Vistelse

Vistelse is a noun used in Swedish and Norwegian to denote the act or period of staying in a place. It can refer to a temporary visit or to residence, depending on context. The word comes from the verb vistas (to stay, reside) and is formed with the suffix -else, which marks a state or action.

In everyday language, vistelse is used to describe the duration of a stay in a location, for example a short vistelse in a city, a hospital vistelse, or a stay in a rental property. It is a neutral term suitable for describing time spent somewhere without implying origin, citizenship, or rights.

In legal and administrative contexts, vistelse often appears in phrases that distinguish temporary from longer stays in relation to movement, migration, and accommodation. It can refer to the period during which a person is present in a country, in a facility, or under care, without itself specifying permission. Terms like temporary stay or permanent residence are used in more precise legal language to indicate status, conditions, and rights.

Related concepts include hemvist (home residence), uppehåll (stay or residence under lawful status), and boende (accommodation). The term is also used in specialized domains such as healthcare to denote hospital stays (vårdvistelse).