Living in Sweden

Tuition Fees for International Students in Sweden from 2010

2010-05-14T01:32:00.000-07:00

Non EU/EES students will, from the 1st January 2010, pay to study in Sweden. This is the latest comment from the Swedish government, as part of the the Internationalisation of Higher Education bill which will come into effect in the Autumn of this year, as reported in SvD this morning.

Update, December 12th 2008: The 1st of January date may not be correct, it could be later in the year. There is no officially published date as yet.

This story is now also available in english at The Local.

The article is a little light on detail but the following main facts emerge:

- kick off will be the 1st January 2010 (see the above update)

- fees will be set by each university

- there will be some form of scholarship system

The previous government, according to SvD, suggested 80 000 SEK per year as a fee. That’s about 8 500 EURO (to put that into perspective, an international student studying in the UK pays around 12 500 EURO).

So, that’s about one and half years to decide on a marketing strategy, set up the infrastructure and recruit students. This is a huge change for Swedish education and the implications for our university are massive. The critical question is ‘if we had fees, would you have still have come to Lund?’.

There’s plenty of discussion about this at the SvD site - close on a 100 comments in the last few hours.

Updated 2 July 2008 – For some of the background to the Governments announcement take a look at the summary, in English, of their investigation into tuition fees. You need to take a look at pages 13 – 16 for the english summary.

Students who have already begun studying, or are applying in the application periods starting in 2008 or 2009, will not pay fees. The vote will be in Spring 2009. More information will be available then.

How to get a visa to enter Sweden

2010-02-06T04:00:00.000-08:00

I am going to develop and write a long essay about this issue.It will be based on real life experiences from those who have succeeded in getting different types of visas to Sweden .Here are some questions i am going to answer:-
How they did it?
What steps did they take?
Why some people do not get it?
Certain things to avoid ?
How life in Sweden is sweet but also tough.
I hope this helps. For now just follow the information from Swedish immigration Just do as they say and follow the instructions they give you on the web site .Let your documents be right and let them be sent to the Swedish immigration authorities on time.

Learning the Swedish Language

2009-06-04T02:50:00.000-07:00

Many immigrants I have come across say the Swedish language is difficult to learn. Is it really difficult? Personally I do not think so. I think everything can be learned if the time, patience and motivation is invested in the learning process.It also depends on how you want your life to be in Sweden.Language makes live easy for you and others to communicate together. Learning a new language is always a bonus credit in life. The more languages you know the more you have easy contact with people if you are the friendly type of course.

I now lots of people studying at various universities and studying complicated mathematics and software engineering everyday.They say the Swedish language is difficult to learn and also barrier to get a job here if you cannot speak it.Its true in Sweden and everywhere in the world. Getting a jobs in Sweden takes more than knowing the language.But know the language gives you an edge over others who do not know the language.So learning the language is one step forward in getting a job.These guys will say is difficult to learn the language.I always ask them this questions.If you can calculate complicated stochastic processes,probabilities and write complicated code whats difficult to learn a language that just needs verbs and grammar?

"I love you"="Jag älskar dig"
"Hej" = "Hello" or "Hi"
"Kom" = "Come"

or

an example of a stochastic process involving mean reversion.
dP = h P (M - P) dt + s P dz
Where M is the long-run equilibrium level (or the long-run mean price which the prices tend to revert); and h is the speed of reversion.

or

C Program recursive function
include

int factorial (int n)
{
if (n == 0)
return 1;
else
return (n * factorial (n-1));
}

Which of these is easier to grasp directly?
You can make your choice? Anyway personally i think the language is easy to learn and the C program beautiful to write to solve a problem and the stochastic process boring.
If you really want to live in Sweden i encourage you to learn the language.It not difficult and it not easy.You have to make an effort.The choice is yours.

