Internship in connection with higher education

If you are a citizen in a country outside the EU and have been offered an internship in Sweden at a company, university, authority or organisation, you need a residence permit for an internship. The internship must have ties to your education.

Requirements for residence permit

To be eligible for a residence permit as a trainee, you must

  • have received a degree from higher education within two years before the application or be pursuing an educational programme that leads to such a degree
  • have a valid passport (if your passport will expire soon, you should renew it since you cannot get a permit for longer than the validity of your passport)
  • have received a written internship agreement that presents the conditions for your internship
  • have, or have applied for, comprehensive health insurance (if you will be in Sweden for a maximum of one year)
  • have enough money for your stay in Sweden and to be able to pay your travel home.

The internship must have ties to your education. This means that the internship must be done in the same field and at the same level of qualification as the educational programme you are attending or have completed.

Read more about the requirements that apply to your employer

Requirements for using the e-service

In order to use the e-service you need

  • to get an email from the employer with a link that leads you to the e-service
  • copies of the pages in your passport that show personal data, photo, signature, passport number, issuing country, period of validity and if you have permission to live in countries other than your home country (if your passport will expire soon, you should renew it since you cannot get a permit for longer than the validity of your passport)
  • to be able to pay the application fee by card
  • certificate(s) on on-going education or a degree in higher education
  • to have, or have applied for, comprehensive health insurance (if you will be in Sweden for a maximum of one year)
  • an internship agreement.

Which trainees do these rules apply to?

These rules apply to those who have received an internship at a company, university, authority or organisation and the internship has ties to your on-going education or degree within higher education.

If you have received a traineeship through an international exchange programme in organisations such as AIESEC, IAESTE, JUF and SACCUSA, or through an agreement on training exchanges between countries, different rules apply. The traineeship shall then not have ties to higher education.

Read more about traineeship through international exchange

If you have received a traineeship that does not have ties to higher education and is not a part of an international agreement, you must apply for a work permit according to ordinary rules for work permits. Then you must be able to show that you have been offered a salary and terms of employment that are equivalent to Swedish rules for trainees.

Read more about work permits according to ordinary rules for work permits

After you have submitted your application

If you are granted a permit for more than three months, you will receive a residence permit card. The card is a certification that you have permission to be in Sweden and contains your fingerprints and a photo of you, among other information.

If you need a visa to travel to Sweden, you must visit the Swedish embassy or consulate-general to be photographed and provide your fingerprints as soon as possible. You also need to do so if you previously had a residence permit card because your photo and your fingerprints cannot be saved. Contact the embassy or the consulate-general before your visit.

If you do not need a visa, you must book an appointment to submit your fingerprints and be photographed after you arrive in Sweden.

Swedish embassies and consulates-general External link, opens in new window.

Read more about residence permit cards

Check your appli­ca­tion status

Check that your application has been registered or if you received a decision

After a decision has been made

The decision is sent to the embassy or consulate-general where you turned in your application or that you wrote in your online application. If the trainee organisation has applied on your behalf, the decision will be sent to the embassy or consulate-general closest to where you live. When you go to collect your decision, you must bring your passport with you. You can receive a permit for the period you are offered training, but never longer than the validity of your passport. A permit as a trainee can be granted for one or more periods for a combined maximum of 18 months.

When the residence permit card is ready, the embassy or consulate-general will hand out or send the finished card to you. Keep in mind that it can take up to four weeks to manufacture and deliver the card to the embassy or consulate-general after you have received your decision. When you travel into Sweden, you must present the residence permit card together with a valid passport.

If you can travel to Sweden without a visa, you should be able to present a copy of the decision when you travel in. As soon as you can after arriving in Sweden, you must book an appointment to submit fingerprints and be photographed. When the residence permit card is ready, it will be sent to your address in Sweden.

If you are granted a permit for less than three months, you do not receive a residence permit card and must therefore present the decision together with your passport when you travel to Sweden.

Swedish embassies and consulates-general External link, opens in new window.

