Employers – Extending a permit Trainee/intern through international exchange

You have a trainee/intern employed within the context of international exchange who wants to extend their residence permit for traineeships/internships.

  • Important to know
  • How it works
  • Apply

If you want to see the information that is aimed at the intern, you can visit the page You want to extend – Traineeship/internship conducted via an international exchange programme

If the trainee/intern wants to continue their traineeship/internship longer than their permit is valid, they can apply to extend the permit. The trainee/intern may be granted a residence permit for one or more periods, but these periods can total no more than 18 months.

The employer starts the application

For an employer, the process of applying for an extended residence permit for a traineeship/internship is the same as a first-time application. You start the application by providing information about the employment in the e-service. When you are finished, the trainee/intern receives a link to the e-service, where they fill in their information and submit the application thus completing the process. Only then is the application registered with the Swedish Migration Agency.

In addition to the requirements imposed on the trainee/intern, as an employer you must meet the following requirements in order for the trainee/intern to be able to get an extended residence permit:

You must agree with the trainee/intern on terms of employment and salary

The trainee/intern must have a written offer of traineeship/internship
The offer must contain the terms and conditions of the trainee’s/intern’s employment or assignment.

Collect important information

Make sure you have access to the information about the trainee/intern, company and employment that you will need to provide in the e-service.

Information about the trainee
Name, date of birth, citizenship, education and email address. Please note that it is through this email address that the trainee/intern will log into the e-service to continue their application for a residence permit, so double check it carefully.

Information about the company
Company registration number, contact details, and location of the workplace.

Employment details
Occupation and start and end dates.

If you will be acting as a representative for an employer, you need to arrange a power of attorney.

Please note that if you are a representative with power of attorney, you are the only person who will have access to the case during the entire application period, because you create the e-application using your e-ID. You will thus be the only one who can complete the employer’s part of the application and respond to any requests for supplementation.

Read more about power of attorney

The trainee/intern can apply for an extension of their residence permit no sooner than two months before their current permit will expire. You must apply before the current permit expires. If you apply too late, the trainee/intern will not be able to work during the processing period.

The trainee/intern has the right to continue working during the waiting time, as long as they have had a residence permit for at least six months and their application is submitted before their previous permit expires. This applies even if the previous permit expires before they receive a decision about their application for an extension.

The trainee/intern can be granted permission for one or more periods, but for a maximum total of 18 months. They can never be granted a permit for longer than their passport is valid.

It is not possible to say exactly how long it takes to receive a decision. There are many things that affect the waiting time, for example whether the application is complete to begin with or whether we need to request more information, or whether we need to check with other authorities when investigating the case.

Here we show statistics on how long it has taken for people who have applied for this permit. The statistics are based on cases decided in the last 12 months.

75% of recently decided cases have been decided within:3 months

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The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for considering applications from people who want to live in Sweden, seek protection or become Swedish citizens. Our work is based on Swedish laws and international conventions, with a focus on legal certainty and effective reception and return.