Visiting Sweden for volunteer work or internship
If you want to visit Sweden to work as a volunteer for an organisation or do an internship at an organisation or company and you are a citizen in a country outside the EU, you may need to apply for a permit before the visit. Which permit you need to apply for depends on how long your stay in Sweden will be. If your stay in Sweden will be less than 90 days you may need to apply for a visa. If your stay in Sweden will be more than 90 days you need to apply for a visitor’s residence permit.
Do you want to visit Sweden for more than 90 days?
If you want to visit Sweden for more than 90 days you need to apply for a visitor’s residence permit.
Do you want to visit Sweden for less than 90 days?
If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU and you want to visit Sweden (and the other Schengen countries) as a tourist, you may need to apply for a visa. A visa is a permit to enter a country and stay there for less than 90 days. Whether you need a visa depends on what country you are from or if you have a residence permit in another Schengen country or if you are permanently living in an EU country.
Countries whose citizens need a visa to enter Sweden
Read more about what applies if you are permanently living in another EU country
The visa is most often valid for entry into all Schengen countries. In exceptional cases the visa may only be valid for entering Sweden and/or some Schengen countries.
On the government’s website you can read about what countries are members of the Schengen agreement
Read more about what applies if you do not need a visa to travel to Sweden
Requirements for receiving a visa for volunteer work or an internship
In order to receive a visa for volunteer work or an intern ship you must
- have a passport that is valid for at least three months after the visa has expired, was issued in the last ten years and has at least two empty pages
- be able to describe the purpose of your visit
- have an invitation from the internship/volunteer organisation
- have money to support yourself and for the return trip home (Sweden also requires you to have 450 SEK for each day you stay in Sweden)
- have an individual medical travel insurance that covers all costs that may arise in connection with emergency medical treatment, urgent medical care or transportation to your home country for medical reasons (the insurance must cover costs of at least 30,000 EUR and be valid for all Schengen countries)
- show that you intend to leave Sweden and the Schengen area on the last day before the visa expires
- a photograph that is in passport format and taken with you facing the camera and which is not older than six months
- other documents that the embassy may require.
Remember that it is important that you verify what applies in your particular case. You can find more information on the embassy’s website.
Swedish embassies and consulates-general
If you are going to submit your application to another Schengen country's embassy or consulate-general, you should contact them in advance. It is that country’s embassy or consulate-general that assesses and makes a decision on your application.
Before you apply for a visa
Remember
- you must apply for a visa before you travel to the Schengen area
- you can apply for a visa up to six months before you travel
- submit your application early
- it is the final destination of your trip that determines at which Schengen embassy you should apply (if another Schengen country other than Sweden is your final destination you must apply for a visa at that country’s embassy)
- a visa is valid for a visit and it is only in exceptional cases that you can work while you have a visa (Read more on the page Exceptions from the work permit requirement).
In certain countries, another Schengen country might represent Sweden. There are countries where Sweden has no representation, in other words has no embassy or consulate-general and is not represented by another country. If that is the case, you must check what applies to your area when it comes to visa applications.
Swedish embassies and consulates-general
If you are submitting your application to another Schengen country authority abroad, you need to contact them in advance. The reason for that is because that country’s requirements for documents apply. The documents should also be translated into that country’s language.
Countries where Sweden is represented by another Schengen country
This is how you apply for a visa
Most people who are applying for a visa need to do it through an external service provider. You can visit your embassy’s website to find out if your embassy has an agreement with an external service provider.
If your embassy does not have an agreement with an external service provider and you are applying for a visa through the Swedish embassies in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Seoul (South Korea), Teheran (Iran) or Tokyo (Japan), you can apply through our e-service.
If you are unable to apply through an external service provider or through our e-services, you can apply by handing in a form directly to your embassy.
Apply for a visa through an external service provider
Find out if you need to apply for a visa through an external service provider by visiting your embassy’s website. There you can find more information about to apply.
Swedish embassies and consulates-general
When you apply through an external service provider you will be asked to give your fingerprint and application at the same time
Apply for a visa through e-service – applies to four embassies
If you are applying at any of these embassies you can submit your application online:
- Sweden’s embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- Sweden’s embassy in Seoul, South Korea
- Sweden’s embassy in Teheran, Iran
- Sweden’s embassy in Tokyo, Japan
You can attach appendices in the e-service. A complete application with attached appendices will make the processing of your application easier. Before you begin the e-service you should remember to prepare the appendices in digital format (scanned) so that you can attach them to your application.
Please notice that if you have not been active in your application (added or edited information) for 72 hours, your application will be removed. Every time you edit your application you start a new 72-hour span, but in total you can only save your application for 14 days. If you have not submitted your application within 14 days, it will be removed.
Apply for a visa through an embassy
If your embassy does not have an agreement with an external service provider or if it does not offer an e-service, you must apply directly at the embassy. Keep in mind that it is important that you check to make sure what applies in your case. You can find more information on the embassy’s website.
A visa is only valid for your stay in the Schengen countries for up to 90 days during a period of 180 days.
It says on the visa sticker that is glued into your passport how many days you may stay in the Schengen countries. The days can be used during the time period that is indicated on the sticker. The period is often 15 days longer than the number of days that you are allowed to stay in the Schengen countries. The reason for this is so that you will have a chance to change your travel date if something unforeseen happens.
