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MOVING TO SWEDEN

Reader question: Why are EU citizens getting rejected from SFI classes?

State-funded Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) classes are often cited as key to integrating immigrants into Swedish society and the Swedish job market. So why are some of our readers from the EU being barred from attending?

Published: 15 March 2022 15:49 CET
A Swedish for Immigrants class in Täby outside Stockholm back in 2017.
A Swedish for Immigrants class in Täby outside Stockholm back in 2017. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

What rights do EU citizens have?

According to the Swedish Education Act (Skollagen), an individual has the right to study SFI from July in the year they turn 16 if they live in Sweden and lack the basic knowledge of the Swedish language which the course is designed to teach.

Usually, “living in Sweden” means that an applicant needs to be registered in the Tax Agency’s population register, meaning that they have a personal number (personnummer), the 10- or 12-digit number which grants access to a wide range of important aspects of Swedish society.

However, under EU law, EU citizens (as well as EES and Swiss citizens), have the right to study SFI in Sweden even if they don’t have this number.  

Despite this, multiple Swedish municipalities wrongly require EU citizens applying to study SFI to provide a personnummer or, in some cases, a coordination number (samordningsnummer). A coordination number is a temporary number which can be provided to those who don’t qualify for a personnummer, but who still need an identification number in order, for example, to pay tax. 

What has happened?

EU citizens who should be eligible for SFI studies are having their applications rejected.

One dual Irish/UK citizen in Gothenburg, who got in touch with The Local about this issue, tried to apply for SFI in Gothenburg. He is currently working in a part-time job which does not qualify him for a personnummer under the Tax Agency’s rules, and he believed that speaking Swedish would increase his chances of finding a permanent job.

“We’re planning on staying here and believed it would increase his chances of finding a more suitable permanent job here,” his partner, also a dual Irish/UK citizen, told The Local.

The city of Gothenburg states on its website that EU citizens require a personnummer to study SFI in Gothenburg, and that a samordningsnummer will not be accepted.

“He attempted to register quoting the relevant section of the law and was refused,” the man’s partner told The Local. “We received an email from the city of Gothenburg (ironically in Swedish) indicating that their ‘lawyer has interpreted those sections of the Education act differently’ and that they will not register anyone without a personnummer“.

In the email, seen by The Local, a representative from the city of Gothenburg’s SFI programme wrote that “Skolverket [The Swedish National Agency for Education] have interpreted EU law in one way. Here at the Department for the Labour Market and Adult Education, our lawyer has interpreted EU law in a different way. Currently, you cannot apply to SFI in Gothenburg if you don’t have a personnummer.”

Gothenburg isn’t the only municipality in Sweden who demand that EU citizens fulfil requirements which are not set out in the Education Act.

Södertälje municipality, south of Stockholm, states on its website that EU citizens “must have the right to work or study in Sweden as well as be able to provide a job contract or proof of studies” in order to register for SFI.

Botkyrka municipality, also near Stockholm, requires a samordningsnummer.

The city of Malmö requires that you provide proof that you are either working, seeking employment, a student, can support youself financially with comprehensive health insurance, or are staying with a family member who fulfils one of these requirements in order to apply for SFI.

Is this legal?

It’s hard to say. 

A spokesperson for The Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket) told The Local that “the right to education is not specifically linked to having a personnummer or a samordningsnummer“.

“Skolverket can provide information on legislation, but we cannot take a position on or discuss individual cases,” the agency wrote in an email.

“Generally, however, the rule is that a municipality does not have the right to set their own requirements for admission which are not found in the legislation. The question of whether a certain municipality is acting correctly or incorrectly must be decided in each specific case. Which Skolverket can’t do.”

The agency’s spokesperson said that only supervisory authorities or courts were able to make the call as to whether a municipality is acting illegally, and that, in this case, those affected could contact the Swedish Board of Appeal for Education (Skolväsandets överklagandenämnd) to appeal a municipality’s decision.

The Local has contacted the Swedish Board of Appeal for Education for information on whether they have handled any appeals on this topic, and is awaiting a response.

Why are municipalities not following the Education Act?

The Local contacted the city of Gothenburg directly in February 2022 to ask for more information on why they require EU citizens to have a personnummer in order to be accepted on to SFI courses, and were told by a lawyer at the Department for the Labour Market and Adult Education that a personnummer was not a necessary requirement for EU citizens applying for SFI courses in Gothenburg.

“The information which is available on our website will be assessed going forward and corrected, as it has not been updated,” he wrote. “There is no requirement from the Department for the Labour Market and Adult Education that an individual must have a Swedish personnummer to study SFI, but the individual must be considered to be resident in Sweden according to the Education Act in order to study SFI”.

He also stated that the applications of EU citizens who are not registered in the population register who apply for SFI courses are assessed on an individual basis, “regardless of what is stated on the website.”

The Local also contacted Södertälje municipality and Botkyrka municipality for their comments, and are awaiting a response.

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READER INSIGHTS

How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who’ve been there, done that

The Swedish job market poses unique challenges for newcomers. The Local's readers share their best tips for cracking the career code.

Published: 10 April 2024 11:32 CEST
Updated: 13 April 2024 15:50 CEST
How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who've been there, done that

Network, network, network!

A statistic that often gets tossed around is that seven out of ten jobs in Sweden are obtained through personal connections, and there’s no doubt that a good network is crucial to your job hunt, making the labour market extra challenging for newcomers to the country.

In fact, networking was the main tip mentioned by The Local’s readers.

