Introduction

Programmes and

Where to Live

Information

for asylum-seekers

Val av bostadsort, del 1 är utgiven av

Integrationsverket

Box 633

601 14 Norrköping.

© Integrationsverket, 2000

© Fotografi er: respektive fotograf, se bildtexterna.

Där inget namn anges, © Integrationsverket.

Tryck: Berlings Skogs AB, Trelleborg

1

To those who have recently applied
for a Swedish residence permit

You have applied for a residence permit in
Sweden. You may be granted permission
to stay, but there is also a possibility that
you will have to return home. Whatever is
decided, you should use the time in hand
to prepare yourself both for settling here
and for returning home.
Preparing yourself may involve taking
advantage of the opportunities and activi-
ties available to you pending a decision on
your case. While waiting, you are offered a
certain measure of education and training,
tuition in everyday Swedish and English,
an introduction to Swedish society, practi-
cal work experience and sometimes a job.
Nowadays, many asylum-seekers choose
to live with friends and relatives during the
waiting period. Even if you would prefer
to live in a big city, it is worthwhile fi nding
out what other alternatives are available in
other parts of the country. Most of those
who have lived as asylum-seekers in big-
city areas have found it very diffi cult to
obtain accommodation of their own when
and if their residence permits are fi nally
granted. So it is a good idea to consider
what settling elsewhere in Sweden might
involve.

What does this brochure contain?

The brochure you are reading describes
Sweden and how your choice of where to
live can affect your chances as a newcomer
of learning Swedish, making contact with
people in this country, fi nding a job, etc.
The aim of this information is to give
you a rough idea of the kind of services
and facilities that are available in various
parts of Sweden - the kind of facts that
you could fi nd useful when deciding where
to live should you be granted a residence
permit.

Below, we describe the picture that the
Swedish authorities have gained of the
position and prospects of newly-arrived
immigrants. The National Integration
Offi ce is responsible for what is written
here. One of the Offi ce’s tasks is to strive
for the equal rights and opportunities of all
in Sweden irrespective of people’s ethnic
or cultural backgrounds. Another task is
to sign agreements with local authorities
on places in introduction programmes for
new arrivals. The aim is to ensure that
introduction programmes are as benefi cial
as possible for each individual. The Nation-
al Integration Offi ce takes the view that
small and medium-sized municipal areas
have every chance of offering the kind
of introduction that can match individual
needs and qualifi cations. We also feel that
such areas offer greater opportunities for
closer contact with neighbours, with Swe-
dish families, with the children’s school,
etc, during the fi rst few years. In other
words, the kind of start that may be crucial
in determining how good a future you can
expect in Sweden.

!

The main square in Landskrona.

2

Sweden as an immigrant or have a parent
who was born in another country.
Many new arrivals choose to live in one
or other of Sweden’s biggest cities, Stock-
holm, Göteborg or Malmö. There are of
course advantages in living in a major city
where there are plenty of business com-
panies and a wide range of jobs and train-
ing opportunities. But there are also many
disadvantages. Today, quite a few housing
areas in big-city suburbs are occupied
largely by people who arrived in Sweden
comparatively recently. Very few Swedes
are to be found there. One result of the
lack of Swedish pupils and classmates

Examples of immigrant categories
in Sweden in 1998.
Bosnia 56,600
Chile 26,500
Ethiopia 13,000
Iraq 37,500
Former Yugoslavia

70,800

Lebanon 20,000
Romania 11,000
Somalia 12,000
Turkey 30,900
Source:

SCB

Sweden is a long, narrow country with rel-
atively few inhabitants. The distance from
north to south is 1,570 km. The present
population is about nine million. Of these
nine million, some seven million live in
the provinces and two million in the met-
ropolitan areas of Stockholm, Göteborg
and Malmö. Sweden is divided into 21
counties and each county has a number
of municipal areas. In all, the country has
289 local authorities (municipalities). Big
cities, small towns, rural areas – all are
divided into municipalities.
Some 160 nationalities are represented
in Sweden. Of the total population,
around 1 million migrated here and it is
estimated that within the near future one
inhabitant in four will either have come to

A place to live

»I wouldn’t advise newcomers to Sweden to
settle here in Fittja,« says Juan Damián, who
has lived in Sweden since the early 1990s.
»The unemployment rate is high here and
many people are on social security.«
Juan

Damián, who works in a project help-

ing unemployed immigrants in Botkyrka, says
that many residents feel insecure due to wide-
spread criminality in the area.

