Looking for a Sweden Residence Permit

As part of the PERCCOM program, the next semester will be spent in Lulea, Sweden. Therefore as a non-European citizen, I need to have my residence permit ready before my semester begins. To apply for a residence permit for study, first of all, I need to check the general requirements in Swedish Migrationsverket (Migration Board) website.

The documents that need to prepared are among others passport, insurance, Letter of Acceptance from university in Sweden and bank statement or scholarship letter. Remember that the Letter of Acceptance should state the duration of the study, for example, 6 months from August to January 2014.  Otherwise, the application will be rejected.

The first step is to fill out the online application form here. When we fill the online application, the website will give an automated username and password. Keep this username and password in case we need to make any changes toward our application. However, once the application is submitted, we can no longer make any further changes. Therefore please be careful.

After completing the online application, we need to wait for a couple weeks for a decision. The current waiting time is different upon the particular situation. To check the estimated waiting time, please click here. We can also check the progress of our application in here. By inputting the 7-8 digit numbers of case application, we can check whether or not a decision has been given toward our application.

The next step is to take a photograph and fingerprint in Embassy/ Consulate General/Swedish Migrationsverket. To do this, we need to make an appointment in advance. We can book, cancel, or see the schedule of appointment in here. Please note that you can make this appointment either before or after a decision has been given on your application.

On 3 April 2014, my friends and I visited Swedish Migrationsverket Office in Solna, Stockholm. There are many offices available and we can choose one in our convenience. The list of offices and their respective addresses is provided here.

If the decision has been given, we will receive a confirmation email from Migrationsverket regarding the status of our application, whether it is granted or rejected. Finally, if we are granted with the residence permit and have our photograph and fingerprint taken, then we can wait approximately four weeks until the residence permit card is ready. We can either take it on the Embassy/ Consulate General/Swedish Migrationsverket or have it delivered to our home address. 

And that is how we get our residence permit in Sweden :)

My friends and I visited the office of Sweden Migration Service in Stockholm

Master Thesis Progress

On 29 April 2014, we had a master thesis progress presentation. The meeting is held on LUT Sauna Beach House near the Lake Saimaa. The meeting was attended by Prof. Jari Porras from Lappenranta University of Technology (LUT), Prof. Karl Anderson from Lulea University of Technology (LTU), and of course, all of PERCCOM students.

Basically in this meeting, we were given a chance to present some of the works that we have been done for our master thesis. The majority of us, present about the literature review about the journals that are used for our references. While, others also present more advanced works, like a company survey or project timeline. Each student has roughly about 30 minutes for presentation and question. After each presentation, Prof. Jari and Prof. Karl will give some questions or comments. The first student who prThe student who finished their presentation point another student who will be in the next turn.

Grilled Salmon, anyone?

In the same day after Master Thesis presentation, we had a barbecue party at evening in the Sauna Beach House. Mrs Susanna helped us to prepare the food and drinks, while Mr. Jari prepared the grill. We had two grill, one is gas and another is charcoal. Because some of us have a diet preference like Vegan or Vegetarian, the grill is separated. One for grilling the fish and vegetable for the vegan and vegetarian, and the other grill is used for grilling the meat for the rest of us.

After the barbecue, the event was continued with sauna together. There were two sauna rooms available, one for girls and one for boys. As the Finnish tradition, after sweating inside hot sauna room, we should jump into the lake as the cold water from the lake will refresh the skin. By the time we finish sauna, the sun was almost set and it created a beautiful view on the horizon. So before going home, we did not waste our chance and took one group photo on the beach.

So much food on the table

The meat section

The guys are enjoying their time

Mrs. Susanna helps us in the kitchen

The charcoal grill

The guys are grilling the meat

Take a group photo before going home