“The job market is quite hot in Sweden, and talent is in short supply. People hiring do not have a lot of time to find the right talent, and tips from friends, colleagues and former colleagues are the way to first, find out organisations are hiring, and secondly, get your CV on the short list,” said Kyle, a Canadian reader who works in innovation management in Gothenburg.

“If you are going for a major employer like Volvo, network gets you in the door, as HR does not have much to do with hiring… the hiring managers do all of it and have no time, due to the insane number of consensus meetings. If you are looking for smaller organisations, they have even less time to find people, and networking is their primary way to find talent,” he added.

NETWORKING IN SWEDEN:

Some of the networking tips readers mentioned were going to job fairs, getting an internship to help you establish connections in your preferred field, joining clubs (this could be anything from your local gardening association to meetups for coders, but focus on clubs that may be popular among people working in your chosen field), and drawing on your organic network of friends, neighbours and others.

Don’t neglect the groundwork

The saying “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” is getting worn out (and people may look at you funny if you turn up to interviews in a Batman suit), but there’s truth to the notion of making sure you know what you want – and preparing for it.

In other words, don’t wait for a job ad to appear before you start to customise your CV and figure out what skill set you need. Create your CV now so that you’re ready to tweak it to your dream job – you could even have a general look at job ads in your field to see what requirements are needed. And don’t forget to spruce up your LinkedIn profile so that it fits with your career goals.

“I believe that several factors contribute to successfully landing a desirable job in Sweden. It’s essential to prepare to meet the requirements beyond just having a university degree. Many individuals realise these requirements only after completing their studies when they start searching for a job, which can be too late,” said Adnan Aslam from Pakistan, who works as a food inspector.

“I recommend identifying the job advertisements for positions you aspire to hold in the future and then preparing for those requirements during your studies. For me, acquiring a basic level of proficiency in the Swedish language and obtaining a Swedish driving licence were crucial. I pursued these goals during my studies and was able to secure a desirable job before graduating,” he added.

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Felipe Cabral even has a GPT assistant trained on his own CVs and old cover letters, and said the set-up only takes ten minutes if you already have your documents. “With that in place, you can give instructions like: Read this job description and create a tailored version of my CV and letter for it. (…) Remember to always review and ask it not to create data aside from your documents.”

Be flexible and ready to adapt

Moving to a new place inevitably means having to learn not just the practicalities such as how to write a CV or which websites to use to look for job openings, but also learning how to navigate a new culture with all its unspoken expectations.

Swedish workplaces are generally less hierarchical than many other countries, but that doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want whenever you want without anyone raising an eyebrow. Swedes are usually direct, but be careful of being too abrasive or boastful: raising your voice, even during a spirited argument, or banging your own drum to show off your skills may not go down well.

“Talk, deliberate, complain like a Swede and you’ll come across like you know what the job entails, so your trustworthiness increases,” said an Indian data analyst who preferred to remain anonymous.

“Office politics are just as strong in Sweden as anywhere else. The flat hierarchy is deceiving as social hierarchy is enforced quite a bit in that lack of formal hierarchy. Take your time in learning these dynamics wherever you work before revealing your talent and capabilities. Expect those internal politics to happen, and they won’t hurt so much when they do,” said Kyle, the Canadian reader in Gothenburg.

This article about Swedish office politics may be useful.

Stay true to yourself

Adapting to your surroundings is one thing. Completely changing who you are is another.

For one thing, your happiness is as important as your career progression, and for another, your foreignness need not be an impediment: it’s also a skill that sets you apart from the rest. It means you have unique experience, and also, in the right setting, provides an opportunity to sometimes violate those social rules we mentioned above, because people assume you will, anyway.

“Trust is key. Build trust in your network, work with integrity. It’s OK to violate jantelagen if you are maintaining integrity. Sometimes your outsider and more honest/open opinion will burn bridges, especially those that may feel threatened by talent. But it will build trust with other colleagues who see it as brave and more trustworthy to work with,” said Kyle from Canada.

Hunker down for the long haul

We don’t want to scare you, because there are plenty of examples of people who quickly find their dream job in Sweden and settle into their new workplace, enjoying perks such as long summer holidays, generous parental leave and the famous work-life balance.

But if you do find it tougher than you expected: know that you’re not alone.

Several readers who responded to the survey said they were still trying to find a job in Sweden.

“I found jobs all over Europe but not here. They say they have a lack of experienced senior engineers but the don’t seem to be doing much to solve this,” said a Brazilian in Gothenburg.

A reader from Bangladesh said she was “at a loss” as to how to make a career change from her current AI role in Stockholm, despite many years of experience as an IT project manager.

“Over the past 18 months, I’ve submitted over 600 applications to various organisations. Unfortunately, despite being overqualified for some positions, I’ve faced rejections at every turn, from both large and small companies. The job market here, especially for foreign-born women, feels overwhelmingly challenging,” she said, adding that the struggle had impacted her mental health.

The Local has on several occasions reported on foreign residents’ struggle to get a foot on the Swedish job ladder, with many facing hurdles such as employers’ unfamiliarity with international degrees, discrimination, or a lack of network that can provide paths into a company.

So during the job hunt, don’t forget to care for yourself. Share your concerns with fellow job-seekers, ask for help and join networking groups – this is good not just for creating new contacts, but also in terms of your social well-being and meeting people who are in a similar situation.

And finally, as one British reader in Stockholm advised, keep looking: “Be open-minded with the opportunities that present themselves. It isn’t an easy market to enter and doesn’t feel inclusive.” But he added, “don’t give up”.

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