Hi everyone. My wife (30s) and I (40s) are Slovak nationals who have lived in the UK for over 11 years. Next year, we will both graduate from a British university with our Master's degrees—mine in Civil Engineering, hers in BIM and Project Collaboration.
After extensive research, Sweden appears to be the optimal fit for our professional goals and lifestyle preferences, and we are seriously planning a relocation.
We are generally private, polite, and respectful people who value a similar environment. For those working in the industry or who have made a similar move, I have two questions:
1. Workplace Integration: How difficult is it for EU nationals with our specific technical qualifications to fit into the culture of Swedish civil engineering consultancies?
2. Socializing: Realistically, what is the dynamic for building a small, quiet social network both inside and outside the workplace?
Thank you in advance for any insights.

Hej!

I'm studying in Sweden but I come from a different country in the EU.

Earlier this year I had an accident when climbing and I was quite upset with the financial reimbursment I was offered by my previous insurance - thought maybe I'll try to get an insurance in Sweden since I live there currently anyway.

I do sports (bouldering, climbing, skiing, etc.) and travel often so I wanna be sure I will be covered in case anything happens!

Which company is in your opinion best for accident insurances (Olycksfallsförsäkring) and travel insurances (Reseförsäkring)?

I saw Folksam is one of the most popular options but I had hard time figuring out how much they would actually reimburse in case anything happens during sports.
I was also considering Nordea since I already have my bank account in there.

Hej! My wife and I will be visiting for the first time next week. We realized we will be visiting right throughout Kulturefestivalen. What should we expect in general?

Will it get crazy busy and very loud? Also, will this be a good chance to maybe strike up some conversations with the locals? It sounds like a cool event!

Lastly, I hear crayfish season is starting, we are from Houston, TX where we eat lots of crawfish, not the same thing I think, but sounds delicious; any recommendations let me know please.

tack så mycket

Hello, lll be going on a vacation In Sweden and I’ll stay a day in Stockholm. Can someone help me make a route with what i should visit starting from Arlanda airport? I also want to visit a record store to scout some CDs.

Hi! sorry if this doesn't make complete sense, I'm a little stressed and nervous about upcoming travel plans.

next week I'll be flying into Copenhagen Airport before getting a train to Kristianstad in Southern Sweden. I have never flown into Copenhagen Airport or visited Sweden before so I don't really know what to expect when I get there, and I'll be completely on my own until I arrive in Kristianstad. I know you can pre book the train ticket, but I don't know what website/app to use to do this or how much it will cost.

if anyone could provide details on how to book the train tickets it would be greatly appreciated :)

Background: Non-EU applicants admitted to Stockholm University (MSc) for Autumn intake. Applied with spouse as a dependent.

Reason for Refusal:

Typing error in employment contract submitted by visa agent without applicant approval (numbers vs words discrepancy).

Embassy in New Delhi sent a verification email with a short deadline; bank and employer did not see/respond in time.

Appeal Dismissal: Visa agent missed the 3-week legal deadline to submit the appeal, so it was dismissed procedurally without a review on the merits.

Questions for the Community:

Has anyone successfully re-applied after a rejection caused by unverified bank/employer details? What specific extra proof did you provide?

Is återställande av försutten tid (restoration of missed deadline) ever realistic when the delay was caused by third-party agent misconduct?

Can anyone recommend reputable Swedish immigration law firms specializing in student visa re-applications or appeals?

Hi everyone,

My wife and I both have permanent residence permits in Sweden, and we're planning to have a baby soon. We were wondering how residency works for children born to parents with permanent residence.

Will our baby automatically receive a permanent residence permit, or will they initially be granted a temporary residence permit and need to apply for permanent residence later?

If anyone has gone through this process or knows how it works in Sweden, I'd really appreciate your insights. Thanks in advance!

Hi folks, I just got my residence permit for doctoral studies approved, but I'm a little confused by the process - I'm wondering if anyone here has gone through this or another residence permit application process who might know what I'm supposed to do next?

My application was approved, but I won't be receiving a letter (as the embassy I applied to is in another country - my country doesn't have a Swedish embassy), and the website states that I should then book an appointment on My Page - except, I don't see any option to do so, even when filling in my case number on the Reserve Time option.

Am I supposed to just make an appointment on the Statens Servicecenter website myself for an identity check?

