living with your partner: sambo

new roots2 minutes

  • Cohabitation (sambo) is a legal status for couples living together in a relationship without being married
  • It gives limited legal protection, mainly for the shared home and household goods
  • It does not give automatic inheritance, tax benefits, or residency rights
  • A sambo agreement is strongly recommended for internationals

 

Many international couples here live together without marrying. Swedish law recognises this as sambo — but the legal protection is much narrower than marriage.

Understanding what sambo does and does not protect is essential, especially if you are moving countries, buying a home, or relying on a partner’s residency status.

 

You are considered sambo if you:

  • live together permanently
  • are in a romantic relationship
  • share a household and daily life

There is no registration process. Your status is based on how you live.

So if you moved to Sweden on a work permit and moved in with your partner, you could be considered sambo even without paperwork if you live together long-term and share expenses.

Swedish Sambolagen mainly protects shared housing and household goods.

If a couple separates, the law can divide:

  • the shared home bought for living together
  • furniture and household items bought for shared use

It does not cover:

  • savings
  • cars
  • investments
  • businesses
  • property owned before moving in together

This surprises many internationals.

Couples can write a sambo agreement to decide how property should be divided.

Typical reasons to create one:

  • 1 partner owns the apartment
  • 1 partner pays more toward the home
  • 1 partner moves countries to live together

You can write your own agreement, but legal help is recommended.

This is the biggest shock for expats:

Sambo partners do not inherit automatically.

If your partner dies:

  • you may not inherit anything
  • the home may go to children or relatives

To protect each other, couples usually create:

  • a will
  • life insurance
  • a sambo agreement

Sambo status can be used for family reunification, but it is harder than marriage.

Migrationsverket typically requires proof of:

  • a serious relationship
  • shared housing plans
  • ability to financially support the partner

Marriage is generally simpler for immigration cases.

So if you were under TPD for example, and living with your partner, you could live together legally, but sambo status alone would not guarantee your long-term residency rights.

Living together should be registered with the Skatteverket.

This helps prove:

  • your relationship
  • shared household
  • eligibility for benefits

Address registration is often used as evidence in legal and migration cases.

property rights
  • Sambo: only the shared home and household items may be divided if purchased for shared use
  • Marriage: most assets are considered marital property and may be divided
inheritance
  • Sambo: no automatic inheritance rights. A will is strongly recommended
  • Marriage: spouses automatically inherit from each other
residency and migration
  • Sambo: can support residency applications, but requirements are usually stricter and evidence must be stronger
  • Marriage: generally provides stronger grounds for family reunification
financial responsibility
  • Sambo: partners are financially independent
  • Marriage: spouses share greater financial responsibility
legal protection if relationship ends
  • Sambo: limited protection unless you have a sambo agreement
  • Marriage: stronger legal framework for division of assets and support
real-world example

If I were a sambo who moved to Sweden for love, and my partner owned the apartment and we separated after 3 years, I might leave with no claim to the property unless we had a sambo agreement. With a written agreement, we could pre-decide how costs and ownership would be handled.

  • Sambo is based on how you live, not paperwork
  • Only the shared home and household goods are protected by default
  • Sambo partners do not inherit automatically
  • Agreements and wills are strongly recommended for internationals

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice.

↗︎ Skatteverket – Cohabitation (sambo)

do we need to register as sambo?

No, you cannot formally "register" as a sambo. Sweden does not have a domestic partnership registry or a civil union equivalent for sambor. Instead, sambo status is a legal fact triggered automatically when two people live together in a permanent relationship and share a household.

  • The nuance: While you don’t register the relationship itself, both partners must be registered at the exact same address in the Swedish Population Register (folkbokföringen) via Skatteverket for legal and immigration purposes to recognize the timeline.

is sambo the same as common-law marriage?

Not quite. While it is often translated as "cohabiting partner," Swedish sambo law is much narrower than common-law marriage in other countries.

  • The key differences: It applies only to a shared home and household goods purchased for joint use. It does not give you automatic inheritance rights, joint financial ownership of bank accounts or private investments, or automatic joint custody/responsibilities for things outside the shared home.

can my partner get a residence permit through sambo?

Yes, you can apply for a residence permit based on a sambo relationship through Migrationsverket.

  • The catches:
    • The Maintenance Requirement (försörjningskrav): The partner living in Sweden must meet strict income and housing size requirements to sponsor the applicant
    • The Interview and proof: Migrationsverket requires rigorous documentation (chat logs, flight tickets, photos, proof of previous cohabitation) and usually conducts an interview at a Swedish embassy
    • The Rule: You generally must apply and wait outside Sweden while the permit is processed, unless you meet specific exemption criteria

who gets the apartment if we break up?

Under the Sambo Act (sambolagen), the joint home (samboendeegendom) and household goods bought for joint use are split 50/50 if you separate, regardless of who paid for it or whose name is on the deed/lease.

  • The exceptions: Property owned before the relationship started or received via inheritance/gift with a stipulation that it remain separate, is excluded. Furthermore, you can completely opt out of the Sambo Act by signing a legally binding sambo agreement (samboavtal).

should we write a will?

Yes, absolutely — if you want your partner to inherit your assets. By Swedish law, sambor have no automatic right to inherit from each other. If one partner passes away without a will (testamente), their estate goes directly to their children (or parents/siblings if there are no kids). If you want your partner to be protected and keep the home or your shared assets, writing a mutual will is essential.