Financing exchange studies
All students, regardless of whether they are required to pay application and tuition fees, must be able to cover their personal living expenses while in Sweden.
Cost of living in Sweden
Please check the information on the Study in Sweden website to get an approximate estimate of the minimum amount to cover living costs in Sweden.
Non-EU/EEA citizens
If you are a non-EU/EEA citizen, you will need to prove that you have sufficient funds for your living expenses in order to get your residence permit from the Swedish Migration Agency. Read more about this at the Swedish Migration Agency's website.
No recommendation to open Swedish bank account
It is hard to open a Swedish bank account without having a Swedish identity number. You can only apply for a Swedish identity number if you are going to study here for 12 months or more. This is why we do not recommend exchange students to open a Swedish bank account.
Alert your bank
However, you need to communicate with your bank at home that you will be travelling and find out the following:
- If you can use your bank/credit card in Sweden. (It can be difficult to pay in cash in Sweden.)
- What fees using your bank/credit card in Sweden will incur.
- If they might issue a card with a chip and a pin code. These are the most commonly used cards in Sweden today, as opposed to the cards you have to swipe and sign.
Scholarships
Uppsala University offers some scholarships for exchange students within Erasmus+, ICM, and Nordlys. To have a chance of getting one, you need to apply for an exchange at Uppsala University through one of these programmes at your home university.