Sweden lets companies, foundations and associations run tax-funded schools that compete for pupils on equal money. Here is how the voucher works, how the queues work, what a newly arrived family can do, and what the 2026 laws change.
When you need this
You’re moving to Sweden with school-age children and choosing a school. A Swedish colleague tells you to “put the kids in the queue” the week you arrive. You spot a school with “English” in its name and wonder what it costs. Or you’ve read about school profits in the Swedish news and want to know what actually changed.
How the voucher works
Sweden has run a school voucher system since the independent-school reform of 1992. Any organisation approved by the Swedish Schools Inspectorate (Skolinspektionen) can run a compulsory or upper-secondary school. The pupil’s home municipality then pays that school for each pupil, on the same grounds it uses to fund its own schools.
That payment is what Swedes call skolpeng (school money). Parents never receive it and never pay it. The law splits it into two parts:
| Part | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Basic amount (grundbelopp) | Teaching, learning materials, pupil health, meals, administration, VAT and premises |
| Extra amount (tilläggsbelopp) | Pupils with extensive special-support needs, mother-tongue tuition or holiday school |
Because each municipality sets the basic amount from its own school costs, skolpeng differs from place to place. That’s also why the money follows your child: change school, and the payment moves with them.
How big is the independent sector? In the 2025/26 school year about 16 percent of compulsory-school pupils, just over 179,000 children, attended an independent school. Of those, 74 percent were in schools run by limited companies and 4.6 percent in schools with a religious orientation. The rest of this guide is about what that means for your family. For how taxes fund the system as a whole, see why Swedes pay high taxes.
What a friskola may and may not do
“Friskola” is often translated as “free school” or “private school”. Neither fits. It is a privately run school inside the public system, under the same Education Act as municipal schools.
- No fees. School is free, including books, other learning materials and a nutritious lunch (see free school lunch). No application fee may be charged. Small costs for single items and voluntary contributions for school trips are the only exceptions.
- No entrance tests. Tests may not be a condition for admission or a basis for selection. Narrow exceptions exist that the government approves, such as music aptitude tests.
- Open to all. An independent compulsory school must take any pupil entitled to compulsory school. It may limit intake only to certain year groups, pupils needing special support, or pupils a specially adapted programme is designed for.
- No religious teaching. Teaching is non-confessional in every school. A school approved with a religious orientation may hold religious activities, but they must be voluntary, kept separate and announced in writing.
One distinction trips up English-speaking families. Swedish-curriculum independent schools with “English” or “International” in their name are free. International schools, which follow a foreign or international curriculum, are a separate category and may charge fees to cover reasonable extra costs.
Queues and selection
When an independent school has more applicants than places, it must select on grounds the Schools Inspectorate approves. Skolverket lists four:
| Selection ground | Swedish term | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Application date | anmälningsdatum / kötid | The earlier you applied, the higher you rank |
| Sibling priority | syskonförtur | Siblings of current pupils go first |
| Geographic proximity | geografisk närhet | Children living nearer go first |
| Organisational links | verksamhetsmässiga samband | For example, moving up from the school’s own preschool class |
In practice, queue time and siblings dominate. A 2020 survey of 190 schools, quoted by the Schools Inspectorate in 2022, found that about 90 percent used sibling priority, application date or both. Of the schools with more applicants than places, 12 percent reported waits of two to four years and 10 percent longer.
Warning: Many independent schools let you queue from birth. The Inspectorate found almost no queue-time schools with a lower age limit, so Swedish families who registered babies are ahead of you.
The Inspectorate has also criticised schools for being unclear about which grounds apply and in what order, so ask each school for its grounds and their order in writing.
Choosing a school as a newcomer
Your child’s right to a school place follows residence, usually being registered in the population register (see folkbokföring), or a few other grounds such as EU free-movement rights or certain residence permits. Once that’s settled:
- List the schools. Your municipality’s website lists its own schools. Many municipalities include independent schools in their digital school-choice system; others don’t.
- Apply to the municipality. Name the municipal schools you want. The main rule is that your child is placed where you wish, unless that pushes out another child’s claim to a school near home, causes major organisational or financial difficulty, or threatens other pupils’ safety. Naming several schools raises your chances.
- Apply directly to independent schools outside the municipal system, and ask each for its selection grounds and your queue position.
- Ask about the newcomer quota. A full independent school may reserve up to 5 percent of its places for children who have lived in Sweden less than two years before the school year starts. These children go ahead of the queue. The quota is optional, so ask each school whether it uses it.
- Keep the municipal place as your fallback. The municipality must place your child in one of its schools.
Check school transport before you choose a distant school. Free transport usually does not follow a school you pick yourself, unless the municipality can arrange it without organisational or financial difficulty.
Upper secondary works differently. You apply through your home municipality’s common application, ranking municipal and independent programmes together, and places are allocated by merit value, the sum of the 16 best final grades (see Swedish grades). A limited free quota exists for applicants whose grades can’t easily be compared with Swedish ones, which matters for teenagers arriving with foreign reports.
