Visa Information

Overview

Sweden is part of the Schengen Region in Europe and therefore a short stay visa for Sweden is a so-called Schengen Visa. A Schengen visa is issued for the purpose of a short stay (less than 90 days) in Sweden and other Schengen countries. The Schengen visa is strictly a visitor's visa and does NOT give the holder right to reside or work in Sweden.

Every customer, including children/infants, has to submit his/her Schengen visa application in person, from Monday till Friday between 09:00 and 16:00.

Customers must at least meet the following criteria in order to be eligible to submit a Schengen visa application:

1. holding a valid passport/travel document
2. holding a valid residence permit in Bosnia & Herzegovina. In case customer holds a short stay visa for Bosnia & Herzegovina, a C type visa, then customer needs to apply for a Schengen visa from his/her residence country).
3. applying for a short stay visa: Tourist/Visitor Family & Friends/Conference (including Minors), Business or EEA/EU family member.

A short stay visa can be applied for the below listed purpose of travel.

Tourist:

This visa is solely for the purpose of leisure travel including vacationing, cruising, sightseeing and other recreational activities. This visa is given for a travel period of less than 90 days. Customers need to provide for their own accommodation (hotel, hostel, B&B, camping, …).

Visitor Family & Friends:

Customers visiting and staying with family/friends, who are legally residing in Sweden. If you wish to visit Sweden for a short period of time, you must obtain a visa prior to entry if you come from a country with a visa requirement for entering Sweden.

The https://ec.europa.eu/assets/home/visa-calculator/calculator.htm?lang=en  can be used for calculating the travel days remaining under a Schengen short-stay visa according to the 90-days/180-days rule.

The user's guide  contains information on the applicable rules, the use of the calculator and practical examples.

Conference/Business:

Customers-employees/students attending a conference/seminar/workshop, purely out of interest and on their own initiative or by invitation:

1. Customers intending to travel for business purposes, i.e. visiting a business/company to have meetings, to make business deals, to recruit, to train or other work related activities
2. Customers-employees going to attend a conference/seminar/workshop organized by their company or another company directly related to their company
3. Customers-employees/students going to be actively involved in a conference/seminar/workshop.

This visa is given for a travel period of less than 90 days.

Cultural/Sports:

Customers visiting and staying with family/friends, who are legally residing in Sweden. If you wish to visit Sweden for a short period of time, you must obtain a visa prior to entry if you come from a country with a visa requirement for entering.

The https://ec.europa.eu/assets/home/visa-calculator/calculator.htm?lang=en  can be used for calculating the travel days remaining under a Schengen short-stay visa according to the 90-days/180-days rule.

The user's guide  contains information on the applicable rules, the use of the calculator and practical examples.

EEA/EU national family member (including Minors):

Customers intending to travel to Sweden as a family member of an EEA/EU national need to check the visa requirements here.

Minors:

Customers who haven’t reached the age of 18 years when submitting a Schengen visa application (EEA/EU family member).

Due to European legislation regarding protection of children/minors, it has to be emphasized that Minors, who are not providing all the required documents, may not be granted a Schengen visa.

Please Note: VFS is not entitled to advise, assist or influence customers in regards with their applications.

Visa Fees

Special categories of applicants free of charge: A few special categories of applicants are free of charge. Details about these and other rules can be found in the Visa Code Handbook, which contains the common visa guidelines for all Schengen countries. Please consult article 4.4.2 of the Visa Code Handbook to see if you belong to a fee exempt category.

Applicants who are family members of EU citizens, who are exercising their rights to free movement within the EU under Directive 2004/38/EC, are also fee exempt. For details, please consult the Visa Code Handbook part III. Please be aware that in order to be fee exempt, it is not sufficient to be a family member of an EU citizen. The EU citizen must be exercising their right to free movement under Directive 2004/38/EC. This, in principle, means that the EU citizen must have moved to another Schengen country in order to work. Please consult the Visa Code Handbook for details.

Please Note:

• The applicable VFS and visa service fee is as per the current exchange rate. It is subject to change.
• The service fee of 80 Euro is inclusive VAT and is non-refundable, and it can be paid with credit cards or cash. VFS service fee can be paid only in local currency in the amount of 80 EUR in BAM and will be calculated against middle exchange currency rate of the National bank of Bosnia & Herzegovina. For the purpose of keeping track of currency fluctuations the fee will be updated every two weeks.

• Visa Application Centre offers an optional service at nominal additional cost. Please see more detail from Additional Services tab.

Documents Required

Please print out the new Application form – English.

Please print out the new Application form – Swedish.

To help us process your application quickly and accurately, please complete the Sweden Visa Application Form (VAF) electronically using the editable PDF available on this site, print the typed copy and carry it with appointment letter during your visit to the visa application centre. Completing the form electronically reduces counter waiting time and helps avoid errors caused by illegible handwriting.

Note:

Applicants who arrive without a form completed electronically will still be accepted with a completed handwritten form; however, they should expect additional processing time at Visa Application Centre.

Please print out this Checklist and prepare the required documents accordingly

Note:

• Kindly make sure that your application contains sufficient, correct and adequate information. All information must be correct and reflect your planned trip.
• In case any document is missing on submission date you can either submit the application or gather the missing documents and some again in two working days.
• Applicant can be asked for additional documents or may be called for an interview if deemed necessary by the Embassy.

Photo Specifications

Size of photograph for visa applications

After the instalment of a new system for scanning biometrics, including photographs for visa application, it is now possible to lodge a photograph of size 35 x 45 mm. Length of the head should not exceed 30 to 36 mm in length from chin to top of hair.

The photograph must still be in color with a bright background.

Visa Application Centre has been instructed by Sweden Mission to inform customers that the visa application is not acceptable if the photograph does not comply with the above format.

Customers may therefore obtain a new photograph that meets all requirements before the Visa Application Centre can receive the application.

Processing Time

Cases approved by the Embassy – normally 15 calendar days from the day the embassy received the application, for a fully completed application with proper documentation which is handed in at the VFS Visa Application Centre. Please hand in your application well in advance during peak season.

The processing period may be extended up to a maximum of 45 calendar days in individual cases, notably if further scrutiny of the application is needed or in cases of representation where the authorities of the represented Schengen State are consulted.

Every customer can submit his/her Schengen visa application up to 6 months before the intended travel date to the Schengen Area.

Citizens of certain countries or categories of certain citizens are subject to prior consultation in one or more Schengen countries before a visa may be issued. The processing time in these cases will usually be 10-12 days as a minimum. https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/document/download/1d79f44d-49ba-4847-951e-129f924b1051_en?filename=Commission%20Implementing%20Decision%20C(2024)%204319-annex_en.PDF.

Download Forms

Register your visa application online.

Click here to fill in your visa application form.

Invitation for Schengen visa

Checklist

After completing the visa application form and gathering all necessary documents you must submit your documents at VFS by clicking here. Make sure to bring along all the required documents and hand in supporting documents at the Visa Application Centre.