Documents required

General requirements

To obtain a residence permit, you must:

• hold a valid passport;
• be accepted on a course of full-time study at a university or university college;
• be able to support yourself during the period for which you are applying for;
• have a comprehensive insurance policy.

More on scholarships

Specific requirements

• You must hold a valid passport;
• Enclose copies of the pages in your passport that show your personal details, photo, signature, passport number, country of issue, period of validity, and whether you have permission to live in countries other than your country of origin. It is important that the whole of the passport page is copied. Numbers and lettering at the very top and bottom of the pages must also be clearly visible. If your passport is about to expire, you should get it renewed as you cannot get a permit for longer than your passport is valid;
• You must be accepted on a course of full-time study;
• You must be accepted for full-time studies on a programme or course that requires your presence at a Swedish university or university college. You cannot get a residence permit for distance-learning studies. Full-time study means 30 higher education points per term;
• You cannot get a residence permit if you do not have final acceptance for the studies. If you are liable to pay a study fee, you are not considered having final acceptance before the part of the study fee due to the university or university college in advance is paid. The university or university college informs the Migration Agency when the payment is made;
• The need to have final acceptance on the study course to be granted a residence permit also applies to doctoral students. Therefore, a certificate stating that you will be accepted as a doctoral student is not sufficient. If you have been accepted as a doctoral student, you must enclose the decision of the place of study to accept you as a doctoral student, with details of the date of acceptance. You also need to enclose a more comprehensive certificate with the details of the doctoral studies, issued by the place of study. You may refer the place of study to the Migration Agency’s checklist for these certificates;
• If you are going to study in Sweden as part of your education in another country, you cannot get a residence permit for studies if you are not accepted to a Swedish university or university college. You can instead apply for a residence permit to visit. If you have attained qualifications for research studies and have been selected to carry out research in Sweden, you may apply for a residence permit as a visiting researcher;
• You must be able to support yourself;
• The maintenance requirement for people applying during 2018 is at least SEK 8,190 per month. For applications that are received by the Migration Agency on 1 January 2019 or later the maintenance requirement is at least SEK 8,370 per month;
• You must show that you have secured maintenance for the period for which you are applying for a residence permit. This means that you must show that you have money available in your own bank assets, grant or similar, for example a study grant from your country of origin;
• If you are going to study for one year or longer, you must show that your maintenance is secured for ten months of the year;
• Own bank assets means you have money on an account that belongs to you and from which only you and your husband or wife, if you have one, can withdraw money. If you share the account with, for example, your parents or a relative, the bank assets will not be regarded as your own. Nor does the Migration Agency approve the sponsoring of your support by anyone else (for example, a relative or a company) during your stay in Sweden, if there is no money on your account. Credit, funds or shares are not counted as your own bank assets;
• If you will be receiving a grant or similar, you must enclose a recently prepared document in your name with the details of the monthly or total amount. The document must indicate the period you will be receiving the grant for, and how much of the money will be available for your maintenance;
• If you are a doctoral student and will be receiving a study allowance or wage for your employment as a doctoral student, this must be shown on a proof employment or study certificate. The study certificate is drawn up by the place of study (see Checklist for a certificate for a first-time permit for doctoral studies);
• If you can show that you are receiving free accommodation and/or food from a university, university college or an organisation that works with international exchange, the amount per month may be reduced. For applications that are received by the Migration Agency during 2018 the monthly amount is reduced by SEK 1,592.50 per month for free food and SEK 1,592.50 per month for free accommodation. For applications that are received on 1 January 2019 or later, the monthly amount is reduced by SEK 1,627.50 per month for free food and SEK 1,627.50 per month for free accommodation.

Duration of validity of permits

You can get a residence permit for the period your studies require, but never for longer than your passport is valid. Even if you have been accepted for a study course lasting several years, you can usually get a residence permit for a maximum of one year at a time, or thirteen months for a first-time application.

As a doctoral student you can get a residence permit for studies for up to two years.

The length of the residence permit granted can also be affected if:

• you do not have money for the whole of the permit period sought;
• the validity period of your healthcare insurance does not cover the entire permit period sought.

the actual study period is shorter than the permit period sought.Your permit may be withdrawn if, in your application, you provided incorrect information or did not mention something that was significant in regards to your residence permit.

The permit may also be withdrawn if the requirements for the permit are no longer met – for example, if you are no longer studying.

Exchange students and students pursuing studies which are not connected with a university/college or upper secondary school will be granted a residence permit of one year at the most. You can apply for an extension if you need to stay longer, e.g. for an exam.

Appeals

If the Swedish Migration Agency refuses your application, you can appeal the decision within three weeks from the date when you were informed of the decision. Information on how to lodge an appeal can be found in your decision.

If you are enrolled in a university/college, you do not need a work permit as long as your student residence permit is valid.

If you are enrolled in an upper secondary school/folk high school you cannot work without a work permit.

If you are a university/college student and want to work in Sweden instead of studying, you must have a valid student residence permit and must have completed at least 30 ECTS credits or one semester/term of postgraduate education in Sweden.

You must file your application for a work permit before your residence permit for study purposes expires. The application can be filed from within Sweden.

A residence permit for studies is subject to a time limit.

Even if you have spent several years as a student in Sweden, you will normally not be permitted to become a long-term resident in Sweden.

If you are a family member of someone who has a residence permit for studies in Sweden at a university or university college, you can get a residence permit for the same period. If the permit is valid for more than six months, you can get a work permit. If you are a family member of someone who has a permanent residence permit in Sweden after four years of doctoral studies, you can get a permanent residence permit.

You should apply for the residence permit from your country of origin or other country outside Sweden where you have permission to live. The permit must have been issued before you travel to Sweden.

The following are counted as family members: wife, husband, cohabiting partner, registered partner and unmarried children under the age of 18. Cohabiting partner refers to couples who are not married but live together as if married.