Q: Do I have to speak Swedish to be able to study
in Sweden?
Ans: In order to make short-term
studies more available to foreign students without knowledge
of Swedish, a large number of courses are offered in English
at most universities and universitiy colleges. Exchange students
are generally given priority of admission to these courses,
but freemovers are also admitted (with some exeptions). More
than seventy different master´s programmes, taught in
English, are offered for students with the eqivalent of a
Bachelor´s degree. Summer courses are also available
at some universites and university colleges. Most of them
are held in Swedish, but a few are offered in English.
Q: I would like to continue my studies in Sweden,
but I don't have any financing. Is it possible to get any
scholarships?
Ans: While studying in Sweden visiting students have
to be able to support themselves by means of personal funds,
scholarships or study grants from the home country. To get
your residence permit - or to renew your permit - you will
have to prove that you are financially secure. A sum equivalent
to around 6 300:- per month for at least 10 months of the
year is required. Visiting students are not eligible for Swedish
study assistance.
In general, Swedish universities or student unions are unable
to offer financial aid or scholarships to visiting students.
Consequently there are very few scholarships available in
Sweden. Most of them are for post-graduate studies or research,
particularly in the field of Swedish language or related subjects.
For more information about scholarships, please contact:
The Swedish Institute
Box 7434
103 91 Stockholm
Sweden
Phone: + 46 (0) 8 789 20 00
E-mail: si@si.se
Q: What kind of insurance do I need?
Ans: Medical insurance
In Sweden for one year or more:
Visiting students who have residence permits valid for one
year or more are entitled to benefits such as reduced costs
for medicine, medical and dental care, and almost free hospital
treatment.
To be eligible for any of these benefits you must have registered
as a resident (civil registration) and also be registered
at a Social Insurance Office in Sweden. Application for civil
registration has to be made at your local tax office. You
can find this in the telephone directory under Skatteförvaltningen,
lokala skattekontor.
When your application is approved you will be given a national
registration number (personal number). The application procedure
may take some time, but in the meantime you will be fully
covered if you can show that you have applied for registration
as a resident (civil registration). Note: Your social insurance
in Sweden does not cover your trip to get here nor your time
in the country prior to registration. To be fully covered
in the meantime you will need some kind of travel insurance.
In Sweden for less than a year:
If you have a residence permit which covers a period of less
than one year you will not be able to register as a resident.
However, if you come from a Nordic, EU or EEA-country (excluding
Switzerland) you are entitled to use the public medical services
on the same basis as Swedish citizens for immediately necessary
medical care. A requirement for this is that you are registered
at a Social Insurance Office in your home country and bring
form E111, which they will issue on request.
Sweden has also reached reciprocal agreements on public medical
benefits with the following countries: Australia, Algeria,
Estonia, Hungary (hospital care only) and Poland. If you are
a student from any of the above countries you need only show
your passport and in most cases a certificate from the Social
Insurance Office in your home country. For the reciprocal
agreement to apply, the need for medical care must arise during
(not prior to) your stay in Sweden. Students from other countries
or students from EU/EEA countries (except for the Nordic countries)
who are not registered with any Social Insurance Office and
who are going to stay in Sweden for less than a year must
buy themselves an insurance policy. Medical treatment is extremely
expensive if you don't have insurance (the cost of hospital
treatment is at least 2800:- per day).
SSCO has reached an agreement concerning medical expenses
insurance for visiting students with the insurance company
Trygg Hansa. The insurance costs 360:- per quarter (3 months).
The insured person will pay the first 1000:- of any claim.
Application forms are available at the international unit
at your host university.
Other types of insurance
The student unions also have a special agreement with the
insurance company Trygg Hansa, which gives students cheaper
accident, life and property insurance. Please note that this
insurance does not replace the medical expenses insurance
that you should buy if you are not fully covered (see above).
The property insurance is valid as travel insurance for 45
days. If you have registered as a resident it will cover trips
all over the world, otherwise only travel within Scandinavia.
For more information about student insurance please contact
the Foreign Student Adviser at SSCO.
Q: Will I be able to work while I'm studying?
Ans: All students with a student permit are allowed
to work in Sweden during the academic year. Possibilities
for part-time work are limited. The kind of work open to you
will very much depend on your language skills and academic
or professional qualifications. For most jobs, a knowledge
of Swedish is a requirement or at the very least an advantage.
Q: Do I need a residence permit? And if so, how do
I apply?
Ans:Foreign students from countries outside EU/EEA
must have valid passports and approved residence perits before
travelling to Sweden. Visa and residence permits may be applied
for at the Swedish emassy/consulate in the student´s
home country. It takes beween two weeks and tree months before
a decisio on the application is obtained. When applying for
residence permits the following documents will be needed:
- A valid passport.
