Sweden is renowned for its quality of education and research. It is an innovative country with excellent living standards pulling in thousands of students from all over the world. The percentage of Asian students immigrating to Sweden is 27% and 58% come from other European Union countries. Non-EU/EEA country students require a residence permit to study in Sweden. In most countries, individuals require a study abroad student visa which is not the case in Sweden. Let’s look at the details of it in this article.

Visa is the legal document that is required for entering a country. It is not mandatory for all countries. A student entering to Sweden should have a visa and residence permit as well.

Visa is for short duration whereas a residence permit is valid for a year. What are the rights bestowed with a Swedish residence permit?

• You can apply for a permanent residence permit if you’ve spent five years in Sweden.
• You can run a business or share or own a company.
• You can extend the residence permit for up to 6 months and search for job until permanent job is offered.
• Your family member can get a residence permit for the period same as your study duration.
• To be eligible for a residence permit, students should have a confirmed admission in the desired education institution. Also, you must have enrolled in a full-time degree program in university or university college.

Overseas students can apply for a residence permit upon successful payment of first instalment of the tuition fees. It is applicable for students paying full tuition fees on their own. In general, a residence permit or say a Sweden study visa requirement are-

• Copy of a valid passport showing personal details.
• Confirmation letter from the desired education institution.
• The receipt of the security/maintenance deposit of SEK 8,370 as an evidence of enough bank balance to support your studies in Sweden. The bank account must be on your name and should not be a joint account. Money transfer from own bank assets, only are acceptable by the Migration Agency.
• Student must enclose the document stating the amount of scholarship and the tenure for which it is granted, if there is any.
• Should have a comprehensive insurance policy valid in Sweden. Your insurance policy is considered valid if you’re registered with Civil Registry in Sweden. It should be viable for the entire period of stay in Sweden. It should be cover hospitalization and other medical care expense.

Few other requirements can be there for a doctoral student applying for a residence permit in Sweden.

Where to Apply?

Overseas students can apply for the residence permit online through official website or offline in the embassy office of your country. The online application is processed by the Migration Agency officials and is a faster process.

A non-EU citizen must register in the Swedish Population Register if intended to live for a year or more. To register, students must personally visit Swedish Tax Agency.

Under a unique pilot-project, students admitted to a multi-degree programme is eligible to apply for a two-year residence permit for studies in Sweden. The higher education institution engaged in programme are-

• Jönköping University
• KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm
• Linnaeus University
• Lund University
• Umeå University.

For more clarification on student visa/residence permit, you can seek assistance of abroad education consultants who will help in admission to university to the visa application process.

Hurry up before it’s too late!