Photo: Johan Tibbelin

3

at school is that newly-arrived children
often fail to learn Swedish or learn only
makeshift Swedish. When Swedes and
immigrants are only sporadically in touch,
it is of course diffi cult to absorb one
another’s customs and traditions and
to understand what standards apply, for
instance in family life. A democratic society
presupposes that all present know about,
respect and understand the community
they live in. For this, a common language
is essential.
Among the inhabitants of big-city sub-
urbs with a large proportion of immi-
grants, the unemployment rate is much
higher than among those living in other
parts of the city. Although Sweden’s met-
ropolitan areas may have job opportunities
and are considered rich, some of their
suburbs have the poorest inhabitants in
the entire country. Big-city prosperity and
welfare is not equitably distributed. Many
people fi nd themselves living on the side-
lines, isolated from the rest of society. The
city’s resources do not fi nd their way out
to these under-privileged, segregated hous-
ing areas. The high rate of unemployment
there means that young people often fi nd
themselves in a vulnerable position and
drift into criminality, drug abuse and an-
onymity.
Moving to another housing area can

prove very diffi cult as the queue for a fl at
is extremely long in big cities. Nowadays,
it may take many, many years before you
can get a place of your own. Buying or
renting a fl at are both highly expensive.
Many people fi nd themselves stuck in a
housing situation that they later regret. In
other, smaller towns it is easier to fi nd
accommodation.

Living in a smaller area

In Sweden, you can live in a smaller
area out in the country and still fi nd the
same level of services, health care and edu-
cation as in metropolitan areas. As a newly-
arrived immigrant you may well be in con-
siderable need of public services. New-
comers who choose to live in the city
usually have to live in areas where many
people are dependent on, and compete
for, the services available, such as medical
care, childcare, libraries and Swedish tui-
tion for immigrants.
Communications are good throughout
the country, with extensive road and rail
networks. Express trains, coaches and air
travel reduce distances and special dis-
counts are often available that reduce costs
substantially.
When you live in a small or medium-

The bus station in Ljungby.

Umeå. Photo: edelpix.com © Pål Hermansen

4

sized town, contact with the local com-
munity tends to be easier. You get to know
your neighbours, meet acquaintances in
the shops, get to know other parents in
your children’s school, and so on. When
you have a network of people around you,
you often fi nd it easier to infl uence what
goes on in your daily life. The kind of
anonymity people experience in big cities
is not usually found in smaller places. In
very small towns or villages, of course,

a new face may well attract attention -
the kind of attention that some people
may fi nd troublesome but in others may
generate a sense of security.

Housing

Good housing is to be found all over
Sweden. Except in metropolitan areas, it is
fairly easy to fi nd a fl at of the size you want
in most parts of the country.

5

Half of the population in Sweden live
in rented fl ats (hyresrätt). This means that
they rent the fl at from whoever owns the
building. You can also buy the right to
occupy the fl at - this is known as an
owner-occupied fl at (bostadsrätt). Others
buy their own separate house or terraced
house (radhus). The prices of houses and
tenant-owned fl ats are far lower outside
metropolitan areas.
To

fi nd accommodation, you can either

read the advertisements for vacant fl ats in
the newspapers or contact the landlord or
owner of the building directly. This may
be a municipal housing company, a private
company, an organization or a private indi-
vidual. Some local authorities have their
own housing agencies. These can help you
fi nd accommodation. Other local authori-
ties may have both municipal and private
housing agencies.
The National Integration Offi ce is well
informed about the various local authori-
ties’ possibilities of providing newcomers
with an introduction programme and
accommodation. If you are granted a resi-
dence permit, you can get the information
you need on this from your case offi cer
with the Migration Board. You can also
check out the introduction programmes
offered by local authorities by visiting their
websites on the Internet, where other
kinds of information are also available.

!

Lake Orsa in Dalarna.

Photo: edelpix.com © Pål Hermansen

»Raising children is easy here. I never have
to worry. The youngsters grow up side by side
throughout preschool and school. They know
their friends and their teachers.«
»In many immigrant families here, both
the husband and wife have jobs. This is an
advantage when you want to buy a house,
which many of us have done. House prices
are low here. We bought a house in the
town centre in 1998,« says Cejko Kahteran,
a resident of Sollefteå who came to Sweden
in 1992.

Photo: Stefan Sundkvist

6

Some average prices for single-
family houses and owner-occupied
fl ats around Sweden, May-June 2000.

