Apply for an extension of a residence permit for a traineeship/internship conducted via an international exchange programme

You have a residence permit in Sweden because you have a traineeship/internship in Sweden via an international exchange programme. You now want to extend your permit.

You can extend your residence permit for a traineeship/internship conducted via an international exchange programme. You can be granted a residence permit for a maximum of 18 months.

The rules for traineeships/internships conducted via an international exchange programme apply to applicants who have been granted a traineeship/internship through

an international exchange programme within organisations such as AIESEC, IAESTE, JUF or SACCUSA
a traineeship/internship exchange agreement between countries. Sweden has agreements with, e.g. the United States and Canada. There is also an exchange agreement for young managers between the EU and China.

Requirements to get an extended work permit

You must have a valid passport

You must have a written offer of a traineeship/internship

You must receive a salary/wages from your employer

Prepare this before you apply

You must attach copies of these documents to your application. Make sure that the information on your submitted documents is clearly visible.

Correctly made copies of your passport
If your passport is about to expire, you should extend it, because you cannot get a permit for longer than your passport is valid.
Read more about what the passport copies must show

Written offer of a traineeship/internship
The offer must state the terms and conditions of your traineeship/internship or assignment.

Statement from the organisation that mediates the traineeship/internship

Power of attorney – if someone else will be applying for you

A representative can apply for you, if you grant them power of attorney. To do this, you must attach a copy of the power of attorney to your application.

Power of attorney (107011) Pdf, 1.1 MB.

More about power of attorney

When can I apply for an extension?

You can apply for an extension no more than two months before your current permit will expire. You must apply before your current permit expires.

If you apply too late, you will not be allowed to work during the processing time.

For how long can I be granted a permit?

You can be granted a residence permit for the time you are being offered a traineeship/internship, but never for longer than the validity of your passport. You can be granted a residence permit as a trainee for one or more periods for a maximum of 18 months.

What does it cost to apply?

Fee: SEK 1,500

How long must I wait for a decision?

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.

Complete applications

75% of applications receive a decision within:4 months

Incomplete applications

75% of applications receive a decision within:4 months

Illustration av ett erbjudande om praktik.

You are offered a traineeship/internship and sign an agreement

If you want to continue your traineeship/internship in Sweden after your residence permit expires, you need to extend it. You must apply before your current permit expires.

Before you apply for an extended residence permit, you need to have a traineeship/internship agreement signed by you and your employer.

Illustration av en kvinna som sitter vid en dator.

The employer starts the extension application

It is the employer who starts the extension application in the e-service.

Illustration av en ung kvinna som gör en ansökan på datorn.

You fill in your part of the application

Once the employer has completed their part, you will receive an email with a link to the e-service, where you must fill in your part of the application. You fill in the application and attach the necessary documents.

It is important that you submit your extension application before your current permit expires. That way, you will have the right to stay in Sweden until we make a decision, even if your current permit expires.

Illustration av en man som jobbar som handläggare på Migrationsverket.

The Swedish Migration Agency processes the application

The Swedish Migration Agency will review all the information about your application and determine whether you can be granted an extended permit. We will contact you if we need more information. In some cases, we will contact your employer for further information.

Waiting time while we process your application

Now you must wait.

Log in to My Page

By logging in to My Page, you can access information about your application and use our services.

My Page

Illustration som visar hur en person lämnar sina fingeravtryck.

You need to be photographed and fingerprinted

To get a new residence permit card, you need to be photographed and fingerprinted. If you did not do this when you submitted your application, you must book an appointment to do so at one of the Swedish Migration Agency’s service centres.

Book an appointment for a visit

You may need to present your passport

You may need to present your passport before we can make a decision. You only need to do this if we have not already checked it on a previous visit, or if you have received a new passport since you last presented it.

Certain applicants will be offered the option of presenting their passport in a digital passport check conducted via an app.

If you need to present your passport, we will contact you with information about how and when you can do so.

You are waiting for a decision – You have applied for an extension

Illustration av en ung kvinna som håller i ett beslut.

