Practical information

In general, citizens of an EU/EEA country do not need a residence permit to study in Sweden. 

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA, you will in most cases need a residence permit to study in Sweden. You should not apply for your residence permit until after you have received your Letter of Acceptance. You can be granted a residence permit for a maximum of one or two years, but not for longer than your studies will last. You can never be granted a residence permit for longer than your passport is valid.

Please note that Örebro University cannot assist you in the visa/residence permit application process.
 
Residence permit for studies - Swedish Migration Agency website

If you are a citizen of Switzerland you must apply for a residence permit upon arrival if you are staying in Sweden for more than three months.

The Swedish Migration Agency's information for Swiss citizens

If you plan to extend your stay with us, or if you are a student staying from the spring semester and the following autumn semester, you are required to extend your residence permit. Please wait until you have received your Letter of Acceptance for the next semester before your apply for an extension. The extension must be submitted before your current residence permit expires. However, you are allowed to remain in Sweden while your application for an extension is being processed.

Extending a residence permit for studies - Swedish Migration Agency

Exchange students who are citizens an EU/EEA country or Switzerland should bring their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), issued by the social insurance authority in their home country.

With a valid EHIC, you are entitled to the same medical services as Swedish citizens for urgent medical care. Remember to always bring the card when seeking medical care. 

Information about the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)

All exchange students at Örebro University who are registered on courses are covered by the insurance StudentIN, provided by the state authority Kammarkollegiet. 

The insurance is limited and covers for example for necessary and reasonable costs for emergency medical care or dental care when the insured, during the policy term, suffers illness or has an accident.

Whether you need additional insurance depends on your specific circumstances and needs. We recommend that you carefully review their conditions to determine whether you need additional insurance.

Terms and Conditions Insurance for exchange students in Sweden (Student IN)

The insurance provided by the university is valid from two weeks before the start of the official semester until two weeks after the semester has officially ended Academic calendar at Örebro University 

If you have to receive treatment, please note that the hospital cannot receive payment directly from Kammarkollegiet. You are required to:

• pay the hospital bill yourself and send in the receipt to Kammarkollegiet with the filled in claim form, or
• request an invoice from the hospital and send it to Kammarkollegiet with the filled in claim form.

How to submit a claim form:

1. Download and fill out the form: Exchange students in Sweden Claim form 
2. Submit your claim form to the International Office for signature. You can email the form to exchange@oru.se or come by during the drop-in-hours at Info Centre, Tuesdays 11:30 - 12:30.
3. Send in the completed and signed form by e-mail:
   forsakring@kammarkollegiet.se or by post:
   Kammarkollegiet
   SE-651 80 Karlstad

Keep in mind that if you seek compensation for expenses that you have incurred, you will need to submit the receipts.

If you fall ill during your stay you can call the medical advice number (Sjukvårdsrådgivningen) 1177 for health care advice over the phone twenty-four hours a day, year-round. You can choose to speak Swedish or English. A nurse will answer your questions, determine the need for further care and recommend which, if any, health care agency you should visit.

• Telephone: with a Swedish SIM card 1177
• Telephone with a non-Swedsish SIM card +46 771 11 77 00

You can also visit their website 1177.se that provides information about illnesses, care and health. The information has been fact-checked by doctors and other healthcare professionals.

1177 -  Advice of health and healtcare online
1177 - Healthcare in Sweden if you come from another country

At Örebro University, we have a Student Health Centre that focuses on preventive mental health care for students whose well-being may be affected by study-related challenges. The centre also offers activities, lectures, and workshops to help you explore various methods and practices for self-help and preventive mental health care.

You are welcome to book an appointment with one of our counsellors.

Please note that Örebro University does not provide a medical health centre for medical issues.

Please wait to submit your Online Learning Agreement (OLA) until after you have received your Letter of Acceptance, as you may need to adjust your course selection otherwise.

You may submit your OLA as soon as you have received your official Letter of Acceptance. However, we can only begin approving OLAs once the assessment process is complete and all incoming exchange students are officially registered in our student system.

• For students coming for the Spring semester, we will start approving OLAs from the beginning of December.
• For students coming for the Autumn semester, approvals will begin from approximately the beginning of June.

Please fill in the following contact information in your OLA:

• Contact person: Ulrika Kvist
• Function: Erasmus Coordinator
• Email address: exchange@oru.se

Course Codes: You can find the course codes by clicking the “+” in the “When is the course offered?” section on the course page, and then selecting “Course syllabus.”

If, for any reason, you need your OLA approved before the beginning of December or May, please ask your coordinator to contact us via email with that request.

