Study in Sweden: Costs, Visa, Universities and Scholarships for Pakistani Students

Sweden attracts Pakistani students with English-taught master's programmes, strong engineering, IT and sustainability research, and a straightforward online application system. Tuition is charged to non-EU students, and the cost of living is real, but there are university tuition waivers, and PhD positions in Sweden are salaried employment with no tuition at all. Two things have changed recently that every applicant should know: Pakistan is not currently on the eligible list for the Swedish Institute's main master's scholarship, and from June 2026 new student permits come with a weekly limit on work hours.

Currency used in this guide: SEK 1 ≈ PKR 30 (approx., October 2026). Treat all PKR figures as rough guides.

Quick facts	Sweden
Language of teaching	Many master's programmes in English; most bachelor's in Swedish
Academic year and intake	Late August to early June; main intake autumn (some January starts)
Tuition (non-EU)	Roughly SEK 80,000 to 300,000 a year depending on subject (approx. PKR 2.4 to 9 million); e.g. KTH Mathematics SEK 280,000 for two years
Application fee	SEK 900 per application round (approx. PKR 27,000)
Living costs	Migrationsverket minimum SEK 10,656 a month (2026 applications), about PKR 320,000
Part-time work	Up to 15 hours a week for permits granted from 11 June 2026 (more in June to August and after two semesters)
After graduating	Permit to seek work for up to 12 months

Budget options: what you can do on every budget

Budget	Route	What it looks like
Fully funded (and paid)	Doctoral student post (doktorand) at a Swedish university	A salaried job, usually four years. Uppsala's agreed starting salary from October 2026 is SEK 34,000 a month gross (approx. PKR 1 million), rising with progress. No tuition, no application fee.
Fully funded master's	Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's with a Swedish partner	Tuition, travel and a monthly allowance. Very competitive.
Tuition covered, you pay living costs	University tuition waivers: Uppsala University Global Scholarship, KTH Scholarship, Lund University Global Scholarship and others	Uppsala and KTH awards cover full tuition. You still need about SEK 10,656 a month for living costs and to satisfy Migrationsverket.
Self-funded	Full master's with tuition plus living costs	First year roughly SEK 220,000 to 300,000 (tuition plus living), approx. PKR 6.6 to 9 million.

About the Swedish Institute Scholarships for Global Professionals (SISGP): this is Sweden's best-known fully funded master's scholarship (full tuition, SEK 12,000 a month, travel grant and insurance). However, Pakistan is not on the current list of eligible countries. The list is reviewed every cycle, so check si.se each autumn, but do not plan around SISGP unless Pakistan appears on the official list. Ignore anyone who says they can get you an SI scholarship as a Pakistani citizen.

University costs

Tuition. Each university sets its own fees. Humanities and social sciences tend to be at the lower end (around SEK 80,000 to 130,000 a year); engineering, sciences and design higher (around SEK 120,000 to 160,000); medicine and some arts programmes can exceed SEK 250,000. Example: KTH lists SEK 280,000 for the two-year Mathematics master's. The exact fee is shown on each programme page and on universityadmissions.se.

You pay the first instalment of tuition before you apply for a residence permit.

Application fee. SEK 900 per round through universityadmissions.se, whether you apply for one programme or four. It cannot be waived, and applying for a scholarship does not waive it.

Doctoral studies are free and paid. Doctoral students do not pay tuition or the application fee. Most are employed on a doctoral studentship (doktorandanställning) with a monthly salary set in local agreements. At Uppsala, from 1 October 2026 the ladder runs from SEK 34,000 to SEK 38,500 a month. You pay Swedish income tax and receive employee benefits. Positions are advertised on each university's vacancy page with their own deadlines. After four years on a doctoral permit, you may be able to apply for permanent residence.

Living costs

Approximate monthly ranges for a single student:

City	Rent (student room or corridor)	Food	Transport	Total per month
Stockholm	SEK 5,000 to 8,000	SEK 3,000 to 3,800	SEK 650 to 700	SEK 10,500 to 14,000 (PKR 315,000 to 420,000)
Gothenburg	SEK 4,500 to 7,000	SEK 3,000 to 3,500	SEK 550 to 650	SEK 10,000 to 13,000
Uppsala	SEK 4,000 to 6,500	SEK 2,800 to 3,500	SEK 400 to 600	SEK 9,500 to 12,500
Lund	SEK 4,000 to 6,500	SEK 2,800 to 3,500	Bicycle mostly	SEK 9,000 to 12,000

Housing is the hardest part, especially in Stockholm, Uppsala and Lund. Many universities offer guaranteed or priority housing to fee-paying students who apply by a deadline, so read your offer email carefully.

Scholarships and need-based funding

• Uppsala University Global Scholarship: covers full tuition for one master's programme for non-EU citizens. The Uppsala programme must be your first choice at University Admissions. The 2026 round closed on 2 February; the next round opens in early 2027. https://www.uu.se/en/study/masters-studies/scholarships/uppsala-university-scholarships
• KTH Scholarship: open to all fee-paying applicants and covers tuition for one or two years. Very competitive. Apply through KTH alongside your admission application.
• Lund University Global Scholarship: partial or full tuition waivers for high-achieving non-EU applicants (approx.; check current terms on lunduniversity.lu.se).
• Other universities such as Chalmers, Linköping, Stockholm University, Örebro and Jönköping run their own tuition waivers. Örebro notes that any scholarship simply reduces the fee you owe. Check each university's scholarship page in October and November, as deadlines usually fall in January or February.
• Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters with Swedish partners: https://www.eacea.ec.europa.eu/scholarships/erasmus-mundus-catalogue_en
• SISGP: Pakistan is not currently eligible (see above). https://si.se/en/apply/scholarships/swedish-institute-scholarships-for-global-professionals/

Current listings: /scholarships?country=Sweden.

