Many students who have come to Sweden to study want to stay for work once they have obtained their bachelors or masters degree. As this is rather common there are a few options available to student permit holders to find employment in Sweden. So, how to live and work in Sweden after higher studies? The main options are the following
- Have work lined up directly after your completed studies and apply for a work permit
The first option is for students who have already been offered employment in Sweden while still on their student permit for higher studies. If you submit the application before the expiry of the student permit and if you have completed at least 30 HP you are permitted to start and work in Sweden while the work permit application is being processed. It is, however, important to keep in mind that there should not be a large gap between the start date of the work permit and the expiry date of your student permit.
If there is a gap larger than a few days the Migration Agency may request that you leave Sweden. The reason for this is that the Migration Agency will not consider you to have a valid reason for being in Sweden during the gap as you no longer have studies and you have not started your employment yet.
You can find more information about the general work permit requirements here.
- Apply for a permit to seek employment in Sweden
The second option mentioned above is for individuals who have completed their higher studies but who do not yet have work lined up. In this case it is possible to extend the student permit for the purpose of seeking employment. This can be done if the applicant has completed at least 2 semesters of studies (30 HP) and if the application is submitted before the expiry of the student permit. You can find the application form for this here.