If you do have a PDF / Paper Learning Agreement, it will be signed by the study advisors at the school where you study the majority of your courses.

• For students coming for the Spring semester, please send your PDF / Paper Learning Agreement earliest from 01 December.
• For students coming for the Autumn semester, send your PDF / Paper Learning Agreement earliest from 01 June.

Contact information to the study advisors 

Exception: at the School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, the Learning Agreements should be sent to the study administrators at utbildningsadm.HumUS@oru.se.

Course Codes: You can find the course codes by clicking the “+” in the “When is the course offered?” section on the course page, and then selecting “Course syllabus.”

If you are unsure about the name of the study advisors, you can send the PDF to their email address and they will fill in the correct name for you. If you are taking the same number of courses at different schools, you can send it to the study advisors at the school where you took your first course.

If you need to make changes during your semester, you must first submit an official request for a course change. More information can be found under “Changing a course during the semester.”

Please only send your updated (Online) Learning Agreement after you have received confirmation that your course change request has been approved.

If you submit a new Online Learning Agreement for approval, please also send us an email, as we do not receive automatic notifications when a new version of your OLA is submitted to the system.

After the application deadline, our study advisors will review your course selection, to ensure you meet the entry requirements for your chosen courses. The processing time may vary depending on the specific courses you have selected. If your course selection differs from other students at your home university, you might therefore receive your letter of acceptance at a different time.

For courses with only general entry requirements, students may receive their letter of acceptance even before the application deadline, depending on available processing time.

We prioritize applications from students outside the EU to help them start their residence permit process promptly. However, all students can expect to receive their letter of acceptance via email no later than 4–6 weeks after the application deadline.

If you need to apply for a residence permit, your Letter of Acceptance is valid as a proof of the Student IN insurance.

Exchange students at Örebro University who are registered on courses are covered by the insurance StudentIN, the Swedish state insurance for exchange students in Sweden, provided by Kammarkollegiet. 

If you need to apply for a residence permit, your Letter of Acceptance is generally sufficient as proof of StudentIN insurance. However, for students’ own records, all students will still receive an insurance certificate along with the Letter of Acceptance.

For more information on coverage, how to submit a claim, and related details, please see the section “Health and Insurance" above.

At Örebro University, we issue our own Certificate of Arrival and do not complete individual forms upon request. You will automatically receive your certificate a few days after your arrival, provided you arrived during the official arrival days.

If your home university needs proof of your arrival, please use the certificate we have issued. The certificate will be sent to the email address provided in your application under the subject line: “Welcome to Örebro University – Certificate of Arrival.” If you cannot find it, please check your spam or junk mail folder.

Your home university has been informed of our procedure, so this should not cause any issues. However, if they still require a different form or document, we kindly ask that your coordinator contact us directly and provide the relevant form.

Students arriving outside the official arrival days:
To enable us to issue your certificate in our system, please contact us at exchange@oru.se and include the exact date of your arrival.

For one-year students:
You will receive a Certificate of Arrival when you first arrive in Örebro. We do not issue a second certificate for the second semester. If your home university specifically requires one, please contact us.

You will not automatically receive a Registration Certificate, but you can generate a digital certificate yourself in Studenttjänster. Log in to Studenttjänster using your ORU account. Digital certificates can be created by clicking the button Ladok Student and then the tab Transcripts and certificates.

You will automatically receive your Certificate of Stay (Depature Certificate) one day after the departure date you indicate in the Depature Form. The certificate will be sent to the email address provided in your application for exchange studies.

In May/December, we will email you with instructions on when to fill out the form. We do not complete individual forms upon request. If your home university requires proof of your stay, please use the certificate we issue.

Important details regarding departure dates:

The latest possible departure date we can indicate is always the last day of the semester. We cannot state a later date in your certificate, even if the housing rental period extends beyond this (this applies to students studying with us during the spring semester).

If you do not complete the Departure Form, or if you indicate a departure date later than the last day of the semester, the Certificate of Stay will automatically be issued for the last day of the semester.

Your home university has been informed about our procedure. If they require a different document, we kindly ask that your coordinator contact us directly with the relevant form at exchange@oru.se.

We require students to be enrolled as full-time students, meaning they are expected to participate in all exams for the courses they are registered for. If an exam takes place before the end of the semester, or if it is a take-home or digital submission, students may choose themselves when to leave. However, if you are a student coming with an Erasmus+ scholarship, please also check with your home university regarding their specific requirements.

You will not automatically receive a Transcript of Records, but you can generate a digital transcript yourself in Studenttjänster. Log in to Studenttjänster using your ORU account. Digital transcripts can be created by clicking the button Ladok Student and then the tab Transcripts and certificates.

