You want to apply Other studies and exchange studies at upper secondary school

You want to apply for a residence permit for other studies or exchange studies at upper secondary school for a period longer than three months.

  • Important to know
  • How it works
  • Apply

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA, you will in most cases need a residence permit to study in Sweden.

Here you will find information about residence permits for people who want to participate in another education programme (not higher education) in Sweden that lasts longer than three months.

For example, such education includes studies at the World Maritime University in Malmö (WMU) that do not lead to a degree, folk high school education at the upper secondary level, or certain types of vocational education.

Here you will also find information about residence permits for people who want to be an exchange student at an upper secondary school in Sweden for longer than three months.

These requirements must be met in order for you to be granted a residence permit.

You must have a valid passport

You must be admitted to full-time studies
You must be finally admitted to full-time studies in Sweden. You cannot be granted a residence permit for distance learning as a form of study.

“Full-time studies” are planned study work averaging at least 20 teaching hours per week. Studies at upper secondary school are normally counted as full-time studies.

You must have paid any tuition fees
If the education to which you have been admitted is subject to a tuition fee, you must have paid it.

You must have, or have applied for, a comprehensive health insurance policy
If you have been admitted to studies that will last less than a year, you need comprehensive health insurance. If you do not have insurance through your higher education institution, you must have or have applied for your own insurance. The insurance must be valid for the entire time you will be in Sweden and cover costs for emergency and other medical care, hospitalisation, and emergency dental care. It must also cover expenses for home transportation for medical reasons.
If your studies will last for at least one year, you should register in Sweden’s population register. This will give you access to health and medical care and dental care.

You must be able to support yourself financially
Your means of “financial maintenance” must be sufficient for the entire period for which you are applying for a residence permit.

If you are under 18 years of age, you must have the consent of your parent(s) or legal guardian(s)

Translate documents
All submitted documents should be in Swedish or English. If you have translated your documents, the translation should be certified. You must also include a copy of the document in its original language.

Plan which embassy to visit to present your passport

You may need to present your passport at an embassy before you can receive a decision. In the application, you must therefore state which embassy you want to visit.

Not all Swedish embassies and consulates-general handle migration cases, so it is important to check which one you should contact:

You must attach copies of these documents to your application

Make sure that the information in the documents you include is clearly visible.

Correctly made copies of your passport
You can never be granted a permit for longer than your passport is valid.
Read more about what the passport copies must show

Admission decision from the education provider
The admission decision must state that you have been finally admitted to full-time studies in Sweden.

Documents showing that you have comprehensive health insurance
If you have been admitted to studies for less than one year and are not listed in Sweden’s population register.

Documents showing that you meet the maintenance requirement
You must attach different certificates depending on how you will be supporting yourself financially.

You must attach a bank statement, which must be issued no more than four months before the date on which you want the residence permit to take effect. For example, if you want your residence permit to start on 1 August, your bank statement must be issued no sooner than 1 April.

The following information must be included on your bank statement:

  • account holder(s)
  • bank name
  • date of issue
  • balance
  • currency.

If permission from a central bank or the equivalent is required to take out the money from your country, you must include such a permit.

You must attach a copy of the scholarship stating

  • who is the scholarship provider
  • that you are the recipient of the scholarship
  • the period for which the scholarship applies and that it is for your studies in Sweden
  • how much money you will receive
  • when the money will be paid out. If you will receive the money on an ongoing basis, information must be provided about when the payments will be made and how large the instalments will be, as well as the total amount
  • how much of the scholarship is intended to cover your living expenses.

You must attach a sponsorship letter stating

  • who is the sponsor or guarantor
  • that you are the recipient of the money
  • how much money you will receive
  • when the money will be paid out. If you will receive the money on an ongoing basis, information must be provided about when the payments will be made and how large the instalments will be, as well as the total amount
  • the period during which you are sponsored
  • how much of the money will be used for your living expenses
  • whether the sponsorship requires some form of performance on your behalf (for example, employment or that you earn a certain number of credits).

You must attach a certificate stating

  • who is providing the student grant or loan
  • that you are the recipient
  • the period for which the grant/loan applies
  • when it will be paid out
  • the monthly amount or total amount for the period of study
  • how much of the student grant/loan is intended for your living expenses.

Documents to attach if you are under 18 years of age

Written consent
If you are under 18 years of age, you must enclose the written consent of your parent(s) or legal guardian(s) confirming that you have their permission to live and study in Sweden.
Consent for a child to live and study in Sweden (123011) Pdf, 726.1 kB.

Certificate of guardian and copies of the ID card of each parent/legal guardian
If you are under 18 years of age, you must also enclose a certificate showing who your parents/legal guardians are and how you are related, as well as a copy of an ID document for each of them.

Information about your accommodation if you are making private arrangements
If you are under the age of 18 and are arranging your accommodation privately, rather than through your education provider, you must include information about your accommodation.

Letter from your host family, if you are arranging accommodation on your own
If you are an exchange student under the age of 18 and will be living with a host family in Sweden, you must enclose a letter from the host family with information about the accommodation.

Letter from your parent(s)/legal guardian(s) if you will be living with someone
If you are under the age of 18 and will be living with someone in Sweden, you must send a letter with information about your accommodation. The letter must be written by your parent(s)/legal guardian(s) and contain information about the person you will be living with and what relationship you have with them.

Information about your accommodation if you will be living on your own in Sweden
If you are under the age of 18 and will be living on your own in Sweden, you need to send information about your planned accommodation.

