Residence permit for doctoral studies
If you are to conduct doctoral studies in Sweden for a period of time longer than three months, you can apply for a residence permit for higher education. The permit must be issued before you travel to Sweden.
If you are a British citizen
Brittish citizen who want to work, study och move to someone in Sweden after January 1 2021 must apply for a residence and/or work permit.
British citizen who lived in Sweden with a right of residence until 31 December 2020, and who want to stay, must apply for a residence status.
Requirements for residence permits
For a permit, you must
- have a valid passport
- have been admitted to full-time doctoral studies that require your presence in higher education in Sweden (read more about studies in Sweden at studyinsweden.se
)
- be able to support yourself during the time for which you are applying for a residence permit
- have, or have applied for, a comprehensive health insurance policy.
Requirements to use the e-service
In order to use the e-service, you need
- copies of your passport that show personal data, period of validity and if you have permission to live in countries other than your home country (read more about what the copies must look like)
- formal decision on admission as a doctoral student, with information on the date for admission
- a supplementary certificate regarding the doctoral studies, issued by the university. For these certificates, you can refer the university to the Swedish Migration Agency’s checklist. Checklists and examples of certificates of enrolment for third-cycle studies (doctoral studies)
- a copy of documents that show that you have, or have applied for, a comprehensive health insurance policy that is valid in Sweden (if you are not registered in Sweden and you are admitted to studies for less than one year)
- documents that show that you have received a doctoral grant or employment as a doctoral candidate with information on the amount and the time during which you will receive the money (an employment agreement for two years is not required if the annual salary covers the living expense requirement for a period of two years), or
an account statement that verifies that you have sufficient funds for your living expenses. If permission from a central bank or the equivalent is required to take out the money from your country, you must include such a permit, or
documents issued in your name that show that you have been granted a stipend or the like with information on the monthly amount and the period during which you will receive the money - be able to pay a possible fee for the application with a credit card or charge card (fees for residence permits for studies).
If your family is accompanying you to Sweden, you can apply for permits for them at the same time in your online application. Your family can also apply for permits at a later date. In the application, your family must include
- copies of the pages in your family members’ passports that show personal data, photo, signature, passport number, issuing country, period of validity, entry stamps and if they have permission to live in countries other than their home country (read more about what the copies must look like)
- documents, such as bank account statements, that confirm that the family’s support for living expenses has been arranged for the time in Sweden. The living expense requirement for the entire period of stay is SEK 3,570 per month for a spouse or cohabitating partner SEK 2,142 per month for each child.
- a copy of the marriage certificate or the equivalent (for married couples and registered partners)
- documents that show that you have lived together, such as civil registration certificates, joint rental contracts or joint purchase evidence for a home (applies to cohabitating partners)
- birth certificates for children which state the parents’ names
- consent from the other guardian of children under 18 if the other guardian does not accompanying you to Sweden, or evidence of sole custody. For example, this can be a court decision, or death certificate if the other parent is deceased. The consent must be signed and it should state if the child has permission to stay in Sweden for the time you intend to be here. For joint custody, a copy of the other guardian’s passport or other identification document must also be attached
- adoption documents if the child is adopted.
If you are to support yourself with bank assets, you must submit your application no earlier than three months before the date you are applying for a residence permit from. This is because you need to be able to show that you can support yourself close to the beginning of the study time and that your documents will not get too old. This does not apply if you will receive regular income, such as a scholarship.