- A letter of admission to the university or university college
at which you intend to study.
- Documentation certifying that you will be able to support
yourself throughout the planned study period.
Residence permits for studies are granted
for one year at a time. To qualify for an extension you must
be able to show that you have achieved acceptable results
and that you still have the required financial resources.
You must leave Sweden on completion of your studies. You are
only permitted to take any form of gainful employment during
the summer months, from May 15 to September 15. Postgraduate
students with a postgraduate studentship or who have been
granted a training allowance are eligible for a work permit.
Citizens from the EU/EEA can travel to Sweden and apply for
residence permits for studies after arrival in Sweden (but
within three months) from the Swedish Immigration Board. The
applicant must have a valid passport/ID card, an admission
certificate and a guarantee of financial support. The applicant
must also be able to show that she/he is covered by health
insurance.
Residence permits for studies are granted for one year at
a time. Student have the right to work during the period of
studies. If the stay in Sweden is less than three months,
no application for a residence permit is required. Application
for renewal of your residence permit is handled by the Swedish
Board of Immigration. Check out their homepage.
Q: Can I bring my husband/wife/ partner/ child?
Ans: If you are the husband, wife or cohabiting partner
of a person who has a residence permit for studies in Sweden,
you may be granted a permit to be able to accompany him or
her to Sweden. This is also the case for children of visiting
students, though parents, siblings or other relatives are
generally not granted permits. The regulations and application
procedures are somewhat different for EU and non-EU citizens,
as you can see below.
EU citizens (non-Nordic) Family members will
be granted the same type of permit covering the same period
of time as the visiting student whom they are accompanying.
Permits can be applied for at the Swedish Immigration Board
after arrival in Sweden. (Address: see below)
Non-EU citizens
Family members who wish to accompany visiting students will
have to apply for a residence permit in their home country
well in advance of the proposed departure date. If the visiting
student is successful in his or her application for a residence
permit, the accompanying family member should also be granted
a residence permit for the same period. Both the visiting
student and the accompanying family member may be required
to show that they will have enough financial support for the
period in question. For more information on applying for a
residence permit, contact the Swedish Embassy or Consulate
in your home country, or contact the Swedish Migration Board.
Q: Will I be guaranteed student accommodation?
Ans: The situation in Stockholm is quite complex,
but there are some basic guidlines.
Exchange students
If you come to Stockholm as part of an exchange programme
(e.g. one of the Socrates programmes, or a Nordic exchange
such as Nordplus or Nordtek), your college or university should
arrange accommodation for you before you arrive. Be sure to
check this with your contact persons before you leave for
Sweden. NB: Many of the schools in Stockholm have special
agreements on housing with SSSB, the student housing foundation.
These agreements guarantee exchange students places in student
residences.
"Free movers"
If you come to Sweden on your own initiative (i.e. as a "free-mover")
and not via an established exchange programme, you will have
to apply for student housing well in advance of your arrival.
Since there is a shortage of private rented accommodation
in Stockholm, student residences are very popular and waiting
lists for student rooms are very long (around 6-8 months).
You don't have to be accepted for studies in Stockholm to
apply for a place in student residences, but you do have to
be registered as a student at one fo the colleges in Stockholm
when you sign the tenancy agreement/lease. For more information
on how to apply, or for an application form, contact SSSB,
Box 19608, 104 32 Stockholm.
Postgraduate students
If you are a postgraduate student you should apply for student
accommodation as far in advance of your arrival as possible,
unless your host department can guarantee you accommodation
(few of them are able to). It is important to note that only
members of student unions in Stockholm are eligible to live
in student residences. Some categories of postgraduate students
are not eligible for membership of the student union at their
university or college. To find out more about this, contact
your host department in Stockholm. There are two organizations
working with accommodation for guesting researchers in Stockholm,
the Wenner-Gren Center and Vetenskapsstaden International
Center AB.
Trainees
If you come to Sweden to do a work-placement or trainee programme,
you are not considered to be a student. This means that you
are not entitled to live in student residences. If you are
coming to Stockholm to take part in trainee schemes run by
organisations such as IAESTE, BEST or AIESEC, turn to their
representatives for help with accommodation.
Q: What type of student residences will I be living
in? Will I have to share a kitchen/shower? Will it be expensive?
Ans: In Stockholm there are over
4000 student rooms for single students and 1500 flats for
couples and families. Single rooms are in corridors where
every student has his/her own room with WC and shower, but
shares a kitchen with 4-15 other students. Female and male
students live on the same corridors, as do Swedish and visiting
students. The standard of student accommodation in Stockholm
is high. The average single room features an en-suite WC and
shower room, central heating and generous storage space. In
the areas where the student residences are located you will
find communal laundrettes which you can use at a low cost,
and in many areas additional facilities are available, e.g.
saunas, darkrooms, and practice rooms for musicians. It is
important to note that SSSB's single rooms are furnished,
but you have to bring your own bed linen. There is no maid
or cleaning service, and students are expected to contribute
to cleaning the communal areas (kitchen and dining area).