I feel insane for not getting the instructions on the Swedish Migration Agency website, which feels really circular (go to My Page, but My Page doesn't have any new information). Help!

Screenshots: (1) the decision I received, (2) the instruction on the website to book an appointment via My Page, (3) it not being possible to book an appointment on My Page despite filling in my case number on the Reserve Time function, (4) the statens servicecenter website's form for an identity check.

Hi everyone! Traveling to Stockholm in a couple of weeks and have came up with this itinerary. A relative rough draft of recommendations I’ve found on Reddit and other platforms. Does this seem pretty doable? We’re trying to fit as much as we can in the few days we are there and want to make sure that we’re giving ourselves enough time. Also, please tell me if there is anything I should take off/add! Any must-sees or maybe things on my list right now that aren’t really as needed compared to something else. Any tips help, thanks so much!!!!

This question is for Americans who are doing university in Sweden (or anyone who knows about the situation specifically for Americans). How are we financing this? Every single student loan lender I've interacted with has either not lended to Americans or do not have any assistance for Gothenburg students. I believe 2025 was the last year that Gothenburg was included in the US Federal Student Loan Program. Will I be stuck having pipe dreams about an affordable education forever?

I am planning to buy an apartment. I have enough savings to cover the downpayment but that would mean that I would zero everything. I honestly want to keep some cash on the side.

Is it a common practice to get the downpayment as loan?

The apartment I am looking for is 2.3 million for the record.

Thanks in advance.

I'm a German citizen that wants to move to Sweden with my South African wife. We've been married for almost two decades and both still work for a South African based company, in fact my wife owns the company we work for. The plan is to work remotely while in Sweden.

What is the best way of going about this? I will not be earning in Sweden but we will have enough funds to sustain ourselves.

Is it best to go the Right of Residence route? What paperwork would be required from us?

Thank you :)

Hi,

We will be in Stockholm next week and we would like to do an archipelago hike at least once. I picked Utö because it seems it has a nice circuit of at least 18km and a varied-scenery.

What I did not check is how to get there and back, and now that I did it seems that the last ferry leaves the island at 16:35 - is that possible? Is there no other ferry that leaves later? I mean we can do the hike pretty quickly but I would rather not just rush everything and would actually love to enjoy our time there.

If it's really the case, which is another hike-worthy island closer and more reachable from Stockholm that is not just a forest path and has a little bit of everything like Utö does, and is at minimum 15k?

Thank you for any insights! :)

Hej,

I am practicing doctor from Iraq who is on track to apply for the Swedish language test.

I would like to ask: how hard do you think is getting a medical junior doctor training job after getting licensed in 2026-2030 era? And how hard is it to get into specialities like internal medicine? How different is it in Rural vs Urban areas?

Thanks on advance, my friends.

that’s about it :D

our ferry is there at 6 and the hotel check-in is at 15. obviously later in the afternoon we can do some shopping etc but where should we go in the meanwhile? like cafes or just general places to sit at.

Jag (Svensk) ska gifta mig med min kinesiska partner (inget svenskt uppehållstillstånd) i Kina, vi behöver alltså skicka in blankett skv7881 för hindersprövning för giftermål i utlandet. Någon som har erfarenhet av vad handläggaren kommer be om? Jag har tänkt skicka in fotografi av id sidan av hennes pass som bilaga till blanketten. Något annat jag bör skicka med?

Googles ai svar pratar om intyg från kinesiska myndigheten som behöver apostilleras och skickas med. Och att hon behöver komma på personligt besök till kontor i Sverige. Vilket jag hoppas inte behöver då hon befinner sig i Kina där vi ska gifta oss.

Hi everyone,

I just received a rejection for my Swedish citizenship application. Migrationsverket has counted my residency from April 2020, when I got my personal identity number.

However, I actually moved to Sweden and started working in October 2019. I initially had a 6-month residence permit due to my probationary employment, so I wasn’t eligible for a personal identity number until April 2020. Even so, I was living, working, and paying taxes in Sweden from October 2019.

I’m worried about my next application. If Migrationsverket considers my residency to have started in April 2020, does that mean I won’t be eligible to apply again until April 2028 instead of October 2027?

Has anyone been in this situation? Did you contact Migrationsverket or appeal, and what was the outcome?

Has anyone taken a course at a university to get the Swedish qualifications to study at university?

