Visa Information For Medical Students, Doctors And Healthcare Professionals Moving To Sweden

When you have been granted a visa, you can move to Sweden and start your studies or work. Please note that before your visa expires, you must apply for an extension of your permit yourself. The Migration Board does not send out reminders. You may receive an extended permit if you are studying at a university or university college.

Please note! If your passport is about to expire, you should renew it. You cannot get a permit for longer than your passport is valid and to be registered in Sweden it is required that your permit is valid for more than one year.

What to do when applying

You can apply for an extension of your residence permit through the Migration Board’s website or you can send your application to the Migration Board.

Your application must consist of the following:

1. A copy of your passport, where your identity, citizenship and the period of validity are indicated on the passport. (If you have family members who are applying for a permit together with you, copies of their passports must also be included.) You must have a valid passport in order for the Migration Board to be able to grant you a permit. If your passport is about to expire, you must apply for a new one in your home country or at your home country’s embassy.
2. A statement from your academic institution showing that you have made acceptable progress in your studies. If your are studying at university or college, you are required to have taken 15 credits during the first year, 22.5 during the second year, and 30 credits during the third and subsequent years. If you are a graduate student, you should instead attach proof from your instructor confirming how your training is progressing and the planned dissertation date.
3. An account statement or other document showing that you had money for your stay during the time you have been in Sweden, and that your subsistence has been secured for the remainder of your time of study.

If you choose to apply by mail:

1. The form: Application for residence permit for students and doctoral students, No. 104031 or No. 105031 (in English).
2. If you have family members who are applying at the same time as you they will use the form Application for co-applicants to students and doctoral students (DB), No. 134011 or No. 135011 (in English).
3. A receipt showing payment of application fee. If you are paying the application fee through the Internet, print out a copy of the proof of payment and send it in. It is important that you indicate the first and last names, as well as the ID number, of the person the application fee applies to in the “Message to payee” or corresponding field. If the fee applies to several people, indicate the ID numbers for all of them. The fee is 1,000 SEK (500 SEK for children) and is payable to giro account number 95 78 46-9.

If you submit your application in person at any of the Migration Board’s Permit Units, you can pay the application fee there. Other routines apply in Solna.

You will need to visit one of the Swedish Migration Board´s Permit Units to submit fingerprints and be photographed. This will usually take place when you submit your application in person. You can also be called to the Migration Board at a later date. You will also be called to the Migration Board if you apply for a residence permit electronically or if you send in your application by post.

What happens after the Migration Board receives your application?

If you have submitted an application for an extension, you have the right to remain in Sweden until the Migration Board has reached a decision on your application, or until the decision has gained legal force.

‘Legal force’ means that the decision can no longer be changed. A decision that is not appealed gains legal force when three weeks have passed after you have learned of the decision from the Migration Board or the Migration Court. A decision from the Superior Migration Court gains legal force on the day the Court reaches a decision. If you declare yourself satisfied with the decision, it gains legal force immediately.

Work

You also have the right to work during the waiting period, if you have had a residence permit for university studies for at least six months and if you have submitted your application before your current permit expires. You may continue to work until you have received an answer to your application for an extension. If you receive an extended residence permit, you may continue to work alongside your studies. If you do not receive an extended residence permit and have received a decision on expulsion, you may continue to work until the decision on expulsion has gained legal force.

Traveling abroad

If you travel abroad in connection with your permit expiring, it can be difficult for you to enter Sweden before your new permit has been granted. You may then need to wait for your new decision outside Sweden.

Where is your application for extension processed?

In order to speed up the decision making process with regard to your application for extension, please apply via the Migration Board’s web site. You can also send your application directly to the Units in charge of applications for extension.

Applications for extension are handled by four of the Swedish Migration Board’s Permit Units in Sweden. Your application will be handled by one of these four Units, depending on where you submitted the application.

Waiting times for a decision

First-time applications

The Swedish Migration Board makes decisions about residence permits for studies within three months from the date that a Swedish mission abroad has received your application. In some cases the waiting time can be longer because we need to supplement or investigate your application further.

Extensions

The Migration Board needs to give priority to applications from students abroad. Therefore, you may have to wait for a decision if you are applying for an extension of your permit. Once you have submitted your application you may stay in Sweden until you have received your decision.

The Migration Board will give you a decision within approximately five months. In some cases the waiting time can be longer because we need to supplement or investigate your application further.

Priority

Applications for permits are dealt with in application date order. In principle we do not grant any priorities, and cannot give you priority even though your education will start soon or you already have bought a ticket. Our priority is to make decisions upon first-time cases and it may therefore take some time before you get an answer on an e-mail request