The one where I am moving out to Sweden for higher studies.
Everything about accommodation, Visa, Packing, Finance Tracking and Flight Booking. Includes a detailed pdf to ensure that you pack essential items.
- Monica vibes-
First of all, congratulations to everyone who got admitted for Autumn 2021 to various universities in Sweden. We are just two months away from embarking onto an exciting journey in our life. A little about me, I am a final year student in India who is about to finish her undergraduate studies by June. I plan to leave on 2nd August 2021 to KTH for Ms. in Interactive Media Technology. So that gives me around 2 months to plan out, prepare and pack. Tight. But it is going to be fine cause we got a plan and a pla…unlike Phoebe. So let’s get going!
1. Find your Accommodation
This part can be quite difficult, especially in places such as Stockholm and Gothenburg. Luckily, we have a lot of resources to help us out. When it comes to your stay, keep in mind the following factors: Price, how far it is from your university, room type ( Corridor, Shared, Studio) and neighbourhood. Other factors to watch out for would be size of the apartment, nearby shops, facilities that come with the building etc. But let’s loosen up on that for the first few months until we settle in.
My top choice: Student Housing
Since we are coming to an entirely new location, I would personally recommend applying for student housing. It is hassle-free, cheaper, will give you time to adjust to your new routine and make new friends for the first few months. Most universities guarantee student housing for international students for the first year, which is great. Some don’t. But they would have housing offices in your university that can help you out.
Swedish Rental Service
There are private housing services that put out homes to rent out first-hand. You just have to register to be in their queue. For example, it was recommended for us to register at SSSB, a student housing company in Stockholm. Depending upon our credits we earn everyday from the start of our registration, we get to apply for houses. So if you are anywhere near Stockholm, do register at Register | SSSB to get a head start before your studies. Go through How do I apply for housing? | SSSB to know more. They have got a wonderful website with all the information that you’ll need.
Another option I have heard is subletting. Here instead of directly being in a contract with the housing party, you will be renting out from someone else i.e. current tenant. This is one great website that my friend recommended : Find home for rent | Blocket Bostad
Refer these websites also:
- Life Hacks: 5 Tips on How to Secure Housing in Sweden — Study in Sweden
- Accommodation & budget — Study in Sweden
- https://www.karenroldan.net/how-to-find-an-apartment-in-stockholm/
2. Applying for Visa
It is amazing to see how easy the Swedish system makes it for the students to apply for residence permit. Though easy, let’s not get carried away. Buckle up because it is time for collecting and organising the right documents.
Before applying for the permit, make sure that you have the following documents:
- Notification of admission results A.K.A your proof of admission that you can download from your portal at http://universityadmissions.se/
- Get your health insurance. If your studies are less than one year, you will need to make sure that you are covered.
- Photocopy of your valid passport. Do include the first, second and last page of your passport that contain all your information and stamps, if you have visited other countries.
- Proof of fund: In normal circumstances, you can apply for residence permit for a period of 13 months. As part of a pilot program, a student doing a two-year course in the universities mentioned below can apply for a two-year residence permit, provided the student can support himself/herself/ themselves during the period i.e. minimum of SEK 8,568 per month ( two years will be 8568x24 = 205,632)
- Jönköping University
- KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm
- Linnaeus University
- Lund University
- Umeå University.
This amount should be in a bank account of your own name. As a proof, you can either get a bank statement or bank certificate from your home branch. If you have a scholarship to cover your expenses (Congratulations!), a document certifying grant of scholarship will suffice.
Tip: When visiting the bank for the document, I recommend you apply for a student forex card as well. It will offer a safe and easy way to carry foreign currency on your travel abroad.
Now you can head to Residence permit for studies in higher education — Swedish Migration Agency (migrationsverket.se) to apply for your residence permit and you are done! Give yourself a pat on your back, take a break and wait to hear back on the migration agency’s decision, which will approximately take up 2–3 months. Meanwhile, we can get to shopping and packing. Hooray!
3. Packing
I am not going to sugarcoat this part because TRUST ME it is quite overwhelming since we’re moving out to a different country. Let’s break it down and take it slowly.
Shopping
Sweden is mostly winter around the year, so we would definitely need winter apparels. Most flights provide baggage capacity of 30kg with 7kg check-in bag so, we have to be careful with what we take with us. Since winter clothes are bulky, I decided to just purchase a thick jacket, hoodie, boots and a great pair of shoes. Thermals are a necessity but I think it would be best to purchase from Sweden.
Tip: For your benefit, get most of your items from a single online shopping site as they tend to have better offers and promo codes. You can also use Honey — Chrome Web Store (google.com), which automatically finds and applies for coupon codes when you shop online.
List of items to pack
I found a document that contains all essential items that you may need and check if you got everything in your suitcase. Especially when it comes to official documents and essentials that you really don’t want to leave behind. So every time something pops up in your mind, make it a habit to add it to the template.
Download File.
4. Finance Tracking
Sweden is expensive. Nonetheless with proper tracking of your expenses and smart spending, I think we’ll be alright. I hope this notion template helps: Finance tracker | Notion Everything
5. Flight Booking
Here, I am just gonna share booking sites and airlines that offer great discounts and student offers on flights.
- SkyScanner: A great site that shows the best flight options, let’s you hire a cab or even book a hotel at a single place. You can check out sites that give best offers for each airlines.
- Emirates: Book your flight by 30 June 2021 using the promo code STUDENT to get discounts of up to 10% on Economy Class and Business Class fares. You also get one free date change until 7 days of your departure date and 10kg more or 1 extra piece on top of our generous baggage allowances.
- Qatar Airways: They have got a whole membership plan for students. If you join their student club, you avail the following exclusive benefits: Special fares on flights, Excess baggage allowance, Date change flexibility, Privilege Club tier upgrade as a graduation gift, Complimentary Super Wi-Fi and more. Join Student Club | Qatar Airways
Then there is FlyDubai and Lufthansa. You can check out about their offers here: Student Offer | Lufthansa.
Moving to an entirely different country is a terrifying feeling, but on the brighter side you will be learning a different culture, meeting diverse people, listening to their stories, gaining new perspectives and diving deep into great experiences that later mold us. Sometimes we have to crack out of our own comfort zone to be the best version of ourselves. Embrace the change and I believe it will all turn out to be un-floopy.
