If you do not live in Sweden when your child is applying to Upper Secondary School, there are a number of factors that affect their possibilities of being admitted to an education programme. The Swedish Population Register (folkbokföringsregistret) managed by the Tax Agency (Skatteverket) is an important component of upper secondary school application.
About the Swedish Population register
Swedish upper secondary school is primarily directed towards pupils living in Sweden and the Swedish Population Register is the primary registration of Swedish citizens in Sweden. The population register is important in order to determine if a municipality can receive financial compensation from the government for a student. If you and your child are not registered in the Swedish Population Register, they may therefore have limited rights to be admitted to upper secondary school.
Nordic Applicants
Applicants from Finland, Denmark, Norway or Iceland have a right to Upper Secondary School Education in Sweden. Nordic applicants are also exempt from the prerequisite of having a final grade in Swedish or Swedish as a Second Language.
Expatriate Swedes
If you are a Swedish citizen living abroad you may be considered to have the status of Expatriate Swede if your legal guardians are living abroad and at least one of them is a Swedish citizen. An Expatriate Swede will apply on the same conditions as residents of the municipality to which they are applying for education.
EU Citizens
If you are a citizen of the European Union and plan to register with the Swedish Population Register, you will apply on the same conditions as other residents of the municipality in which you are registered.
If you are a citizen of the European Union who does not plan to register with the Swedish Population Register, then you should contact the municipality or private school you wish to apply to, in order to find out what information they need and what possibilities of admission you have.
Diplomats
If you are not Swedish citizens, have a connection to an embassy in Sweden and wish to apply for Upper Secondary School then you should contact the municipality or private school you wish to apply to, in order to find out what information they need from you and what possibilities of admission that exist.
Other Applicants
In order to study in Sweden you will need a residence permit. Visit the Swedish Board of Migration about residence permits in Sweden.