The visa can be valid for multiple entries or exits
On the visa sticker it says how many times you are allowed to enter and exit the Schengen countries during the period of validity.
You may apply for a Schengen visa that is valid for multiple entries if you visit Sweden on a regular basis. A visa with multiple entries can be valid for stays of up to 90 days during a 180 day period for up to five years.
The visa may only apply to certain countries
If you receive a visa you can often visit the other Schengen countries as well.
Your visa may in certain cases only be valid for entry and stay in Sweden or in certain Schengen countries, for example if your passport is not accepted by all Schengen countries.
Calculate your visa time
With the help of EU’s visa calculator you can calculate when you can travel into the Schengen area again, and how many days you can stay.
Calculate your visa time with the help of EU’s visa calculator
Controls at the border
Your short-stay visa allows you to travel to Sweden and usually to other Schengen States. It does not automatically entitle you to enter the Schengen area therefore you may have to provide certain information at border or other controls. You may, for instance, have to provide information on your means of support, how long you intend to stay in Sweden and why you are visiting Sweden. In some cases, such checks may result in a refusal for the visa holder to enter Sweden or the Schengen area.
You should therefore carry with you copies of the documents which you presented when you applied for the visa (e.g. letters of invitation, travel confirmations, other documents stating the purpose of your stay).
Summary
You are given the following text for information at this stage concerning the rights and obligations that apply in conjunction with a visa application. Then you have to accept the text in conjunction with your visa application.
The text set out below has been taken from the visa application form adopted by the European Commission.
Extract from the visa application form adopted by the European Commission
I declare that the particulars given by me in this visa application are correct. Any false statements will lead to my application being rejected or to the annulment of a visa already granted. I am aware of and consent to the particulars and any photograph and, where applicable, fingerprints given by me in my visa application being supplied to the relevant authorities in member states for the purposes of a decision on my visa application.
Decisions about my application will be registered and stored in the Visa Information System (VIS). I have the right to be told what information is registered about me in VIS. To be told what information is registered about me in VIS, I contact forvaltningsenheten@migrationsverket.se.
Legal basis
The Swedish Migration Agency processes personal data in accordance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Swedish Migration Agency also handles personal data pursuant to the Aliens Data Act (2016:27) and the Aliens Data Ordinance (2016:30). These register statutes also contain provisions stating that the data may be processed without the data subject giving their consent. The Swedish Migration Agency also processes certain personal data under provisions in the Data Protection Act (2018:218). The Swedish Migration Agency sometimes processes personal data pursuant to other EU regulations and directives.
Consent
I am aware of and consent to the following.
Compulsory collection of data
The collection of the data required according to the visa application form, photography and, where applicable, the taking of fingerprints are compulsory in the examination of a visa application. All personal data about me stated in the visa application form will, as will my fingerprints and photograph, be sent to the relevant authorities of member states. These authorities process them to enable a decision to be made on my visa application.
Storage of data
These data and data concerning the decision on my application or a decision to annul, revoke or extend a visa issued will be registered in the Visa Information System (VIS) and be stored there for a period of at most five years. During that period the data will be accessible by the visa authorities and the authorities that are competent to check visas at the external borders and in member states and also to the immigration and asylum authorities of member states. The data are accessible in order check that the conditions for legal entry to and stay and residence on the territory of the member states have been met; to identify persons who do not, or who no longer, meet these conditions; to examine an asylum application; and to determine who is responsible for such an examination. In certain circumstances the data will also be accessible to designated authorities of member states and to Europol to prevent, detect and investigate terrorist offences and other serious offences. The following authority in Sweden is responsible for processing the data: Swedish Migration Agency, SE-601 70 Norrköping, www.migrationsverket.se.
You can also contact the Swedish Migration Agency’s Data Protection Officer dataskyddsombud@migrationsverket.se
The right to check personal data
I am aware that I have the right to be notified in any member state at all about the data concerning me that are registered in VIS and about which member state has registered the data. I also have the right to request that data about me that are inaccurate are rectified and that those that have been processed unlawfully are erased. At my express request the authority examining my application will inform me as to how I can go about exercising my right to check my personal data and have them rectified or erased, including what legal remedies are available to me under the national legislation of the relevant state. Sweden’s national supervisory authority (the Swedish Data Protection Authority, Box 8114, 104 20 Stockholm, www.datainspektionen.se/om-oss/datainspektionens-internationella-arbete/visa) accepts complaints concerning the protection of personal data.
You can use the document Request for register extract, rectification, erasure or restriction of personal data in central systems
. Submit the request to the Swedish authority abroad or the external service provider (VFS) where you submitted your application.
Declaration
I declare that to the best of my knowledge all particulars supplied by me are correct and complete. I am aware that any false statements will lead to my application being rejected or to the annulment of a visa already granted and may also render me liable to prosecution under the law of the member state that deals with my application.
I undertake to leave the territory of the member states before the expiry of the visa, if granted. I have been informed that possession of a visa is only one of the prerequisites for entry into the European territory of the member states. The mere fact that a visa has been granted to me does not mean that I will be entitled to request compensation if I fail to comply with the relevant provisions of Article 6.1 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399 (the Schengen Borders Code) and am thus refused entry. The prerequisites for entry will be checked again on entry into the European territory of the member states.