Student Visa for Non-EU International Students to Study in Sweden

Sweden is renowned for its quality of education and research. It is an innovative country with excellent living standards pulling in thousands of students from all over the world. The percentage of Asian students immigrating to Sweden is 27% and 58% come from other European Union countries. Non-EU/EEA country students require a residence permit to study in Sweden. In most countries, individuals require a study abroad student visa which is not the case in Sweden. Let’s look at the details of it in this article.

Visa is the legal document that is required for entering a country. It is not mandatory for all countries. A student entering to Sweden should have a visa and residence permit as well.

Visa is for short duration whereas a residence permit is valid for a year. What are the rights bestowed with a Swedish residence permit?

·         You can apply for a permanent residence permit if you’ve spent five years in Sweden.

·         You can run a business or share or own a company.

·         You can extend the residence permit for up to 6 months and search for job until permanent job is offered.

·         Your family member can get a residence permit for the period same as your study duration.

·         To be eligible for a residence permit, students should have a confirmed admission in the desired education institution. Also, you must have enrolled in a full-time degree program in university or university college.

Overseas students can apply for a residence permit upon successful payment of first instalment of the tuition fees. It is applicable for students paying full tuition fees on their own. In general, a residence permit or say a Sweden study visa requirement are-

·         Copy of a valid passport showing personal details.

·         Confirmation letter from the desired education institution.

·         The receipt of the security/maintenance deposit of SEK 8,370 as an evidence of enough bank balance to support your studies in Sweden. The bank account must be on your name and should not be a joint account. Money transfer from own bank assets, only are acceptable by the Migration Agency.

·         Student must enclose the document stating the amount of scholarship and the tenure for which it is granted, if there is any.

·         Should have a comprehensive insurance policy valid in Sweden. Your insurance policy is considered valid if you’re registered with Civil Registry in Sweden. It should be viable for the entire period of stay in Sweden. It should be cover hospitalization and other medical care expense.

Few other requirements can be there for a doctoral student applying for a residence permit in Sweden.

Where to Apply?

Overseas students can apply for the residence permit online through official website or offline in the embassy office of your country. The online application is processed by the Migration Agency officials and is a faster process. 

A non-EU citizen must register in the Swedish Population Register if intended to live for a year or more. To register, students must personally visit Swedish Tax Agency.

Under a unique pilot-project, students admitted to a multi-degree programme is eligible to apply for a two-year residence permit for studies in Sweden. The higher education institution engaged in programme are-

·         Jönköping University

·         KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm

·         Linnaeus University

·         Lund University

·         Umeå University. 

For more clarification on student visa/residence permit, you can seek assistance of abroad education consultants who will help in admission to university to the visa application process.

Hurry up before it’s too late!

Related URL:

Steps to obtain a Sweden Student Visa

Canada Student Visa: The Key Points

Canada is known to be one of the finest study abroad destinations for international students. The country has attracted nearly 5 lakh international students to take up higher studies. Being an International student, you would need to obtain a Canadian study permit to pursue higher education in Canada. It works as a Canada student Visa for the duration of their stay in the country. The international students do not need a Canadian study permit if their course or program lasts for a duration of six months or less.

Once you hold a study permit, you ought to remain registered and make reasonable and timely progress towards completing your course. Along with your study permit, you also need to have a Resident Visa (Temporary) or TRV to enter Canada.

Please note that

• A study permit is a document that allows you to study in Canada
• A TRV is a visa that allows you to enter in Canada

The essential points to be noted while applying for Canadian Visa:

• A student permit is a document which allows international students to study in Designated Learning Institutions (DLI) in Canada
•  Students should apply for the Canada student VISA before travelling to Canada
• A student permit is valid till the length of the course/program in the Canadian university plus an extra 90 days
•  Students must re-apply for VISA extension if they cannot finish up their course within the VISA deadline
• If you finish your studies early, your permit will stop being valid 90 days after you complete your studies
•  If the candidate's school has wants them to take a few courses prior to the enrolment into the main program (conditional acceptance), authorities will issue their study permit for the duration of these courses
•   If students plan to leave Canada during a college break (such as the summer, or winter holidays and spring break), they may need to show proof that they are enrolled in the school when they return to Canada
• As multiple documentation is involved in the application process for Canada Student Visa, it should be carefully done. While applying for the visa, certain documents are necessary primarily. Here are the key steps and aspects for Canada Study Visa Requirements.
• Go through the below points carefully.

