After registration – what happens then?

If you don't have any money of your own you are entitled to apply for a daily allowance from the Migration Agency. Your parents can apply for a daily allowance for you until you are 18 years old. If you are over 16 you have the right to apply for and care for your daily allowance and special grant yourself. You will then get your own bank card that holds the daily allowance and special grant.

This money must pay for things like food, clothes, shoes, soap and shampoo, medicine and leisure activities. If you have special needs you can also apply for a special grant.  

Special grant

If you have a special need for something, for example glasses, winter clothes or something that you can't manage without and that the daily allowance doesn't cover, your parents can apply for a special grant. They will fill in an application for a special grant. It is important that they explain why you need it. The application is submitted to the Reception Unit, which then makes a decision. Your application for a special grant can be granted or turned down. If you are not satisfied about the decision about the special grant, you can appeal it.

When you have been registered at the Reception Unit, you will participate in an investigation meeting. This meeting takes place so that you will have the possibility to tell us what you want, ask questions and receive information about the different steps in the asylum process. The meeting is also for the Migration Agency to learn how you are feeling, what it's like for you in Sweden, and if you are scared or worried. The staff want to talk to you alone. If you don't want to, you can say no.

Your parents will be summoned to the Reception Unit to receive information about the Migration Agency. You will also find out more about laws, other authorities, and Non-Governmental Organisations. A Non-Governmental Organisation is an organisation where people work voluntarily, without getting paid, to help with things that they think are important. Two examples are the Red Cross and Save the Children.

The Migration Agency will inform the health care system of your name and address so they can contact you for a health check-up. At the check-up you can talk to the staff at a care centre.

Mental illness – to feel depressed and sad

It is common to feel worried about what will happen in the future while waiting for a decision on your application for asylum. Some may also feel bad because they have been involved in nasty events in their home country or during the flight to Sweden.

You and your family can get help and support from the health care centre in your county. You can visit a health care centre not only if you have, for example, a sore throat or a broken leg, but also if you feel bad mentally, if you have anxiety, can not sleep or feel sad and depressed.

You and your parents can talk to your reception officer who can advise you on where to turn. On the site www.umo.se/Att-ma-daligt/ External link, opens in new window. there is also information about what to do if you feel bad. There are also phone numbers and addresses for places where you can get help. The information is also available in Arabic, Dari, English, Somali and Tigrinya.

Read more about which organizations can provide advice and support

You have the same right to go to preschool, compulsory school and secondary school as other children who live in Sweden. You have the right to study all subjects and receive tuition in your own language. You shouldn't have to wait until you have learned Swedish to continue to develop your knowledge. It is the municipality you live in that sees to it that you go to school.

What is a preschool?

A preschool is an educational institution for children from age one until they start school. Children start attending preschool at different ages and go there for different lengths of time depending on their parents' jobs, studies or the child's need for a place at the preschool based on the family's situation.

What is a preschool class?

Children attend a preschool class the year before they start the first year at compulsory school.

What is a compul­sory school?

Compulsory school is for all children between the ages of 7 and 16.

What is an upper secon­dary school?

All young people in Sweden who have finished compulsory school have the right to apply for a three-year upper secondary school course – a national programme. An upper secondary school education provides basic skills for further studies and for future life as a working adult.

In order to be accepted to an upper secondary school you must have a passing grade in several subjects from compulsory school: 8 subjects for vocationally-oriented programmes and 12 subjects for programmes seen as a preparation for further studies. If you don't have enough passing grades from compulsory school you can study at an introduction programme. An introduction programme is intended to help students to move on to a national programme or to get a job. An introduction programme, language introduction, is for young people who have not been in Sweden for long and who need to learn more Swedish based on their own needs and wishes.

A person who is between 17 and 24 years old and studies at an upper secondary school programme can in some cases get a longer residence permit in order to be able to finish their education.