Student visa: steps, documents and fees

Sweden issues a residence permit for higher education studies, applied for online through Migrationsverket (the Swedish Migration Agency).

1. Apply to programmes at universityadmissions.se (the autumn round usually opens mid-October and closes mid-January) and pay SEK 900.
2. Accept your offer and pay the first tuition instalment.
3. Show funds: at least SEK 10,656 a month for applications made in 2026, covering the length of the permit (this figure changes each year). For ten months that is about SEK 106,560 (approx. PKR 3.2 million). Funds can be your own bank balance, a scholarship, or a sponsor that is an organisation, not a private individual.
4. Insurance: comprehensive health insurance is required if your studies last under one year. For one year or more you register in the population register and get access to care.
5. Apply online and pay SEK 1,500 (approx. PKR 45,000). Holders of some scholarships that cover living costs are exempt.
6. Passport check and fingerprints: since 9 April 2025, Pakistani applicants can do interviews, passport checks and fingerprinting at the Embassy of Sweden in Islamabad, and residence permit cards are sent there. You no longer need to travel to Addis Ababa.
7. Processing: Migrationsverket says 75% of recent cases were decided within three months. Apply as soon as you have paid tuition.

Documents: passport, admission letter, proof of tuition payment, bank statements, scholarship letter if any, and attested degrees. See /library/guides/hec-degree-attestation-guide and /library/guides/visa-and-pre-departure-checklist. For English, most programmes ask for IELTS or TOEFL (/library/guides/ielts-toefl-duolingo-guide).

Doctoral students apply for a separate residence permit for doctoral studies, based on their employment or funding.

Working while studying and after graduating

• New rule from 11 June 2026: bachelor's and master's students granted a permit on or after this date may work up to 15 hours a week. Exceptions include work in June, July and August, work that is part of your education, and research or administration at your university. After completing two semesters you may work more for the rest of the permit. Breaking the limit can cost you your permit.
• After graduating: you can apply for a permit to look for work or start a business for up to 12 months after a bachelor's or master's, and 12 to 18 months after a PhD. You must show SEK 10,656 a month (2026 figure) and apply before your study permit expires.
• Once you have a qualifying job offer, you can switch to a work permit from inside Sweden.

Month-by-month timeline (for an autumn 2027 start)

When	What to do
October 2026	Shortlist programmes; check university scholarship pages; book IELTS; start HEC attestation
Mid-October 2026 to mid-January 2027	Apply at universityadmissions.se; pay SEK 900; upload documents
January to February 2027	Submit university scholarship applications (Uppsala, KTH, Lund and others)
Late March to April 2027	Admission results; scholarship decisions follow
April to May 2027	Accept offer; pay tuition; apply for housing; submit Migrationsverket application
June to July 2027	Visit Embassy of Sweden in Islamabad for fingerprints; wait for decision
August 2027	Arrive and start studies
All year	Doctoral vacancies on university job pages

Common mistakes Pakistani applicants make

• Counting on SISGP. Pakistan is not currently eligible. Check the official list every year.
• Planning to work 20 or more hours a week. New permits from June 2026 limit term-time work to 15 hours a week.
• Using a relative as a "sponsor". Migrationsverket does not accept a private individual as a sponsor; the money should be in your own account.
• Missing the document deadline. Late fee payment or documents make your application "late", which often means no place.
• Applying for a PhD as if it were a taught programme. Doctoral places are jobs advertised with their own requirements.
• Paying agents. Applications go through universityadmissions.se directly. Read /library/guides/avoiding-scholarship-scams.

Official links

• University Admissions, fees and scholarships: https://www.universityadmissions.se/en/support-centre/fees-and-scholarships
• Migrationsverket, higher education permit: https://www.migrationsverket.se/en/you-want-to-apply/study/higher-education.html
• Migrationsverket, maintenance requirement: https://www.migrationsverket.se/en/lankade-moduler-engelska/studera/forsorjningskrav-studera-huvudsokande.html
• Migrationsverket, permit to seek work after studies: https://www.migrationsverket.se/en/you-want-to-extend/study/look-for-work-after-completing-your-studies-in-sweden.html
• Migrationsverket news, Islamabad embassy services: https://migrationsverket.se/nyheter/news-archive/2025-04-03-if-you-are-planning-to-work-study-or-move-to-sweden-to-live-with-someone-you-can-now-visit-the-embassy-in-islamabad.html
• Swedish Institute SISGP: https://si.se/en/apply/scholarships/swedish-institute-scholarships-for-global-professionals/
• Uppsala University scholarships: https://www.uu.se/en/study/masters-studies/scholarships/uppsala-university-scholarships
• KTH fees and scholarships: https://www.kth.se/en/studies/master/mathematics/fees-mathematics-1.910136
• Örebro University study fees: https://www.oru.se/english/study/master-students/study-fees/
• Erasmus Mundus catalogue: https://www.eacea.ec.europa.eu/scholarships/erasmus-mundus-catalogue_en

Figures checked on 10 October 2026. Always confirm on the official sites before applying.