Exchange Students in Sweden: The First Two Weeks

Sweden is built around people who stay a year or more, and most exchange students stay one or two semesters. That gap explains nearly every snag of the first fortnight. Here’s what applies to you, in the order you’ll need it.

When you need this

• You’ve been nominated for an exchange semester or year at a Swedish university
• You’re a non-EU student and want to know whether your permit has new conditions since June 2026
• You’ve just arrived and every form asks for a personnummer you don’t have
• You need a doctor and aren’t sure what your insurance or EHIC covers
• A part-time job or a bank account is on your first-week list
• Someone tells you to “join the union” or “download Mecenat”

Two questions that decide everything

Are you an EU/EEA citizen? And will you stay at least a year? Answer those two and most of the rules sort themselves.

EU/EEA citizens have a right of residence if they’re enrolled at a recognized institution, declare that they can support themselves and have comprehensive health insurance valid in Sweden. Everyone else, including Swiss citizens, needs a residence permit for stays over three months.

The personnummer (personal identity number) is the second divide. It goes only to people registered as living in Sweden (folkbokförda), which requires an expected stay of at least a year. For studies under 12 months, the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) asks what you’ll do afterwards, and gives “two semesters providing 60 credits” as its example. So a typical exchange runs without one: on your passport, a payment card, the university’s own systems and, where an authority needs an ID number, a samordningsnummer (coordination number).

New permit rules since June 2026

Many guides and older university pages still say non-EU students can work unlimited hours. That changed on 11 June 2026. For anyone whose residence permit for first- or second-cycle studies was decided on or after that date (exchange studies use the same permit):

• Work is capped at 15 hours a week during term. There’s no cap in June, July and August, and none for work at your own university in teaching, student representation, administration, a traineeship or research, or work connected to your programme.
• You must report your Swedish address to Migrationsverket no later than 30 days after entering Sweden with the permit, and any new address within 30 days of moving. The duty doesn’t apply once you’re population-registered.
• Working too much has consequences: an extension can be refused, and the Migration Agency says the permit can be revoked.

The new rules apply to every decision made from 11 June, even on applications filed earlier. If your permit was granted before that date, they kick in when you extend it.

Watch out: the 15-hour limit is written per week. Don’t plan on balancing a heavy week against a light one; hours over the limit can count against you when you extend.

Your first two weeks, step by step

1. Before you fly (non-EU): get the residence permit. You must be admitted to full-time, on-site studies, meet the maintenance requirement for the whole period and, if staying under a year, have or have applied for comprehensive health insurance. A permit can’t, as a rule, be approved after you’ve entered Sweden.
2. Before you fly (EU/EEA): order your EHIC in your home country. Without one, buy your own insurance.
3. Ask your university about insurance and a room. Many universities insure exchange students for free and arrange rooms. Get the insurance certificate and the room contract in writing.
4. Days 1–3: collect keys and register for your courses. Registration, not just admission, is what unlocks the student card and discount app. Put your name on the door or post box.
5. Within 30 days (non-EU): report your address to Migrationsverket. Do it in week one, even if the university arranged your room.
6. Staying a year or more? Notify Skatteverket through its “Moving to Sweden” e-service and book an in-person identity check. Non-EU citizens show a valid residence permit. You’ll get a personnummer once registered.
7. Staying under a year and someone needs an ID number? Ask the university first: it can request a coordination number for you. Otherwise apply yourself through Skatteverket’s English e-service, then attend an identity check. From 1 December 2026 Skatteverket can take fingerprints and a facial image at that check.
8. Sort your phone, payments and student app, as covered below.
9. Save 1177 and 112 in your phone. 1177 is the round-the-clock medical advice line; 112 is for emergencies.

Insurance and healthcare

For EU/EEA students, the EHIC means you pay the same patient fees as Swedes for necessary care. Patients without valid cover pay the region’s full cost.

For non-EU students staying under a year, the permit itself demands comprehensive insurance covering emergency and other medical care, hospitalization, emergency dental care and medical repatriation for the whole stay. Many universities provide this free through Student IN, a group policy from the state insurer Kammarkollegiet. Two catches: only the university can order it, and it doesn’t cover everything.

Fee-paying degree students are on a different policy (FAS), and doctoral students follow separate rules.

To see a doctor, book at a vårdcentral (health center). If you can’t get an appointment, go to a närakut (urgent-care clinic). Without a personnummer, the clinic gives you a reservnummer (reserve number) to identify you in its records. Our guide to healthcare for visitors explains fees and the 1177 line in full.

Housing

Start with your host university. Many arrange corridor rooms (10–15 single rooms around a shared kitchen) or student flats for exchange students, or point you to local student-housing companies. Pressure is highest in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Lund and Uppsala.

