School – children

School for children and young people 1-18 years old

Children and young people seeking asylum have the right to attend preschool, primary school and upper secondary school on the same terms as other children and young people in Sweden.
Children from the age of 3 have the right to public preschool, i.e. the opportunity for approximately 15 hours of free childcare/week.
For children or young people with intellectual or severe disabilities, there is an adapted primary school and an adapted upper secondary school from the first grade onwards.
There are special schools for children and young people who are deaf/hard of hearing and blind/visually impaired. They can also be integrated into regular primary schools with extra support and aids.

The municipality is responsible for arranging preschool and school places.

Consider:

The child and young person need to show their LMA card from the Swedish Migration Board.
The information is always available on the municipality's website under sections such as "Preschool and school for asylum seekers", "Newly arrived students", "Education for children who are new to Sweden".

Preschool (children 1–5 years old)

If an asylum seeker has children of preschool age:

They have the right to apply for a preschool place in the municipality where they live.
The municipality's Children and Education Administration handles applications.
You search on the municipality's website under the section "Preschool for asylum seekers" or "Preschool for new arrivals".

You contact:

The municipality's contact center and tells you that there is an asylum seeker who wants to apply for a preschool place for their child. They will then connect you to the correct caseworker.

Primary school (children 6–16 years old)

Asylum-seeking children have the right to schooling on the same terms as other children in Sweden.
It is the municipality where the child lives that is responsible for offering a school place.
Often the municipality has a special reception unit for newly arrived students that helps with school placement, language assessment and support.

You contact: The municipality's contact center and ask to speak to the reception unit or school placement unit for newly arrived/asylum-seeking children.

Upper secondary school (16-18 years)

The municipality where the asylum-seeking youth lives is responsible for offering upper secondary education.
The municipality helps with a language and knowledge assessment, finding the right program or introductory program, and applying to an upper secondary school.
Most young asylum seekers start in an introductory program (IM – language introduction). There they study Swedish and other basic subjects before being able to start a national program.

You contact:

The municipality's contact center and ask to speak to the reception unit or upper secondary school admissions for new arrivals.