In some corridors there are kitchen utensils for common use,
while in others you will have to buy your own. A convenient
and cheap alternative to this is to rent basic kitchen equipment
from SSSB. The monthly rent for a student room isapproximately
2100:- ,with June and July being rent-free months in many
student residences. A flat costs 3- 4000:- per month, with
no rent-free months. Only couples and families with children
living with them (including one-parent families) are eligible
to apply for flats.
Contact: SSSB, Box 19608, 104 32 Stockholm.
Q: What kind of activites are arranged
for students in Stockholm?
Ans: Activities for students in Stockholm are mostly
organised by the student unions and related organisations.
An example of this is the special student sports organisation,
SSIF. SSIF organize all kinds of sporting and lesiure activities,
with an emphasis on fitness training. There are more than
30 sports clubs for different activities, from fencing, diving
and dancing to rock climbing, swimming and ball games. The
university and other colleges in Stockholm also offer a variety
of clubs and associations for students. These include societies
for African students, law students, lesbian and gay students,
social science students, Italian- and French-speaking students
- the list is long! Many of these societies offer their own
"student mentor" programmes and organise events
for their members. If you want to get in touch with a particular
club or association, please contact the Foreign Student Adviser,
e-mail int@ssco.se at SSCO. To make sure that you find out
about events and activities taking place in student Stockholm,
the Foreign Student Adviser also publishes a monthly events'
listing in English, What's On . Many of the activities are
arranged especially for international students and include
pubs, excursions, lectures on Swedish culture and society,
sporting activities and concerts.
Q: What's the best way for me to keep in touch with
people back home?
Ans: Regular telephones
Regular telephones in Sweden are handled by the state-run
company called Telia. Opening an account is rather expensive
- about 500 SKR As a non-resident you must also pay a deposit
fee of 5 000 SEK or find somebody who is willing to vouch
for you - or sign the contract on your behalf. The telephone
itself costs between 300-1000 SKR. Telia also has a pocket
guide with dialling codes and instructions on how to revers
the charges to your hometelephone account. For information
contact the sales office in Stockholm, preferrably at Kungsgatan.
If you are a frequent long distance caller, you can also,
after your Telia-account is opened, contact call-back centers
and other companies specialized in low-rate calling fees.
Telephone cards
Telephone-cash cards can be bought at every tobacconist-store,
or other similar stores (SevenEleven, Kiosks, Pressbyrån).
You can use the cards in every public telephone-booth. There
are cards worth from 30 SKR up to 250 SKR. Budget Call Cards
can be bougt where you buy other telephone cash-cards. Looks
and functions as a credit card combined with a cashcard. The
price is between 100 and 200 SKR. On the card there is a cardnumber.
To call with the card, you first call 020 (toll-free), and
then your cardnumber. Wait for a tone and then call - all
over the world. You can call from any phone, including telephone-booths.
It doesn't cost anything for the person who lets you use his
or her phone. When the card is empty, you simply charge it
either by calling Telia or in Telia shops in the city. This
card is recommended for those who want to call home for a
low cost, and don't need to feel easy to reach. Combined with
a cellphone with a cashcard (see instructions below), this
is an excellent and cheap way of both calling and to be reached.
Mobile phones
In order to get around the problem with "normal"
telephone-subscriptions, the mobilephone+cashcard is a good
alternative. If you have brought a mobilephone, take out your
"SIM-card" from your homecountry and replace it
with a cashcard. You can also buy a mobile when in Stockholm.
Try to find the cheapest telephone - there are always different
offers around - check the daily newspapers. Getting a second-hand
telephone is a good solution. If you buy it at a second-hand
store, they are usually happy to buy it back from you as well.
Please observe! Don't forget to keep the receipt! Very important!
The subscription (the telephonenumber) comes with the card.
Even if the card is empty, you can be reached on the phone
for a whole year. (If you choose a Comviq-cashcard, which
we recommend). Bringing the telephone back home is usually
no problem, you simply change your number and subscription
when you get home. But please, first check out with the salesperson
in the store that it is possible in your country! If you want
to reload the card, it is done at any mobile-phones retailer.
(E.g GEAB, ONOFF).
E-mail
Those who have friends and relatives with e-mail will undoubtedly
find this a very useful - and cheap! - way of keeping in touch.
If you don't have an e-mail account of your own already, you'd
be wise to look into possibilities of getting an account before
you leave home. While a large proportion of students in Stockholm
have access to e-mail, some colleges are unable to offer e-mail
to short-term students.
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