The so-called “maintenance requirement” means that you must show that you have funds (money) available through your own bank assets, scholarship, student grants or loans from your country of origin, or a sponsor. You can combine different forms of financial maintenance in your application.

The maintenance requirement is

  • at least SEK 10,584 per month, if you applied in 2025
  • at least SEK 10,314 per month, if you applied in 2024.

If you can show that you receive free housing and/or food through the higher education institution or an organisation that works for international exchange, the amount per month can be reduced. The monthly amount can be reduced by

  • SEK 2,940 per month for free food and SEK 4,704 per month for free housing, if you applied in 2025
  • SEK 2,865 per month for free food and SEK 4,584 per month for free housing, if you applied in 2024.

Read more about the rules for the different forms of financial maintenance

If you are under 18 years of age, your parents’/ legal guardians’ accounts may also be used as a basis for your financial maintenance. Credit, funds or shares are not approved as personal bank assets. Assets in a microfinance bank are also not approved.

Locked assets, i.e., bank funds that are deposited in an account for a certain period of time, cannot be a basis for financial maintenance if they will be frozen during the permit period for which you are applying.

Scholarships, for example from national authorities, higher education institutions, organisations, foundations, or companies, can be approved as a basis for financial maintenance.

A sponsor is an actor who hosts your stay in Sweden. For example, higher education institutions and other education providers, or well-established companies and organisations, may act as sponsors.

Private individuals are not accepted as sponsors. Money from private individuals, such as relatives, must be registered as personal bank assets. Such funds must then be transferred to a bank account that is in your name and to which you have access.

Student grants or loans that you have been granted to study in Sweden. If the money has already been transferred to your account, the Swedish Migration Agency will assess these funds as personal bank assets.

Other rules apply if you are a citizen of the EU/EEA or Switzerland, or if you have long-term resident status in another EU country.

EU/EEA citizens with right of residence

If you are an EU/EEA citizen, you have the right to live in another EU/EEA country if you fulfil the requirements for right of residence through work, your own company, your studies, or by having sufficient funds to support yourself. If you have right of residence, you do not need to apply for a residence permit to live in Sweden.

EU/EEA citizens

Swiss citizens

If you are a citizen of Switzerland, you can move to Sweden to work, study, start your own business, or live on your own funds. If you want to remain in Sweden for longer than three months, you must apply for a residence permit for Swiss citizens.

You want to apply – Swiss citizens

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country, you can move to Sweden to work, study or live on your own funds. If you plan to stay longer than three months, you need to apply for a residence permit for long-term residents.

You want to apply – Long-term residents in another EU country

If your family wants to visit you in Sweden, they can apply for a visitor’s permit.

You want to apply – Visiting Sweden for more than 90 days (visitor’s permit)

You can be granted a residence permit for a maximum of one year, but never for longer than your passport is valid. Your residence permit can be extended.

If you are granted a residence permit for the entire duration of your studies, the Swedish Migration Agency will add an extra two weeks to your permit period, to give you enough time to complete your studies and leave the country.

Your residence permit can be extended.

It is not possible to say exactly how long you will need to wait for a decision. There are many things that affect the waiting time, for example whether your application is complete to begin with or whether we need to request more information, or whether we need to check with other authorities when investigating your case.

Here we show statistics on how long it has taken for people who have applied for the same permit as you.

75% of applications receive a decision within:2 months

Adults: SEK 1,500
Children under 18 years of age: SEK 750

The following people pay no fee to apply:

  • students at the World Maritime University (WMU) in Malmö
  • Japanese citizens
  • students who have received a scholarship for studies in Sweden from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the EU, the Swedish Institute, or Uppsala University’s International Science Programme. The scholarship must be intended to be used for living expenses and not just cover tuition fees. The scholarship must be paid out during the period for which you are applying for a residence permit. The exception does not apply if you receive a salary, for example if you are employed as a doctoral student.

If you will be studying in Sweden for less than three months, you should not apply for a residence permit. In this case, you may need to apply for an entry visa instead.

Countries whose citizens require an entry visa for travel to Sweden External link.

You want to apply – Visiting Sweden for up to 90 days (entry visa)

If you do not need an entry visa to travel to Sweden, you can stay in Sweden and study for up to three months without a residence permit or visa.

For example, if you will be visiting Sweden as part of an education programme in another country – for example if you will be conducting an internship at a company in Sweden, but have not been admitted to a Swedish education programme – you must apply for a visitor’s permit instead.

You want to apply – Visiting Sweden for more than 90 days (visitor’s permit)

No. A permit for other studies does not give you the right to work in Sweden.

If you are applying for a residence permit for other studies for the first time, you must do so while you are outside Sweden, otherwise your application may be rejected. In some cases, you can apply for a residence permit while you are in Sweden with another valid Swedish residence permit.

Check the guide to see which rules apply to you when you are applying for a residence permit for other studies.

If your application is rejected you must leave Sweden

If you are currently in Sweden and your application is rejected, you must prepare to leave the country. If you do not leave Sweden voluntarily, you may need to regularly register with the Swedish Migration Agency, in a process known as supervision, or be placed in a detention centre run by the Swedish Migration Agency. Your case can be handed over to the police.

News

2025-03-05

The Swedish Migration Agency's new website has now been launched

On 5 March, the Swedish Migration Agency launched a completely new version of migrationsverket.se, with a new structure and a more user-friendly navigation. The purpose of the new website is primarily to make it easier for visitors to find the information they need.

The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for considering applications from people who want to live in Sweden, seek protection or become Swedish citizens. Our work is based on Swedish laws and international conventions, with a focus on legal certainty and effective reception and return.