Houses:
Västernorrland

SEK

530,000

Dalarna

SEK

580,000

Jämtland

SEK

600,000

Stockholm

SEK

1,900,000

Skåne

SEK

1,000,000

Västra Götaland

SEK 900,000

Owner-occupied fl ats
Central Stockholm

SEK 1,750,000

Greater Stockholm

SEK 940,000

Göteborg region

SEK 460,000

Malmö region

SEK 260,000

Source: Swedish Association

of Municipal Housing Companies

Those who are granted permission to
settle in Sweden are offered an introduc-
tion programme in the town or municipal
area where they have chosen to live.
If you have been granted a residence
permit and have been registered at a
Migration Board centre, you are entitled
to a place in an introduction programme
in a Swedish municipality. The National
Integration Offi ce has reached agreement
with a number of local authorities on how
introductions are to be prepared.
Introduction programmes include such
things as Swedish language tuition, voca-
tional guidance with practical workplace
training, and a review of leisure-time ac-
tivities run by local associations. Where
necessary, further training or supplemen-
tary training are also included in the plan-
ning. Introduction programmes are based

Municipal introduction
programmes

7

»We’re never going to move from here,« says
Azziz Walai. He lives in Hallen in Jämtland
together with his wife Magda and their two
children, aged seven and two, in a large house
that was once a school. »Feeling like a human
being is what matters. That’s why we chose
to live in the country up here in northern
Sweden.«

The school in Hallen is excellent, says Azziz

Walai. The children know one another and the

adults know the children. There is no bullying. The

children are relaxed and secure and do well at

school.

Photo: Kjell Persson

on the needs and qualifi cations of the indi-
vidual, which means that previous educa-
tion and job experience are properly taken
into account. For some people, introduc-
tion programmes are quickly completed,
for others it takes longer. On average, an
introduction programme lasts about two
years.
The

children’s introduction programme

involves things like preparatory schooling

so that they can rapidly enter and become
part of the regular school system.
It is important for both children and
adults to begin their introduction pro-
grammes quickly - an introduction leading
as soon as possible to a job/study course,
a means of subsistence and a chance to
infl uence the course of their lives.
All local authorities, whether in a city
or a small or medium-sized town, offer

An SFI lesson. Photo: Johan Tibbelin.

8

A good basic education is required for
virtually all occupations in Sweden these
days. Everyone attends nine-year compul-
sory school and most pupils go on to
three or four years at upper secondary
before entering college or university or
fi nding a job.

introduction programmes when you settle
in their area. The prospects for fi nding a
fl at of your own, however, are better in
smaller places. Another major difference
is the situation for children. In big-city
schools, some classes consist entirely of
children who speak a mother tongue other
than Swedish. For many children and
teenagers, this means rarely getting the
chance to speak Swedish either at home
or at school. Such a lack of language train-
ing contributes to an inadequate grasp of

Swedish, which in turn may create diffi cul-
ties when the time comes to train for a
profession or fi nd a job. In small/medium-
sized places, it is natural for children who
have recently arrived to meet both chil-
dren who have lived a long time in Sweden
and children who were born here. Besides
speaking Swedish at school, the children
learn to speak and understand Swedish and
to understand one another through being
together in their daily lives.

!

New arrivals who settle in ‘immigrant’
areas in big cities often have diffi culty
fi nding work as unemployment there is
widespread. Only 30% in these areas have
jobs. The average employment rate for
the country as a whole, however, is much
greater: over 70%.

Construction site, late summer of 2000. Photo: Johan Tibbelin.

Work

9

Introduction programmes are designed
to prepare people for employment in
Sweden. They are supposed to start with
whatever occupation you had in your
former country and show what you need
in the way of extra training or the like
before you can expect to pursue the same
line of work in Sweden. As part of the pro-
gramme, the grades you acquired during
your education in your former country are
translated. Many people have a solid pro-
fessional background but have no docu-
mented grades. One approach is to use
tests to assess a person’s professional
capacity in relation to what is required in
Sweden.
The Swedish public set-up, with its child
benefi t system, parental insurance, health
insurance, pension system and so forth,
is based on the premise that both men
and women work outside the home to
the same extent. This also applies when
the children are young. To this end, well-
developed childcare facilities are available
wherever you live – north or south, in a
big city or in a small town.
Just as in most other countries, personal

contacts are important when you look for
a job in Sweden – having someone who
can tell an employer what you can do and
vouching for you as a professionally skilled
and reliable person. Job-seeking can be
a demanding business. It involves getting
in touch with employers yourself, hunting
out vacancies in the newspapers and at the
local employment offi ce, acquiring con-
tacts and networks, and so on.

At employment offi ces, you can look for a job, fi nd information about education and training programmes, or fi nd
out how to open your own business. Photo: Johan Tibbelin.

Photo: Johan Tibbelin.

