International (Non-EU/EEA) FAQ
Common questions from non-EU/EEA students about tuition, residence permits, work rights, and funding.
Non-EU/EEA students pay a SEK 900 (~€85) application fee plus tuition of roughly SEK 80,000-300,000/year (~€7,000-27,000) depending on the university and subject. Exchange and doctoral students are exempt from tuition. Living costs on top of that run SEK 8,000-10,000/month.
Yes. You need a Swedish residence permit before you can enter Sweden to study, applied for at migrationsverket.se after you're admitted and have paid your tuition fee. Processing can take several months, so apply as soon as you accept your offer.
It varies, but plan for a few months from application to decision. Apply the same week you pay your tuition invoice, since your university notifies Migrationsverket of payment as part of the process, and delays compound if you wait.
Yes, but rights are capped, not unlimited: up to 15 hours/week during term time for permits granted from June 2026 onward, with full-time work allowed during official university breaks like summer and winter.
Not from Sweden's CSN system - that's reserved for Swedish citizens and long-term residents. Scholarships are the main route: the Swedish Institute offers full scholarships for students from specific countries, many universities offer their own tuition waivers for top applicants, and home-country government scholarships often fund outbound study in Sweden.
Migrationsverket requires proof of at least SEK 10,656/month (2026 figure) available for the duration of your studies, on top of your paid tuition fee - shown via bank statements or a scholarship letter when you apply for your residence permit.
Yes, the same way EU/EEA students do: register with Skatteverket after you arrive if you're staying 12 months or more. Your residence permit and your personnummer are separate - the permit gets you into Sweden, the personnummer is your ID number once you're settled.
Yes, there's a dedicated post-study job-search permit that lets you stay in Sweden for a period after graduation to look for work or start a business, without needing a job offer first. You then switch to a work permit once employed. Check the current rules on migrationsverket.se as you approach graduation.
A handful of universities offer a limited housing guarantee specifically for fee-paying (non-EU/EEA) students - check your university's accommodation page as soon as you're admitted, since guaranteed spots are limited and allocated on a first-come basis.