The big student-housing queues work against a one-semester stay. Stockholm’s SSSB, for example, requires membership of an affiliated student union throughout the tenancy and registration at the housing address, and you need union membership to collect more than 90 queue days. Our explainer on renting in Stockholm shows why queues take years.

On the private market, sublets (andrahandskontrakt) are the realistic option, and scams target new arrivals. Never send money before you’ve seen the room, signed a contract and got access, and treat a landlord who won’t give a real name as a red flag. Your rights as a subtenant are in our guide to long-stay rentals.

Money, phone and discounts

Payments. Your home card works almost everywhere; Sweden runs on card payments. A Swedish bank account is useful but hard without a personnummer: Study in Sweden warns you’ll probably need one. By law a bank may not refuse a consumer legally resident in the EEA a basic payment account unless money-laundering rules or special reasons stand in the way. Bank branches are typically open weekdays 10:00–15:00. Even with an account, BankID needs a personnummer, and Swish needs BankID. See coordination numbers and bank accounts and BankID for visitors.

Phone. An EU SIM roams at home prices while you travel occasionally, but the EU warns that using a home SIM permanently abroad can trigger extra charges. A Swedish prepaid SIM needs only your passport; details in our SIM and eSIM guide.

Student union and discounts. Joining your studentkår (student union) is voluntary. It brings events and an international reception, and in Stockholm it’s a condition for the big student-housing queue. The student discount card is a phone app (Mecenat or Studentkortet), often available without union membership. Students without a personnummer can still register, using a substitute identifier their union or school explains. Travel discounts can depend on study pace; KTH’s union, for example, requires registration for at least 75% of full time. SJ and VR give students and under-26s about 15–20% off train tickets. Regional rules are in our discounts guide.

Practical information

FAQ

Do exchange students in Sweden get a personnummer?

Usually not. A personnummer goes to people registered as living in Sweden, which requires an expected stay of at least a year. For studies under 12 months Skatteverket asks what you plan to do afterwards. A one- or two-semester exchange therefore normally runs on your passport, the university’s systems and, if an authority needs one, a coordination number your university can request.

Can I work while on exchange in Sweden?

EU/EEA citizens can work without limits. Non-EU students with a residence permit for studies decided on or after 11 June 2026 may work at most 15 hours a week during term, with no cap in June, July and August and exceptions for some university jobs. Working more can lead to the permit being revoked or not extended, so keep track of your weekly hours.

Do I need to tell Migrationsverket my address?

Yes, if you are a non-EU student whose study permit was decided from 11 June 2026. Report the address where you will live within 30 days of entering Sweden, and any new address within 30 days of moving. The duty lapses once you are population-registered. Students with older permits get the rule when they extend. Use Migrationsverket’s own reporting channel.

What health insurance do exchange students need in Sweden?

EU/EEA students should bring a European Health Insurance Card, which gives necessary care at Swedish patient fees. Non-EU students staying under a year need comprehensive insurance for the residence permit, covering medical and emergency dental care and repatriation. Many universities provide it free through Kammarkollegiet’s Student IN policy, but only the university can order it, so ask before buying your own.

Can I open a Swedish bank account without a personnummer?

Often with difficulty. Study in Sweden warns you will probably need a personnummer, maybe a Swedish ID card too. By law a bank may not refuse a consumer legally resident in the EEA a basic payment account unless money-laundering rules or special reasons prevent it, and must decide within ten banking days. Even with an account, BankID and Swish need a personnummer.

How do exchange students find housing in Sweden?

Start with your host university: many arrange corridor rooms or flats for exchange students, or point you to local student-housing companies. Big queues such as Stockholm’s student housing need union membership, registration at the address and queue time, which rarely suits one semester. On the private market, never pay before you have seen the room, signed and got the keys.

Do I have to join the student union?

No. Membership has been voluntary since compulsory membership was abolished, and the law gives every student the right to join their union. Joining can still pay off: it brings events, the international reception, and in Stockholm it is a condition for the big student-housing queue. The student-discount app is often available to non-members too, KTH being one example.

Related guides

• Coordination numbers and bank accounts — apply for the number and know what a bank must offer
• Personnummer explained — why every form asks for it
• Healthcare for visitors — 1177, clinics and what you’ll pay
• Student and youth discounts — fares region by region
• Sweden in winter — darkness and cold for autumn-semester students

Facts verified 2026-10-06. Sources: Migrationsverket, Sveriges riksdag (Utlänningslagen, Utlänningsförordningen, Högskolelagen), Skatteverket, Study in Sweden (Svenska institutet), Kammarkollegiet, Försäkringskassan — full register in this topic’s source file. This page is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.