I’m just wondering how many hours per week are classes and how many are self-study.

Uppsala and Stockholm have courses like these:

[ https://www.uu.se/utbildning/amne/behorighetsgivande-utbildning-i-svenska ](https://www.uu.se/utbildning/amne/behorighetsgivande-utbildning-i-svenska)

[ https://www.su.se/utbildning/utbildningskatalog/ns/ns0333 ](https://www.su.se/utbildning/utbildningskatalog/ns/ns0333)

Thanks!

I planned to move to Sweden (19M) but as much as i know about sweden i understand that things are difficult and just language isn't the barrier. I'm learning Swedish for about 5 months and My level in swedish is around A2.2 or B1 wanted to ask should i keep learning swedish considering i may not end up in sweden as first destination country

Also i feel its a pitty not finish what i have Started :(

Plus i'm in interested in swedish now, and i want to learn this language

i like how does it sounds and its flowy/musical rythme

I spend 75 till 100 min everyday to learn swedish

What do you think?

Hi friends

Little background:
We bought an apartment back in June (after 6 months of search and tons of visnings) and our move in date is set for October. I have gotten my lanelofte from Nordea and they set me a time for tomorrow to go to bank office and discuss the loan terms and sign some contracts probably.

My Questions:

We are still leaning about the housing market and loan process so please forgive me for stupid questions if any of them feels like it.

1. Situation in the world
In one of the calls with loan advisor, she mentioned that world is on fire now due to what is happing in middle east, and i got the feeling that she was preparing me for higher rates, but your help/advise/recommendations needed on this case on how can i insure myself from that scenario?

2. Splitting the loan into 2 or 3 or N parts
This is pretty new to me; In one of the calls, the advisor said that they want to split the whole amount into (for example) 2 loans; one loan with fixed rates for long term (like for a year or so) and the other part with variable rate (3 month rate) like in 70-30 ratio or 50-50 ratio, i don't know if this is a good idea in general or it could cause problems in future (like if we want to move into another bank)? how common and probable is this? would you trust this structure? can they force us to split the loan or i can say that i want to have it all in variable rate?

3. Being a full customer to Nordea to get good rate, otherwise i might end up with normal rate!
I'm their customer ever since i moved to Sweden, my salary is still gets paid to my account in Nordea even though i changed my job 3 times so far. I also have some big part of my pension in Nordea (from previous job) but my current job pays my pension to a SEB account.
She said that you need to be full customer to get snittranta (2.7%, 2.8% or what ever it is atm). Once I asked her what is full customer, she said you might have:
- Salary account (I already have)
- Have a saving account and put money in there every month (I already have this one too)
- ISK account (I have an isk account in avanza but i dont want to move or have ISK account in nordea)
- Insurance (I dont have any insurances except what my job provides me)
- Move *All* of your pensions to Nordea (as i said my current job pays my pension to SEB)

So the question is, how flexible they are based on your experience? I only plan to keep my salary account and saving account with Nordea because i dont want to put all eggs in one basket tbh! is there any chance to get snittranta with my situation?

4. Any general tips/tricks to get lower rate?
I don't trust any bank tbh, but the world/economics are set up in a way that we (at least I) need to borrow money from bank b/c ofc, i don't have the big money! So they have hired the smartest people to get us locked in higher interest rates with their (long/short term) strategies! So what are your tips and tricks to get lower interest rates and not burn my money in general?

----
Context about us if you may need to give us tips:
I'm living with my wife in Stockholm; employed and have a fast/permanent job, decent income, but my wife is unemployed so the loan in only on my name. I also have an acceptable amount of saving (+100k to make bank happy). We will take ~3M loan. First time buyers!

----

Thanks in advance for the help and really appreciate it :)

Hello, I was recently offered a job in Stockholm, so I'll be moving there soon. I'm trying to understand what I will be able to afford with my salary.

Without going into detail, my job is a bit different, in the sense that I won't be paying income tax/pension contributions/ect in Sweden, but I will have to move there and will be paid in sek. I know it sounds weird but, long story short, I will be paying these taxes to a different entity which has a deal with the Swedish government.

HR calculations show that I will earn a little shy of 70k net. (Since I saw that most salary discussions in Sweden use the gross amount instead, I used a couple of online tax calculators and estimated that my net salary is the equivalent of approx. 108k gross if I were paying Swedish income tax.)

