Education – school for asylum seeking children
All asylum seeking children have the right to attend school. Adults, however, may have to wait until they have a residence permit before beginning any studies.
All asylum seeking children and young people have the right to attend preschool and school. It is the responsibility of the municipality where the children live to ensure that they get to attend school under the same conditions as other children and young people in the municipality. This applies to preschool, comprehensive school and upper secondary school. In order to have the right to attend upper secondary school, young asylum seekers must begin their studies before they turn 18.
Small children also have a right to attend preschool
Small children who have turned one are entitled to attend preschool while their parents work or study. From the autumn term of the year in which the child turns three, he or she is also entitled to 15 hours of preschool per week without paying any fee. Preschool is not just there to look after the children while parents work or study. The child may benefit from and develop by participating in preschool activities even if his/her parents are not at work or studying.
Municipalities are responsible for schools
The municipality where you live is responsible for ensuring that asylum seeking children and young people get access to preschool and school under the same conditions as everyone else who lives in the municipality.
The Migration Agency may not provide information about asylum seeking children to the municipality without the approval of the children’s parents. You can give your consent to the Migration Agency, which will then send information about your child’s name, date of birth, language, home country and case number to the municipality. You can also contact the municipality yourself and tell them that you want your children to attend school or preschool.
Read more about schools and education in Sweden:
School in Sweden
External link, opens in new window.
Swedish schools for new arrivals (in Swedish) External link, opens in new window.
For asylum seekers who want to learn Swedish
If you have a residence permit in Sweden and have registered in the population register, you have the right to training in Swedish for immigrants, which is also called SFI. But if you want to learn Swedish while you are waiting for a decision, there are many voluntary organisations and educational associations that offer study circles in Swedish.
There are many online programmes to help you learn Swedish independently. You can find links to different programmes at www.informationsverige.se. Most programmes require access to the internet. All programmes are free.