For the rest of the school system, from preschool to assessment and newcomer classes, see Swedish schools for newcomer families.
The profit debate and the 2027 rules
Many independent schools are run for profit, and that has been argued over in Sweden for years. If you’ve read that Swedish schools can take out unlimited profits, that is out of date. Parliament passed two laws in 2026:
| Date | What changes |
|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | The public-access principle (offentlighetsprincipen) covers independent schools: anyone may request their official documents. Smaller organisers get relief rules, and all may use them during 2027 and 2028. |
| 1 July 2027 | Only legal persons may be approved as organisers. |
| 1 July 2027 | Value-transfer ban: no money out of a newly established school unit for five years, after a change of controlling owner for up to three years, or for two years after a supervisory order. |
| 1 July 2027 | Separate accounts for each school unit; sanction fees for breaches; repayment of grants paid on wrong grounds or support money not spent on support. |
| 1 July 2027 | A school closing must notify the municipality by 1 November before the school year of closure. |
Good to know: Older guides may still describe the previous rules; these rules come from Lag (2026:716) and Lag (2026:1634), decided by the Riksdag in May and August 2026.
Profit itself is not banned: the value-transfer rules apply only in those set situations. Nothing has changed queue time as a selection ground either. A government inquiry has also proposed letting municipalities pay independent schools less skolpeng than their own schools. That is only a proposal; the law still says “same grounds”.
Practical information
| Item | What to know | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition at an independent school | Free by law | 2026-10-14 |
| Lunch, books and materials | Free by law in compulsory school | 2026-10-14 |
| Joining a queue or applying | No fee allowed | 2026-10-14 |
| Skolpeng | Set locally each year by your municipality | 2026-10-14 |
| International school | May charge fees for reasonable extra costs; varies by school | 2026-10-14 |
| Newcomer quota | Up to 5 percent of places, for children resident under two years | 2026-10-14 |
FAQ
What is a friskola in Sweden?
A friskola (independent school) is a school run by a company, foundation, association or religious body rather than the municipality. It needs approval from the Schools Inspectorate, follows the national curriculum and is paid per pupil by the child’s home municipality. It may not charge fees or use entrance tests. About 16 percent of compulsory-school pupils attended one in 2025/26.
What is skolpeng?
Skolpeng, school money, is the amount the home municipality pays a school for each pupil. For independent schools the law calls it a basic amount, covering teaching, materials, pupil health, meals, administration, VAT and premises, set on the same grounds as for the municipality’s own schools. Extra amounts follow pupils with major support needs. Parents never receive or pay it.
How do queues at Swedish independent schools work?
When a school has more applicants than places, it selects using grounds approved by the Schools Inspectorate: usually sibling priority and application date, sometimes proximity or a link to its own preschool class. Many schools let families queue from birth, and waits at popular schools can run to years. A late arrival often depends on the newcomer quota or a municipal school.
Can a newly arrived child get into a full independent school?
Sometimes. A full independent school may reserve up to 5 percent of its places for children who have lived in Sweden less than two years before the school year starts. These children go ahead of the ordinary queue. Using the quota is voluntary for the school, so ask each one whether it does and how many places it sets aside.
Do independent schools in Sweden charge fees?
No. Compulsory and upper-secondary education is free by law in independent schools as in municipal ones, including books, materials and lunch in compulsory school, and no application fee may be charged. Small costs for single items and voluntary contributions for school trips are allowed. Only international schools following a foreign curriculum may charge fees.
Are Swedish independent schools allowed to make a profit?
Yes, under current law, but rules tighten from 1 July 2027. Owners may then not take money out of a newly established school for five years, after a change of controlling owner for up to three years, or for two years after a supervisory order. Schools must keep separate accounts per school unit and face fines for breaches.
What changes for friskolor in 2027?
From 1 January 2027 the public-access principle applies, so anyone may request an independent school’s official documents. From 1 July 2027 only legal persons can be approved as organisers, value-transfer bans apply in set situations, grants paid wrongly must be repaid, and a school closing must notify the municipality by 1 November the year before.
Related guides
- Swedish schools for newcomer families — the whole system from preschool to upper secondary, including newcomer classes
- Folkbokföring: registering where you live — the registration that gives your child the right to a school place
- Swedish school holidays — when terms start and the breaks fall in your region
- Free school lunch — the daily meal every school, independent or municipal, must serve
- Why Swedes pay high taxes — where the money behind skolpeng comes from
Facts verified 2026-10-14. Sources: Sveriges riksdag (Skollag 2010:800, Förordning 2022:222, Gymnasieförordning 2010:2039, decisions UbU20 and UbU30), Skolverket, Skolinspektionen and Regeringskansliet — full register in this topic’s source file. This is general information, not legal advice. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.