You receive our decision

As soon as we have made a decision, you will receive an email or letter stating whether you have been granted a work permit or if your application has been rejected. When you receive the decision, you can find out the reasons on which we based it. If your application is rejected and you are currently in Sweden, you must prepare to leave the country.

You have received a decision – Work

Have you assembled all documents?

Before you start your part of the application, you must have assembled the documents you will need to attach.

See which documents you must attach under the Important to know tab

The traineeship/internship organisation starts your application

The traineeship/internship organisation in Sweden will start your application by submitting information about your traineeship/internship to the Swedish Migration Agency. To do this, your traineeship/internship organisation needs information about your name, date of birth, citizenship and email address. Once your traineeship/internship organisation has completed their part of the application, you will receive a link via email, which you should use to continue with your part of the application.

You complete your application

Once you have received the email with the link, log in to the e-service and fill in the information about yourself. You must also check that the information about your terms and conditions of employment corresponds to what you and your traineeship/internship organisation have agreed. Once you have completed your part of the application and have submitted it, it will be registered with the Swedish Migration Agency.

Keep in mind that your application must be registered with the Swedish Migration Agency before your current permit has expired. It is not enough for the traineeship/internship organisation to have filled in its part.

Requirements for applying in the e-service

To apply in the e-service, you must

be 18 years or older
have a valid email address
be able to pay the application fee with a payment card issued by Visa or Mastercard
be able to scan or photograph the documents you need to attach.

What does it cost to apply?

Fee: SEK 1,500

If you cannot apply in the e-service

If you cannot apply in the e-service, the traineeship/internship organisation must send you a written offer stating the terms and conditions of your traineeship/internship or traineeship/internship assignment . You must then submit a copy of this offer together with your application.

You fill in the form:

Application for a Swedish work permit (149011) Pdf, 851.7 kB.

Submit or send in the application

You can either submit the application and the attached documents at one of the Swedish Migration Agency’s service centres or send them to:

Migrationsverket
Box 3100
903 03 Umeå

Pay the application fee

If you submit your application at one of the Swedish Migration Agency’s service centres, you will pay the fee there.

If you are sending in the application by mail, you pay the fee to bankgiro number 5223-7005. The IBAN for the account is SE6912000000012810106908 and the BIC/SWIFT code is DABASESX (Danske Bank).

In the box for messages to the recipient, you write the name and surname of the person the application fee is for, as well as their personal identity number and/or case number. If you are paying the fees of several people at the same time, write the personal identity number and/or case number for each of them. Also write on the application form when and how you paid the fee.

News

2025-03-06

Changes for those residing in Cyprus who wish to apply for residence and work permit

From 17 March 2025 the Swedish embassy in Nicosia will no longer handle migration matters. If you are a citizen of Cyprus, you should instead contact the Swedish embassy in Athens, Greece. The same applies for non-Cypriot legal residents of Cyprus.

2025-03-05

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

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2025-02-07

Changes for residents of Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania or Moldova that wish to apply for residence and work permits or visas

Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania are now part of the Schengen area. Legal residents of these countries shall, from 24 February 2025 turn to one of the five Schengen hubs for migration related matters.

2025-02-07

Changes for those residing in Bosnia and Herzegovina who previously applied for residence and work permit in Sarajevo

As from 10 March, 2025, the embassy in Sarajevo will no longer handle migration related matters. Instead, you should turn to the Swedish embassy in Skopje, North Macedonia.

2025-01-07

New EU Blue Card rules now apply

As of 1 January, new requirements and rules apply for anyone who wants to apply for an EU Blue Card and existing Blue Card holders.

2024-12-20

Change for people residing in Serbia and Montenegro and want to apply for residence and work permit

As of 3 February 2025, residents of Serbia and Montenegro should contact the Embassy of Sweden in Skopje, North Macedonia for applications for residence and work permits.

You want to extend Traineeships/internships conducted via an international exchange programmeYou want to extendTraineeships/internships conducted via an international exchange programme

Complete applications

Incomplete applications

News

You want to extend Traineeships/internships conducted via an international exchange programme