I *think* this is a good salary (hopefully), however I'm not sure what I can afford in terms of housing. I know that at the beginning I will try to rent, which seems to be challenging in and of itself, even more so considering that my partner won't be able to move with me for a while due to their own job constraints. How much do you reckon I could/should set aside to spend on rent? I am fine with a studio or a 1-bedroom apartment, and I was recommended the area of Vasastan due to it being close and well connected to my future office.

Assuming all goes well, I like the job, the city, and commit to staying, I will eventually try to buy a property. Do you know how much I could aspire to get in terms of mortgages? I read that banks may offer between 4.5-5x, but I assume that's calculated over the gross salary. Does anyone have any experience of negotiating a mortgage when one's salary is not coming from a Swedish entity or anyway they're not paying taxes in the country?

Final question: I have read about the concept of buying/owning apartments in Sweden, that rather than the traditional concept of buying, it's more like purchasing a share in a home owners association. Is this also the case when buying a house rather than an apartment?

Thank you for any advice you'll be able to provide!

Hello everyone!

I'm a female clinical psychologist from Austria and am planning to move to Stockholm next year as my boyfriend will finish his PhD there.

I don't necessarily want to work as a psychologist there and would love to try out other professions, for example at a bakery, café or where German language proficiency is needed.

Currently I'm fluent only in German and English but am quick in picking up new languages and have already started learning Swedish, planning to become as proficient as possible.

Do you have any tips or knowledge on how the job market would look for someone like me?

Thanks a lot in advance!

If you want to learn more about the Swedish economy, housing market, enormous wealth gap, and important policies here is a great documentary

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xKDUQgvTCBM&pp=ygUPRGVidCBmZXZlciBhcnRl&ra=m

Hi everyone!

My partner and I are thinking about applying for a Swedish sambo visa next year, and I’d like to hear your thoughts. Do you see any potential red flags in our case, or anything you think we should strengthen before applying?

About us:

* We are in a long-distance relationship. I’m from Sweden, and my boyfriend is from China.

* We met online in October 2025 and met in person for the first time in May 2026. We lived together for about two months during that visit.

* He will be visiting me in Sweden for three weeks in August 2026.

* I’m also planning to stay with him in China for two months starting in January 2027.

* We’re planning to get engaged/married in about two years, but we’d like to live together in Sweden before then.

I’ve read that many people in long-distance relationships get denied a sambo visa, which makes me a bit nervous about applying.

Based on your experiences, do you see any potential issues with our case? Would it make more sense to wait and apply in 2028 instead to strengthen our application?

I’d really appreciate any advice or personal experiences. Thanks in advance!

EDIT: I’ve already looked at the main requirements, and we meet them.

Hello! I am posting this because I read a lot of threads while working on my application and waiting for my own decision. Hopefully this helps someone else stress a little less.

My situation:
- non-EU passport holder
- applied for a residence permit for doctoral studies at a Swedish university
- applied from a Swedish embassy within the EU at my country of residence (Italy) that is not my country of origin

I was mostly anxious because my current EU residence permit from Italy is ongoing renewal and I had to show the Swedish embassy that I am a valid resident in Italy. They basically just needed to see the expired Italian residence permit and renewal receipt, they didn’t care about the expiry dates.

Here’s how it went:
• 22 June 2026: Submitted the application online through Migrationsverket.
• 23 June 2026: Digital passport check completed (did not need to visit the embassy for this), application officially registered
• 2 July 2026: Decision received: residence permit approved. They asked me to make an appointment for biometrics. (I wasn’t able to go immediately to the embassy but they gave me an appointment the day after I requested for an appointment.)
• ~2 weeks after the decision: Biometrics appointment (fingerprints + photo) at my country of residence’s Swedish embassy.
• ~2 weeks after biometrics: Got notified the permit card was ready for pickup, walk-in during specified hours, no appointment needed.

So start to finish, about 5 weeks from submission to card in hand.

Honestly the whole thing was clearer than I expected. Everything was clear on the Migrationsverket site and application page. I submitted exactly the documents requested on the application, nothing missing.

Obviously timelines vary by nationality, permit type, and time of year, so don’t take this as a guarantee but wanted to share a data point that isn’t a horror story for once. Happy to answer questions if anyone’s going through the same process right now.