If you’re looking to explore international studies in Europe, Sweden is an excellent destination. The academic system here is student-centered, with a less formal student-teacher relationship. Also, you’ll find that achieving high grades means less crucial than pursuing your academic interests, which is quite a novelty.
Additionally, you won’t have a problem adapting in terms of language, many people here also speak English. And if you’re aiming to join top Swedish universities, some of your best choices are Lund University, Uppsala University, and KTH Royal Institute of Technology. To start on your studies, make sure to follow these steps to get a student visa in Sweden.
What documents do you need to apply for a student visa in Sweden?
To prepare your visa, here are the documents you need:
- Passport with at least three months validity after your visa expires
- Passport photo that was taken within the last six months
- Visa application form
- Letter of invitation or acceptance from a Swedish university
- Proof of financial capability to support your stay and trip home
- Medical travel insurance with at least $36,000 coverage
- Proof that you intend to leave Sweden on the last day before your visa expires
- Other documents the embassy requires
Check Also: Programs in Europe for International Students
How much money do you need for a Sweden Student Visa?
To apply for a student visa in Sweden, you’ll need around $174 for the processing. However, your stay there demands more financial responsibilities.
Before you can apply for a visa, make sure to settle the first installment of your tuition. This can range between $9,300 to $34,00 depending on the program and university. Besides these, there are other costs you need to prepare for:
- Textbooks: $87
- Student Union: $6 to $41
As for the living costs, a $990 monthly budget can work. Here’s an example of a monthly budget:
- Food: $232
- Accommodation: $ 484
- Local travel: $64
- Internet/ Phone plan: $35
- Miscellaneous: $180
But when applying for a visa, you should provide proof of having at least $52 per day of your stay.
Steps on Applying for a Student Visa in Sweden
Once you get an idea of how much it would cost to study in Sweden and the documents you need to prepare, it’s time to take these steps to apply for a Sweden student visa.
1. Settle your First Tuition Fee Installment
Assuming that you’ve already applied to a university in Sweden, make sure to complete your registration by paying for the first installment of your tuition fee. This is an important step before you can apply for a student visa in Sweden.
2. Confirm if You Can Enter Sweden Without a Visa
Check here if your country is one of those that require a visa before you can enter Sweden. A visa is valid for three months. If you’re intending to stay in Sweden beyond that period, which is likely for a full-time degree, you’ll need to apply for a residence permit.
3. Check your Option for Visa Application
There are ways for you to apply for a student visa to Sweden. The first one is through an embassy. You can find embassy and consulate information for your country here. It is best to contact the Swedish embassy in your country to confirm if there are additional documents that you need to submit for your visa application. For countries that don’t require visas, you can check with the embassy if there are requirements in place of a visa.
Additionally, by contacting your embassy, you can find out if a student visa application has to go through a third-party service provider. For example, the Swedish embassy in the United States offers visa applications through VFS Global centers. Since you’ll need to apply for a residence permit as well, you can check with the embassy how to proceed with this.
In some countries, such as the following, the embassy allows online application for a student visa:
- Seoul, South Korea
- Teheran, Iran
- Tokyo, Japan
4. Submit your Visa Application
Depending on which option is applicable, you can submit your application in person or online. If your option is through VFS Global, go to their website and download the Sweden student visa application form.
After completing and printing the form, you can set up an appointment to submit your requirements for a student visa application. You’ll also need to pay applicable fees during your appointment at the VFS Global center. As this is an external service provider, there might be an additional service cost.
If you’ll send your application through the embassy, you can download the application form here, under the section “Apply for a visa through an embassy.” Then contact your embassy to make an appointment and learn if there are regulations you need to follow when going there.
When applying through the E-service platform available in selected embassies, you’ll need to scan your documents and upload them to the application webpage. You can complete or update your online application within 72 hours starting from when you initialized it.
If the website detects your application page idle (no edits) for more than 72 hours, it automatically removes it from the system. If that happens, you’ll have to start your application again. However, you can save your application at the website for up to 14 days as long as you update it before the 72-hour idle time runs out.
5. Follow Your Visa Application
You can follow your application depending on how you submitted it. If you went through an embassy appointment, you can confirm with the consul how long it would take to get a decision. You can also check through the website of the Swedish Migration Agency. If you submitted through a VFS Global center, you can visit their website and provide your reference number and date of birth.
6. Receive your Passport with a Permit Sticker
The embassy in your country will contact you once the decision for your Sweden student application is available. Depending on several factors, such as whether it’s your first time to apply and if the Swedish Migration Agency asked for additional information, the decision can take up to 5 months. Considering this, you’ll need to send your visa application as soon as you’re accepted at a university in Sweden.
Once your visa application is approved, a permit sticker is attached to your passport, and will stay there for how long your visa is valid.
We hope that this article on how to get a student visa in Sweden was helpful! If you are interested in studying in Europe, make sure to check out Available Programs in Europe for International Students.