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Wherever you live in Sweden, you are
likely to be close to a school and educa-
tional opportunities. Universities and col-
leges are found in most counties. Upper
secondary schools all over Sweden offer
both young people and adults a range of
courses.
Basic education is compulsory in this
country, which means that all children
wherever they live must undergo nine
years of elementary schooling (grund-
skola). Children begin compulsory school
when they are seven. From the age of six,
however, they can begin attending pre-
school classes if the parents wish. Com-
pulsory schooling is free of charge and
schoolbooks and meals are free as well.

If you live far from the school, you can
travel free on the school bus or be given a
free pass for the regular bus service. Chil-
dren who speak a mother tongue other
than Swedish at home qualify for special
tuition in that language (modersmåls-
undervisning).
In the big-city housing areas where
many newcomers settle, a lot of children
and young people are in need of extra
assistance and training in school. There
are not always enough municipal funds
for providing the kind of supplementary
teaching that may be needed.
After compulsory school, almost all
young people move on to upper secon-
dary school (gymnasieskola). This, too, is

Education and training

Employees in certain occupational
sectors (spring 2000):
Construction

228,000

Retailing and communications

807,000

Agriculture, forestry and
fi sheries

102,000

Public administration

222,000

Manufacturing and engineering 800,000
Health and community care

776,000

Source: Statistics Sweden, SCB

The

Employment

Offi ce (Arbetsförmed-

lingen, Af) is a government agency that
has branches in virtually every municipal
area and provides information about job
vacancies throughout the country. It can
also offer you advice and support with
respect to study courses, job training or
starting your own business. In addition,
there are private employment agencies and
private staff rental fi rms, often specializing
in a particular line of work.

!

Admira Kahteran is 19 and lives with her
parents and two brothers in Sollefteå. She
wants to become a nurse and hopes to
enter a nurses’ training programme in Sol-
lefteå in 2001. »That would be nice, then I
wouldn’t have to move,« she says. While wait-
ing for her studies to begin, she is currently
working in the municipal old-age care sector.

Photo: Stefan Sundkvist

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free of charge. At present, upper secondary
offers 16 different training programmes.
Not all local authorities provide each and
every one of these programmes. If a pro-
gramme is not available locally, the pupil
may attend an upper secondary school
elsewhere.
Some 20 places around Sweden have
government-sponsored universities and
colleges. These are in principle open to
all who have completed their upper secon-
dary education or have some other form of
qualifi cation entitling them to admission.
All local authorities offer Swedish tuition
– Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) – to all
newcomers in Sweden over 16 years of age.
In every area, adults who did not com-
plete their basic education or upper secon-
dary education can enter adult education
courses. They study compulsory school

Almost all school-leavers go on to upper secondary school. Photo: Johan Tibbelin.

Many young people take jobs on the side while study-

ing.

subjects or upper secondary programme
subjects at municipal adult education cen-
tres, known as Komvux. The courses are
free of charge.

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12

Care of
the elderly

Elderly people who have diffi culty looking
after themselves at home are offered help
by municipal staff. This may consist of
cleaning and cooking, for example. Those
who can no longer manage on their own
are offered special municipal accommoda-
tion for the elderly. Many local authorities’
care services employ staff who speak a
mother tongue other than Swedish. How
much each individual pays for the services
provided may vary somewhat depending
on which part of the country he or she
lives in.

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Medical care

The county council is the authority with
overall responsibility in each region for
health and medical care, hospitals and
medical centres, and for private clinics.
Wherever you live in Sweden, you have
access to the same level of health and med-
ical care and pay only a part of the real
cost. The remaining costs are paid for out
of the public purse.
All hospitals and medical centres are
required to provide interpreters to those
who need them. All county councils have
special staff trained to help people who
have undergone traumatic experiences.
Almost all children in Sweden are born
in hospital. The requisite expertise and
support is available there for safe delive-
ries. Wherever they live in Sweden, all
women are offered free checks at the mat-
ernity clinic (mödravårdscentralen, MVC)
throughout the pregnancy to ensure that
both mother and child are progressing
well. After the birth, the parents are given
support and help in caring for their child
at the child health care centre (barnavårds-
centralen, BVC).

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Sweden

More information

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Besides the material provided here, a more detailed version is

available offering further information.

Information in many languages

This information can be found at

the National Integration Offi ce’s website in Albanian,

Arabic, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, English, French,

Persian, Somali, Sorani and Spanish.

It is also available in easy Swedish.

www.integrationsverket.se

, click on Starting Out in Sweden.

Winter in Skåne. Photo: edelpix.com © Lars Erik Steinick