Education in Sweden for Newcomer Families: Förskola to University, Fees and CSN

Education in Sweden is three separate systems with three different owners and three different entry tests. Your child's right to a place in school is decided by one rule. Your own right to study without paying tuition is decided by another. Your right to student finance from CSN, Centrala studiestödsnämnden, the national student finance agency, is decided by a third. A permit that passes one test can fail the next.

This article is for families with children, partners who arrive on a residence permit, and students. It fits you if you live in Sweden or are about to, hold a permit that is not a permit for studies, or plan to study yourself. It is not for EU/EEA citizens who only need the free-movement basics, for visitors on a short stay, or for people whose only question is how to obtain a study permit. Visitors should start at how many days you can spend in Sweden. Study-permit applicants should go to the study permit guide for non-EU citizens. Work-permit questions are covered under residence and work permits. Family members of EU/EEA citizens should read the EU family member residence card guide first, and the study-specific guides sit under Studying in Sweden.

Prerequisites decide which rule applies to you

Three facts about you decide almost everything that follows. First, your permit: permanent, temporary on a ground other than studies, temporary for studies, or none yet because an asylum application is pending. Second, your citizenship: EU/EEA and Swiss citizens are treated differently for tuition and for CSN. Third, whether you are registered as living in Sweden, the status called folkbokförd. That registration is folkbokföring, and it is what leads to a personnummer, the Swedish personal identity number. See what a personnummer is and the one-year test for getting one.

The school rules do not require the personnummer itself. The law gives rights to children who are bosatta i Sverige, resident in Sweden. Skollagen 29 kap. 2 § defines the word: "Med bosatt i landet avses i denna lag den som ska vara folkbokförd här enligt folkbokföringslagen (1991:481)." Skolverket, the national school agency, explains it the same way: "Med bosatt i landet avses i skollagen den som ska vara folkbokförd i Sverige" (Skolverket). The word is ska, meaning should be. A kommun is the local authority, so check your kommun's page for what it asks when you enrol a child.

Three systems, three owners

Skolverket is the national school agency and publishes the rules for schools. The kommun is the responsible authority for its residents: "Det är hemkommunen som ansvarar för att utbildning i förskola kommer till stånd", which says the home kommun is responsible for arranging förskola (Skolverket). Applications to higher education go through antagning.se and universityadmissions.se. CSN is a separate agency.

Förskola gives children a place from age 1

Förskola is the Swedish preschool for children from age 1 until school starts. As of October 2026, a kommun must offer a place "från och med ett års ålder". This covers children whose parents work or study, or whose family situation gives the child its own need (skollagen 8 kap. 5 §). Children of unemployed parents or parents on parental leave for a sibling have a place of at least three hours a day or 15 hours a week (8 kap. 6 §).

Once a guardian registers a wish for a place, Skolverket states the deadline: the kommun must offer the place "inom fyra månader". From the autumn term of the year a child turns 3, the child is offered at least 525 hours a year. Skolverket adds that the fee may then only cover time above that: "får förskoleavgiften bara avse den del av verksamheten som överstiger 525 timmar". The fee itself is capped. Skolverket writes: "Alla kommuner använder sig av maxtaxan", which means every kommun applies a maximum fee. Your kommun publishes the current amount.

Skolverket covers asylum seekers and holders of a temporary permit who "inte uppfyller kraven för att bli folkbokförda i Sverige". That means they do not meet the conditions for registration. They have the right to förskola on the same terms.

Grundskola starts with skolplikt in the autumn the child turns 6

Grundskola is the compulsory school. Skolplikt, the legal duty to attend, applies to children who are bosatta: "Barn som är bosatta i Sverige har skolplikt enligt föreskrifterna i detta kapitel" (7 kap. 2 §). It starts in the autumn: "Skolplikten inträder höstterminen det kalenderår då barnet fyller sex år" (7 kap. 10 §), meaning the duty starts in the autumn term of the calendar year the child turns six. The school year before grade 1 is förskoleklass, the preschool class.

Education is free. The law gives all children under skolplikt "rätt till kostnadsfri grundläggande utbildning i allmän skola" (7 kap. 3 §). Skolverket adds that pupils are offered school meals without paying and have free access to textbooks and other learning tools.

Some children are not under skolplikt but still have a right to free schooling. Skolverket describes them: "Det finns också vissa grupper av barn som har rätt till kostnadsfri utbildning trots att de inte omfattas av skolplikten." It names children who have applied for international protection, children with temporary protection who are not registered, and children without papers. For asylum-seeking children, the rule is that school starts "senast två månader från den dag då ansökan om internationellt skydd lämnades in".

Nyanlända elever get an assessment first

A nyanländ elev is a newly arrived pupil. A child who has lived abroad and starts school in Sweden at age 8 fits the definition below. Skolverket defines the term by the pupil's history. It means someone who "har varit bosatt utomlands, nu är bosatt i Sverige, och har påbörjat sin utbildning här senare än höstterminens start det kalenderår då hen fyller sju år". The school must map the pupil's knowledge through a kartläggning, an assessment of what the pupil already knows, using Skolverket's material, before deciding the class placement. A förberedelseklass, an introductory class, ends as soon as the pupil is judged to have enough Swedish: it may be "avbrytas så snart eleven bedöms ha tillräckliga kunskaper i svenska".

