NEWS International students applying to Umeå University can now get a two-year residence permit instead of the previous one-year one. This thanks to an agreement with the Swedish Migration Agency. As a result, international students will not have to renew their permits in the middle of their educations, and can instead concentrate on their studies.
Students from 43 international master’s programmes were honoured at the annual Graduation Ceremony held at Umeå University in 2023.
ImageMattias Pettersson“I’m pleased that Umeå University, together with Lund University and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, are the first universities to sign this agreement with the Swedish Migration Agency. We do this to simplify for our international students, but it will also speed up the Migration Agency’s processing. An offer to sign this agreement will also be made to the other Swedish higher education institutions,” says Hans Adolfsson, Vice-Chancellor of Umeå University.
The agreement to collaborate between authorities started as a pilot project between 2018 and 2023, in which five universities participated. The aim of the agreement is that the Swedish Migration Agency undertakes to grant two-year residence permit to admitted students from outside the EU and EEA who are required to pay tuition fees – if they request it and fulfil the requirements. From the University’s perspective, we have a commitment to rapidly report to the Swedish Migration Agency if a student takes approved leave from studies, fails to appear for studies, requests a leave from studies or does not meet the requirements to continue their studies. The Swedish Migration Agency will follow up how the agreement works.
“This will substantially reduce worries and hugely simplify for students who are admitted to two-year programmes. Large parts of the University are now working hard to meet the University’s side of the new agreement,” says Ingrid Svensson, Head of the International Office, who is also looking forward to the agreement being implemented already this upcoming autumn semester.