1.       Designated Learning Institute of Canada’s acceptance letter for admission: Students should apply for their course of interest to a college/ university that is listed as a Designated Learning Institute with the Canadian government. Based on your academic documents submitted to an institute the acceptance letter for your admission is issued.

2.       Proof of fees paid for the course to the institute: Once the offer letter is issued, the tuition fees are to be paid. Students can pay the fees through wire transfer with the available funds. Students can apply for Overseas Education Loan to pay the fees. The loan papers should be well-preserved to submit during the time of visa application.

3.       GIC (Guaranteed Invested Certificate): In order to show that the student can take care of his monthly living expenses, the student should make an investment in a Canadian bank of C$10,000. The student receives a certain amount every month from the C$10,000 in equal amounts for 12 months. This ensures the student can pay for his monthly expenses for a year.

4.       Medical exam: A medical test is to be given for those with temporary visa for travel, study and work in Canada.

5.       Police certificate: This certificate would provide information of any criminal record for the student.

6.       English Proficiency Exam: Canada being an English-speaking country, needs the applicants to provide a test of IELTS of minimum 6 bands in each of the modules (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking)  

There are two ways of submitting your application:

• Paper application – submit all the relevant documents at the VFS Canada Centre
• Online for Direct Student Stream – submit all the scanned documents while applying online

Once the application is submitted, the student should take the biometrics test. After successful validation of documents and biometrics, the student receives an eTA (Electronic Travel Authorization). You can then send the passport to the VFS Centre for stamping.

Here you go, you are ready to fly and fulfil your dreams now!

Read more:

How to apply for Canada Student Visa?

IELTS Score Requirement for a Canada Student Visa

Australia Post Study Work Visa Updates 2019

Students aiming to study in Australia have a great opportunity to stay and work for one more year than what it was earlier. The recent updates under the Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485), popularly known as the post study work visa, would enable students to stay and work for one more year.
This stands applicable for those who studied and resided in the regional Australia. There are several areas under regional Australia like New South Wales (Except Sydney, Newcastle, the Central Coast and Wollongong), Northern Territory, Queensland (except the Greater Brisbane & the Gold Coast), South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (except the Melbourne metropolitan area) and Western Australia (except Perth and surrounding areas). For the students who aren’t residing in regional Australia won’t be considered for this additional year of stay, as the name suggests, it made for those who reside there. 
The Australia Study Visa requirements for this category, eligibilities are as below:
•    You should have recently completed your course
•    Your course was CRICOS registered
•    You successfully completed all course requirements
•    You studied your course in English
•    Your course should be minimum of 2 academic years
•    No debts to the Australian Government
•    No visa or application rejections previously
•    You should be the current holder of Student Visa Australia 

When your post study work visa in Australia is approved, you can enjoy basic rights like:
•    As a student, you can study, work and stay in Australia temporarily
•    After you complete your course, you can stay to work
•    You can also have your family (spouse & children – if applicable) with you to stay

Peculiarities of Temporary Graduate Visa – Post Study Work Visa
•    The duration of your stay depends on the course you have chosen to study in Australia as a student. The post study visa is applicable for bachelors, masters and doctoral studies, while this is not applicable for standalone diploma or trade qualification.
•    The areas under the regional Australia will expand and will be announced by November 2019. The process time for this visa is usually 70 to 90 days.
•    The additional year under Temporary Graduate Visa will be available to the students graduating in 2021 onwards.

Opportunities and Prospects for students applying for Australia Student Visa in 2019 and later
•    Firstly, the post study work visa allows the students who graduate or complete their degrees in Australia, with 2 to 4 years to work full time and enrich and apply their knowledge gained from education by experiencing work-culture and methods.
•    Addition of one more year to the previous allotted time duration, will add value to the professional careers of the students and plan for further skilled immigration visa programs.
•    One more year means more time and opportunity to experience and upgrade the skills eventually and better networking in social and professional groups.
•    Students aiming at Adelaide (most popular city in South Australia) or that staying and those who would graduate in Adelaide by 2021, would be have the benefit of the additional year.
•    500+ new occupations added State Nomination Occupation List & Supplementary Skill List for South Australia
•    It would mean numerous rewards and opportunities for students residing in South Australia for a long time

The applicants for Australia Study Visa from 2019 will receive more opportunities than before.

Related URL:
Australian Student Visa Categories
Pre-departure Guidelines for International Students