Written by Hamzah Dzikri Fadliansyah
Congratulations! You are accepted to a university in Sweden. Now, what’s next? Many of you wonder what to do after receiving the notification of selection results from universityadmissions.se. Here are four steps you need to take to start your journey of studying in Sweden.
Accept the offer and pay the tuition fee
Of course, the first thing you need to do is accept the offer. The step is very simple because you just need to open your account via universityadmissions.se, an integrated website to apply for studying in higher education in Sweden. There, you want to choose to keep your place at the offered university.
Then, the next step you need to take is paying the tuition fee. The tuition fee for studying in Sweden depends on your case. For example, if you are a citizen of EU and EEA countries, you do not need to pay for the tuition. So, that step is done for you if it applies. On the other hand, you need to pay the tuition fee if you are citizens outside of EU and EEA countries. The exact amount of the tuition fee and how to pay it are already informed in the notification of selection results. You just need to follow the given instructions.
If you intend to use your scholarship to pay the tuition fee, you need to consult with your scholarship giver. They will arrange it with the university. That is why you need to follow the instructions based on your case.
Applying for a residence permit
After paying the installment of your tuition fee in a university in Sweden, you need to apply for a resident permit to study in Sweden. You are required to have a resident permit in order to study in Sweden. Thereby, you need to apply for one. Accordingly, you must pay attention that students’ residence permit is different from that for work. Therefore, some requirements are different.
Luckily, you can check our post on How to Get a Residence Permit for Students. Check whether you have fulfilled the requirements and then submit your application to Swedish Migration Board, Migrationsverket. You may want to know how long the process for getting the residence permit can be. It varies depending from person to person. There is also no certain reason why one residence permit is processed faster than the others. Therefore, you need to be patient about it. The average time to get a residence permit for a student is between two and three months after submitting the application.
Applying for an accommodation
Here comes the challenging part of moving to Sweden: finding housing! Many have known that finding accommodation in Sweden is not easy, especially within a student budget. Luckily, many universities in Sweden offer student housing coordinated by the universities. They are, of course, sometimes a little bit pricy than those from outside of campus-arranged housing. However, some universities, such as Lund University and Uppsala University, provide a housing guarantee for students coming from non-EU or EEA countries. It means that you can secure a place in a rent arranged by the campus. Some regulations may differ from one campus to others. Thus, you need to refer to your campus’ website.
Nonetheless, there are many other options if you want to find housing outside of campus accommodations. AF-Borgen in Lund, for example, offers student housing at a lower price and varied types of rooms. There are also websites arranged for each city to find accommodation. Another option, you can also check on a Facebook group in your campus’ city to find housing. Still, you need to be careful to avoid any kind of scam. Just make sure that you have already secured housing in advance so that when you arrive, you already have a place to stay to start your study in a university in Sweden.
Booking your ticket to Sweden
This is your last step to starting your journey of studying in Sweden. Once you have already received the certainty of your residence permit status, you need to book a ticket to Sweden. There is no lie that if you want to get a lower price of transportation tickets, such as flights or trains, you need to purchase them as early as possible before your departure. So, it is recommended to book it in advance.
Those are the four main steps you need to do if you accept the offer from your study application at a university in Sweden. On a side note, you also need to keep yourself updated with any information regarding your commencement to study at universities, such as orientation weeks and some other agendas. Therefore, your university’s website is the one you should bookmark and check regularly.
In addition, when moving to Sweden, it is not complete if you do not understand a little bit about the language the locals speak, Swedish. Speaking Swedish can be an advantage for you. Take a look at the course Swedish Learning Options offered by Newbie Learn to understand the different possibilities you have to learn Swedish.
Do you think those steps are complete? Or you may have something more to add? Let others know about your concern in the comment section below! See you in Sweden soon!
About the Author
Hejsan! My name is Hamzah, an Indonesian student studying in a Master of Science program in Media and Communication Studies at Lund University. While I enjoy binge-watching movies and TV series, talking with friends, and everything involving food, now I have found traveling as a new hobby. Before going back to my home country in the middle of 2022, I want to share my stories about my life as an international student in Sweden with you.