Expert: Michael Carlsson - 6/7/2001

Question
Hello,
I am not quite sure if you can help me with this question but it is worth a try.
I want to study in Sweden Uni of Linkoping. I heard that Swedish Goverment is offering financial aid for all the students within the country.I would like to know if it is true and if so, how much it is.And is it available for foreign students studying in Sweden also?
Thank you so much.

Kind Regards

Answer
Hello,

Yes it's true, there's both student grants and beneficial loans, surrounded by very complicated rules, so how much you can expect to raise from those funds are very individual. 5-6000 SEK/month in grants and loans should be close to the top of the system. Say 5000 SEK in loans from the CSN (very small interest, debt remitted by pensioning age) and 1000-1500 SEK in grants from the SVUX/SVUXA system.

As a foreign student, you might be in position to recieve a grant or a loan, but only under certain circumstances. You must live in Sweden (not only visiting during your  education period), you must have the intention to use your new knowledge within the country or in the best interest of the country, so to speak. If you are a citizen in a member country of the European Community, there are more liberal rules, but you are still expected to migrate to Sweden or in a similar way be useful here in the near future. They (CSN)will, after your application, make an inquiry to see, if A: you need financial support, and B: fulfil the above criteria for foreign students.

Those grants/loans for foreign students seems to be intended for migrated students, who in spite of their formal nationality are trying to build a future in Sweden.
Sweden can be very meagre with giving citizenship to people,
but this is a way around the political system, giving all a chance to a life and an education. Our bureaucracy has a certain charm sometimes, don't you think?

Central study support bureau, Centrala StudiestödsNämnden, CSN,  http://www.csn.se/Index.asp   only in Swedish, but better than nothing I suppose...

Hope this helps, good luck and welcome to Sweden!