Traineeship through international exchange

If your are a citizen of a country outside the EU and have been offered a traineeship in Sweden within an international exchange or international agreement, you need to have a work permit.

Requirements for work permit

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

have reached the age of 18
have a valid passport
have received a written offer of traineeship or the assignment that is to be carried out.

Requirements for using the e-service

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.

These rules apply to those who have received a traineeship through

an international exchange programme within organisations, such as AIESEC, IAESTE, JUF and SACCUSA
agreements on training exchanges between countries. Sweden has agreements with the USA and Canada, for example. There is also an exchange agreement between the EU and China for young managers.

In some cases, you must apply for a residence permit for a traineeship with ties to higher education even if a traineeship is mediated through a trainee organisation. In order for these rules to apply, the traineeship must be linked to the your studies.

If you have received a traineeship that is not a part of an international agreement or does not have a tie to higher education, 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.

Traineeship through the organisations AIESEC, IAESTE, JUF or SACCUSA

The trainee organisation that mediated the traineeship begins the application by providing information about the employment. In most cases, it is also the organisation that applies for a permit on your behalf (otherwise you receive a link with information on what you must do). Contact the organisation that mediated the traineeship for more information.

Traineeship through another international organisation

The organisation that mediated the traineeship begins the application by providing information about the employment. In most cases, it is also the organisation that applies for a permit on your behalf. Contact the organisation that mediated the traineeship for more information.

Traineeship through agreements on training exchanges between countries

The employer begins the application by providing information about the employment.

You must show your passport

The Swedish Migration Agency must check your passport before a decision can be made. You may therefore need to show your passport at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general if you are outside Sweden, or one of the Migration Agency's service centres if you are in Sweden.

Find out which embassy or consulate-general you should contact on the page Embassies responsible for migration matters

In some cases, you will not be required to show your passport, for example, if we have already checked your passport during a previous visit.

If you need to show your passport, we will contact you with information on how and when to do so.

Be photographed and have your fingerprints taken

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 an entry visa or residence permit card to travel to Sweden, you will in most cases have your fingerprints taken and be photographed in connection with showing your passport at an embassy or consulate-general. If you need an entry visa to travel to Sweden and you were not photographed and had your fingerprints taken in connection with showing your passport, you must visit the embassy or consulate-general so that a residence permit card can be made for you.

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.

Follow your case in My page

If you have made your application in the e-service, you can log in to My page to follow your case and see if you have received a decision.

My page

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

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.

You must send in

copies of the pages in your passport that show personal data, the passport’s period of validity and if you have permission to live in countries other than your home country
a written offer from the organisation or company, which states the terms for your employment or assignment as a trainee.

If your passport will expire soon, you should renew it since you cannot get a permit for longer than the validity of your passport.

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Last updated: 2024-01-16

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Traineeship through international exchange

Requi­re­ments for work permit

Requi­re­ments for using the e-service

Which trainees do these rules apply to?

Trai­ne­eship through the orga­ni­sa­tions AIESEC, IAESTE, JUF or SACCUSA

Trai­ne­eship through another inter­na­tional orga­ni­sa­tion

Trai­ne­eship through agre­e­ments on trai­ning exchanges between countries

After you have submitted your application