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