Gymnasium is a right for resident young people, with an age limit

Gymnasium is upper-secondary school. The right follows the same word: "Ungdomar som är bosatta i Sverige har rätt till utbildning i gymnasieskolan" (Skolverket). The limit is on starting, not on how long the right lasts:

• Residents must start gymnasium no later than the first half of the year they turn 20 (skollagen 15 kap. 5 §).
• Asylum seekers and young people without papers must start before turning 18.

To enter a national programme, a pupil needs passing grades from grundskola. For a yrkesprogram, a vocational programme, that means Swedish or Swedish as a second language, English and mathematics plus at least five other subjects. For a högskoleförberedande program, a programme that prepares for university, it is the same three subjects plus at least nine others. A pupil who does not yet qualify can start on an introduktionsprogram, an introductory programme: "språkintroduktion står öppen för nyanlända ungdomar", meaning language introduction is open to newly arrived young people.

Studiebidrag follows a different test

From the quarter after the 16th birthday, a student in gymnasium can receive studiebidrag, the CSN study grant for upper-secondary students. CSN states the amount as of 2026: "1 250 kronor per månad", with the condition "Du måste studera på heltid" (CSN). It ends in the first half of the year the student turns 20. CSN adds that before the first payment you "vanligtvis" have barnbidrag, the child allowance, from Försäkringskassan, the social insurance agency. Foreign citizens are tested separately, a point covered in the CSN section below.

Komvux and SFI are the adult route, with a residence condition

Komvux is the municipal adult education that lets adults complete grundskola or gymnasium courses. SFI, svenska för invandrare, is Swedish for immigrants. Both require that you are bosatt. Skolverket says an adult has the right to komvux at the basic level from "den 1 juli det år hen fyller 20 år" if resident and lacking grundskola knowledge. Asylum seekers and people without papers are counted as resident for the school laws but "har inte rätt inom komvux".

Universitet and högskola are both state institutions under one law

Higher education has one law for both words. Högskolelagen opens: "I denna lag ges bestämmelser om universitet och högskolor under statligt huvudmannaskap" (1 kap. 1 §). A universitet and a högskola therefore sit under the same law and ordinance. The law gives universitet the right to award doctoral degrees: "Examina på forskarnivå får utfärdas vid universiteten" (1 kap. 11 §). The högskoleförordning names the institutions in its Bilaga 1, where Uppsala, Lund, Göteborg, Stockholm and Umeå appear as universitet.

The law describes the levels as grundnivå, avancerad nivå and forskarnivå, which are first cycle, second cycle and doctoral level. Grundnivå education is meant to build on what students learned in gymnasium "eller motsvarande kunskaper", equivalent knowledge, and avancerad nivå builds on grundnivå (1 kap. 8 and 9 §§).

Högskolepoäng measure the study load

The credit unit is the högskolepoäng, abbreviated hp. The högskoleförordning fixes it: "heltidsstudier under ett normalstudieår om 40 veckor motsvarar 60 högskolepoäng" (6 kap. 2 §). Half-time study over the same year is 30 hp. The degrees themselves, högskoleexamen, kandidatexamen and masterexamen, are defined in an annex to the ordinance, and each programme page states its own hp total.

Applying through antagning.se and universityadmissions.se

The two admission sites complement each other. On antagning.se, applicants find programmes taught in Swedish. Its start page sends English-taught programmes to a separate portal, universityadmissions.se. As of October 2026, the English site says the first round for the autumn semester gives decisions in March or April and the second round in July.

Basic eligibility requires Swedish and English knowledge. UHR, Universitets- och högskolerådet, is the national admissions council. It describes the grade requirement for upper-secondary students as "lägst betyget E på nivå 3 i ämnet svenska eller ämnet svenska som andraspråk" and "nivå 2 i ämnet engelska" (UHR). Some programmes add särskild behörighet, subject prerequisites that UHR says may only be required if "helt nödvändiga för att studenten ska kunna tillgodogöra sig utbildningen".

Round 2 is not meant for most non-EEA applicants. The English site states that EU/EEA students "do not need a residence permit" and can therefore also use the second round, while non-EU/EEA applicants risk a decision that arrives too late to study on time.

Studieavgift applies to non-EEA citizens unless an exemption fits

Studieavgift, the tuition fee, is set by fee ordinance 2010:543, not by the högskoleförordning. The rule: "En högskola ska ta ut en studieavgift för utbildning på grundnivå och avancerad nivå av den som inte är medborgare i en stat inom EES eller i Schweiz" (5 §). An application fee, anmälningsavgift, is charged per application period and paid when you apply; antagning.se sets out the current amount. Each institution sets its own tuition: "Studieavgifternas storlek bestäms av varje universitet och högskola", the amount is decided by each university and högskola.

