say they will move your case on, then it’s time to wait and hope they will reassess your updated submission on their own time.
  12. While you are waiting, you need to consider hiring a lawyer to handle your appeal. At the very least you should be immediately reaching out to find out if you have an argument.
  13. If you haven’t heard anything and you’re getting close to your appeal deadline, you need to contact your case worker at MV and find out what’s going on. Ask them to move your case to a proper case worker. If they agree**, you need to find out their name and contact information too.** Just because they move your case on to a case worker, it doesn’t mean it will move at all. Start bugging this person on a timeframe for your case and follow up each month on their progress.

Now we end up with 5 scenarios:

  • Your submission will have either been granted at step 5 or
  • Your case worker will reassess your request to close your case or
  • Your case will be moved on to a proper case worker or
  • You will be in the process of appealing or
  • You will have to wait for years while they do not a lot.

Some extra tips:

  • In relation to step 4, I also recommend you number each file and submit a table of contents list that lists all the files and their contents. This seems like a lot of work but in my case I had over 50 documents and 100’s of pages of information, and I wanted to make sure there was as little friction for my case worker as possible. See below.
  • Also in relation to step 4, if a submission requirement does not apply to you, don’t simply not submit a document; submit a very short text on a page explaining why this requirement doesn’t apply to you.
  • If MV refers to a part of the law, you need to read this part of the law and extra parts relating to it (this can be sometimes spread across several documents). They are happy to use the law when it suits their case, but they will also be happy to ignore the parts that might strengthen your case.
  • There are parts of the law that give leeway to situations that cause, for example “undue/excessive stress or inconvenience.” You can use this to fight for your rights. My example: I was told I would have to leave the country while my case was processed. I read the relevant parts of the law that they quoted and found that there were clauses that covered undue stress and inconvenience. I was able to argue that leaving the country would ruin my business and cause undue stress to my family. They rescinded the demand for me to leave.
  • MV will only move your case along when you become an annoyance to them. I know this might be uncomfortable to have to email and call these people over and over (not the general phone line, but your specific case worker), but this is the reality of the situation.
  • Be polite, but don’t be afraid to plead your case firmly, and why your case needs to be moved along as fast as possible whether that be financial stress or otherwise.

As an example, below is a list of all the documents I submitted for my application (100’s of pages in all). Just an example of how much information they will ask you for and how pitifully inaccurate the document list is that they give you when you apply via the e-service.

How do I know this works? Well the second time I applied for a permit I followed these steps and was granted a permit within a week of submitting my request to close my case. They didn’t have a single enquiry about any of my documentation at all and I can only put that down to how thorough I was with my documentation.

I hope this helps someone out there and good luck with the battle.