Book an appointment at the Swedish Migration Agency to submit fingerprints and be photographed if you can travel to Sweden without a visa

It is not possible to extend a residence permit for an internship with ties to higher education.

If you get a job

If you get a job in Sweden, you have the possibility to apply for a work permit without travelling home. You have to apply before your residence permit for the internship expires.

Read more about applying for a work permit

Impor­tant infor­ma­tion about insu­rance

If you need to seek care in Sweden, you may need to pay for the care yourself if you are not nationally registered in Sweden and do not have a Swedish personal ID number. If you are nationally registered, you may also be registered with the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) and be covered by Swedish social insurance.

To be nationally registered and get a Swedish personal ID number, you must generally have been granted a residence permit for at least one year in Sweden and that you plan to live here for one year or more. You should therefore get nationally registered as soon as possible after you have moved to Sweden.

Information about how to register at the Swedish Tax Agency External link, opens in new window.

If the Swedish Migration Agency rejects your application

If the Swedish Migration Agency rejects your application, it means you are not entitled to a residence permit for Sweden. You may lodge an appeal against the decision within three weeks of the date when you received notification of the decision. Information on how to lodge an appeal can be found in your decision. If you have given someone a power of attorney document that authorises him/her to represent you, this person is able to lodge an appeal on your behalf.

Read more about how to appeal

If you are still in Sweden when your application is rejected, you must leave the country within the timescale given in the decision.

Read more about what you need to know if you have had your application rejected and are still in Sweden

If you cannot apply online

If you apply online, you are given clear instructions on how to complete your application and what you have to send in with it. It is easy to do it right from the beginning, which increases your chances of getting a decision faster.

If you apply online, you are given clear instructions on how to complete your application and what you have to send in with it. It is easy to do it right from the beginning, which increases your chances of getting a decision faster.

If you cannot apply online, you complete the form Application for a residence permit for internship in connection with higher education, 101031, and turn it in at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general in the country in which you live. The application form indicates what documents you must attach to it. Contact the embassy or consulate-general before you turn in the application. If it is not possible to apply in your country, you must apply at the embassy or consulate-general that is closest to the country in which you live. Contact the embassy or consulate-general for more information before you turn in your application.

If you apply at an embassy or a consulate-general, you pay the fee when you submit your application. For information on fees, contact the embassy or consulate in question since they do not have the same fee regulations as the Swedish Migration Agency.

Application for a residence permit for internship in connection with higher education, form 101031 Pdf, 5.4 MB, opens in new window.

Swedish embassies and consulates-general External link, opens in new window.

Frequently asked ques­tions about permits for trai­nees (higher educa­tion)

You must apply for and be granted a residence permit to undertake an internship in connection with higher education before you enter Sweden. If you have a residence permit for studies in higher education and have completed studies equivalent to 30 ECTS or completed one semester of doctoral education, you can apply from within Sweden.

Your terms of employment (including your salary) during your internship must be on a par with collective agreements or with what is customary for trainees within your profession or industry.

Frequently asked ques­tions about insurances – researchers

To be granted a residence permit, you need to show that you have taken out or applied for comprehensive health insurance valid for care in Sweden. You need comprehensive health insurance in case you require medical care during your stay in Sweden.

If you apply for a permit for more than one year, it will be possible to register you in the national population register, and you will thus be covered by the Swedish health insurance system. If this is the case, you do not need health insurance.

Your health insurance should cover the costs of both emergency and other medical care, as well as hospitalisation, dental care and possible repatriation for medical reasons.

If you have experienced symptoms or been diagnosed with a disease before you travel to Sweden, your insurance does not need to cover doctor’s appointments related to the treatment of this condition. Should your health deteriorate rapidly and require urgent medical care, your health insurance should cover medical care until your condition has stabilised.

The Swedish Migration Agency cannot give advance notice of whether the health insurance you have applied for or taken out will be approved when it makes its assessment about your residence permit application.

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