Exemptions: the permit that is not for study

The fee ordinance lists who is exempt. The groups that matter for families are these:

• Holders of a permanent residence permit, which antagning.se phrases as "permanent uppehållstillstånd i Sverige".
• Holders of a temporary permit on a ground other than studies, with one carve-out. Förordning 2010:543, 2 § andra stycket 4, exempts whoever "har tidsbegränsat uppehållstillstånd i Sverige på annan grund än studier, och det inte är fråga om uppehållstillstånd som familjemedlem till en tredjelandsmedborgare med tidsbegränsat uppehållstillstånd för studier som bedrivs på lägre nivå än utbildning på forskarnivå". A work permit, or a family permit to join someone living in Sweden, is exempt. The carve-out (SFS 2026:468) applies first to admission for the autumn 2027 term: from then, the partner or child of a bachelor's or master's student pays. For courses that start before autumn 2027, the older rule applies and that family permit still exempts.
• Family members of an EEA citizen who has a right of residence, and family members of a Swiss citizen with a permit.
• Holders of the status varaktigt bosatt, long-term resident, in Sweden.
• Holders of long-term resident status in another EU state who also have a Swedish permit under utlänningsförordningen 4 kap. 9 § (2 § andra stycket 6).

A temporary permit for studies does not exempt you. UHR's English site states: "Having a temporary residence permit for studies does not grant you an exemption for fee payment." The list on antagning.se does not show the student-family carve-out; the ordinance is the rule.

CSN applies a separate test for foreign citizens

CSN pays studiemedel, a combination of grant and loan for higher education and adult study, and studiehjälp, the support for gymnasium students. The law names the agency: "Studiestödet handhas av Centrala studiestödsnämnden" (studiestödslagen 1 kap. 2 §). CSN runs the check on its own for foreign citizens. "CSN prövar alla villkor och skickar två separata beslut till dig." One decision is about whether you are entitled to Swedish study support as a person. The other is about whether the education qualifies.

The core rule in 3 kap. 4 § is that a non-Swedish citizen must be "bosatta i Sverige och har permanent uppehållstillstånd här" and must have settled in Sweden "huvudsakligen i annat syfte än att genomgå utbildning här". The law lists the temporary permits that can qualify: international protection, family-tie permits under utlänningslagen 5 kap. 3–3 h §§, permits on exceptionally distressing circumstances (5 kap. 6 §) or impediments to enforcement (12 kap. 18 §), and the upper-secondary studies law (2017:353), plus a residual "särskilda skäl", special reasons (studiestödslagen 3 kap. 4 §). A family-tie permit counts only if the person you are tied to has protection or a permit under 5 kap. 2 b or 6 §, which is why the partner of a work-permit holder normally does not qualify. The statute uses residence, bosatta i Sverige, as the test. CSN publishes the current permit list on its page for citizens from outside the EU/EEA.

Four practical consequences follow from the CSN pages:

• A permanent permit normally gives the right. CSN says you can normally get study support if "du bor i Sverige och Migrationsverket har gett dig permanent uppehållstillstånd".
• Family-based temporary permits give the right "i vissa fall". CSN adds that you "normalt inte" qualify with a temporary permit as a family member of someone whose permit rests on work.
• Asylum seekers do not qualify: "Om du är asylsökande och aldrig har haft uppehållstillstånd i Sverige har du inte rätt till studiestöd."
• EU/EEA citizens qualify through work. Two years of work at half time or more gives varaktig anknytning, a lasting tie to Sweden. A person who works and keeps working while studying normally needs at least 10 hours a week.

The two tests can split. Take a family member of a work-permit holder on a temporary permit. That person is exempt from tuition under the "other than studies" rule. CSN says the same person normally has no right to study support.

Amounts and limits as of 2026

As of 2026, CSN's amount sheet sets full-time studiemedel, at the general grant rate, at SEK 3,398 a week, split into SEK 1,030 grant and SEK 2,368 loan, or SEK 13,592 for four weeks. From 1 January 2027 CSN raises it to SEK 13,684 for four weeks. The same sheet lists a higher grant, högre bidrag, of SEK 2,279 a week, which many adult newcomers studying at komvux get. Parents get tilläggsbidrag, a child supplement, per week, SEK 195 for one child up to SEK 449 for four. Studiehjälp includes an extra tillägg, an income-tested supplement, of SEK 855, 570 or 285 a month when family income is below SEK 125,000 a year. The age ceiling is the year you turn 60 for the grant, with the loan limited from the year you turn 51.

What this means by family situation

If you hold a permit for work and your child is 7: your child is a resident child under 7 kap. 2 § and has a place in grundskola, which the kommun arranges. If you hold a permit as the partner of a person with a work permit and want to study, you are exempt from tuition. CSN will normally refuse study support. If you arrive on a study permit with a partner and children: the study-permit holder pays tuition. From the autumn 2027 intake, so does a partner whose permit rests on that study permit, unless the student is a doctoral student (förordning 2010:543, 2 § andra stycket 4). The children's school rights follow bosatt, as above. For housing and costs of the first months, see the guide to studying costs per month and health insurance for student permit holders.