Transcripts send by the International Office to the Partner University
If your university requires the Transcript of Records to be sent directly from the us via email, please submit your request to us by email. Make sure to include the email address to which the transcript should be sent. Please note that we cannot process requests before your transcript is complete and all grades have been reported in the system.

Uncomplete transcripts
Please note that it may take up to three weeks after your last exam for all grades to be reported in our system. If your grade does not appear or your transcript is incomplete, please contact the responsible study administrator for the course.

• School of Business
  utbildningsadm.HH@oru.se
• School of Science and Technology
  utbildningsadm.NT@oru.se
• School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences utbildningsadm.HumUS@oru.se
• School of Behavioural, Social and Legal Sciences
  utbildningsadm.BSR@oru.se
• School of Health Science
  utbildningsadm.HV@oru.se
• School of Music, Theatre and Art
  utbildningsadm.MHS@oru.se
• School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Meal Science
  utbildningsadm.RHS@oru.se
•  School of Medical Sciences
  utbildningsadm.MV@oru.se

Schedules will be completed four weeks before the course starts. Before that, there is a risk that the schedule is not complete. Keep in mind that the schedule may change during the course. 

When you schedule is completed you can find it under https://kronox.oru.se/. To be able to find your course schedule please type in your course code that can be found on your Letter of Acceptance or in the course syllabus in the search field.

If two results appear, select the course designated with an 'X', as this is the course for exchange students

As you read one course at a time it might be that the schedule for the last course might first be published after the semester has already started. 

Please note that Örebro University does not have an official add/drop period for courses. As a result, course changes for exchange students are highly restricted. After you have received your Letter of Acceptance, no course changes can be made before your arrival in Örebro.

To be eligible for a course change, all of the following conditions must be met:

• Seats are available in the desired course (the International Office will confirm this with the respective school).
• You meet the eligibility requirements for the course.
• We receive confirmation (in English) from your home university coordinator that there is a valid academic reason for the change. Please also ask your coordinator to state which reason applies in your case.
  OR
  There is a scheduling conflict that qualifies as follows: A clash between two mandatory course sessions, or a clash of at least three non-mandatory course sessions. Please note that personal reasons, such as travel plans, do not constitute a valid reason for changing courses.

If you do have a valid reason for a course change please send in an official Request for course change during the semester.

Please note that simply having your coordinator’s approval is not sufficient; the reason for a change must be academically justified.

Examples of acceptable academic reasons include:

• The courses you have chosen cannot be recognized by your home university.
• There is an academic overlap with courses you have already completed at your home university.

Your student card from your home country will not work as proof of your studies here in Sweden. Instead, you need to apply for a Mecenat card.

To be eligible, you must be actively registered in a course at Örebro University, which means you cannot apply for a Mecenat card before the start of the semester.

You might need a Registration Certificate when applying, to show that you are an active student. For information on how to obtain this, please read more under the section Documents and Certificates – Registration Certificate.

To apply, please follow the steps on their website:
How do I apply for a Mecenat card?

If you are asked to fill in your personal identity number, please use the T-number that you received from us at the beginning of the semester.
You can also find this number on your Registration Certificate.

Exchange students can study at Örebro University for up to two semesters.

If you enjoy your time here and wish to extend your stay, please follow these steps:

1. Contact your home coordinator
   Confirm with your home institution whether you are allowed to study a second semester abroad.
2. Browse through our courses catalogue
   Look through our course catalogue and see if you find suitable courses worth at least 30 ECTS that cover the full study period.
3. Submit your course selection
   Once you have identified suitable courses, contact us by email. We will provide you with a link to a form where you can submit your new course selection.
4. Provide official confirmation
   We also require an official confirmation or an email from your home coordinator stating that you are allowed to prolong your stay. 

Deadlines (for both new course selection and confirmation from your home university)

• Extension for the upcoming spring semester: October 15
• Extension for the upcoming spring semester: April 15

Please note that we cannot accept requests submitted after the deadline.

Living costs in Örebro vary depending on your individual lifestyle and habits.

Many students choose to cook their own meals and bring lunch in a food box. There are microwaves available on campus for heating your food.

You can also save money by shopping at second-hand stores, which are widely available throughout Örebro.

Keep in mind that eating out and traveling can be relatively expensive, so it’s a good idea to plan your budget accordingly.

If you are a student requiring a residence permit, you must demonstrate that you have sufficient funds to support yourself during your studies.
The Swedish Migration Agency requires proof of at least SEK 10,584 per month of study (for applications made in 2025).