Global Uppvärming

2009-03-08T05:56:00.001-07:00

Jag har tänkt hur jag kan hjälpa för att reducera global uppvärming. Jag kommer på att jag älskar frukt från andra länder t.ex banan, avocado, cashewnötter och många andra. De där frukterna kan man inte plantera i Sverige. De måste importeras från andra länder och de också tjänar pengar för att deras växter säljes utomlands.
För att frukterna kan komma till Sverige ska man använder båtar, lastbilar, flygplaner etc. Alla de här metoderna att transportera varor höja växthus gas.
Ska jag sluta köpa tropisk frukter och börja äta bara äpple eller frukter och grönsaker man kan plantera i Sverige eller ska jag fortsätta leva mitt liv som ingenting kommer att hända?
Jag vet inte vad jag ska göra. Jag vill verkligen hjälpa med global uppvärming.

Do not follow the crowd. Go your own way

2009-03-08T05:17:00.000-07:00

Everybody is an individual and has to choose their own route in live. I have noticed a very common pattern amongst immigrants that come to Sweden. They always want to stick together, speak their home languages, compare Sweden to their countries and complain about Sweden. It is good to speak your language and have a talk with someone from your country but I think it should not be the goal or something you take as a huge part of your life when you move into a new country. I know it can be tough to make Swedish friends here but everything takes time and you must have the will and motivation to have them , know them and want to understand them before you want to think about friendship.

The truth it takes time to build relationships here and people are so skeptical of just getting into friendship with someone new. You just have to take it slowly. I encourage immigrants who come to Sweden to get out of their holes and stop sticking with a crowd of individuals from the same country confront the society, try to understand it than give up. Stop looking for negative things to say about the people to make you feel better. Are you really better than them? If you are really better than them you should not even be here in the first place. The airport is not that far. Instead take steps to understand the society; they are different of course as you are also different. There is nothing to compare about two nations. I say Cameroon is just a wonderful nation with wonderful people just as Sweden is a wonderful nation with wonderful people. From this point you are relax you start looking for opportunities and challenges. You understand a culture and make the best of it.

Staying in your little groups just will make you a frustrated individual and the group will never help you get any better here. Live is tough everywhere in the world. You have to come out from the little group and say goddamit! I am now in Sweden. Let me make the best of it. You will see how your life will change for the better. You will be happier and more relax and as I always say to everyone I meet Learn the Language if you got the chance. If you live in your little groups and stuck too it you will not even be interested to learn it because you speak your home language everyday and get by just fine but are you really living in Sweden or staying in Sweden? But you are living and behaving just like you did back in your country of origin. How can you integrate yourself ?

So the question is what do I do?

•Go your own way, do not follow the crowd
•Seek help and advice from those who have live here for a long time. You will be surprised what kind of help you can get from them.
•Be humble and honest. You can get your way just fine by being honest and humble.
•Ask questions and get to free seminars or forums to meet other people.
•Have fun and go to parties.
•Date a girl
•Be yourself and have and set clear goals for yourself and everyday move towards them and you will get to enjoy this lovely country and its people. You will be relaxed
• Meet your folks at times and have a chat and some fun and talk about your home country.
I hope you enjoy your stay and go your own way in Sweden.

Fees for Swedish Universities

2009-02-06T11:56:00.000-08:00

This is just a follow up of what i wrote before about fees in Swedish Universities. This time the commission required to study this issue came out with an estimate of 80.000sek and can probably be instituted from the 2008/2009 academic year. This is really much money but i hope this information can make you to start thinking if you want to come to Sweden or already a student in Sweden.I will write more on this when i get more details.

The new work permit law in Sweden

2008-12-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

Many people have been asking me about the new work permit law in Sweden that implementation started on the 15th December 2008. Its really an interesting law because the government is now realising that its time to soften up those old rules and let people with skills get job permits in Sweden.
Another thing here is these jobs should have been announced in the whole of Sweden and EU and the employer has no choice but to employ a NON EU immigrant and that is where you can see the real aim of the program.It is actually to to let companies employ highly skilled engineers from other countries easily.

If you an immigrant and already got a job or doing some unskilled job somewhere and think that with that job you can get a work permit because of that then read on and understand what this is all about.I always encourage others living and studying here and wish to work here to learn the swedish language and become really good in what you are studying.If you think you are ligible for this kind of visa then ask yourself what skills you really have that some company will want to invest in you? If you got no skills or got them but doing some unskilled job in another field then you better drop that now and upgrade you skills and begin to apply for real jobs that warrants some skill learned.With that said you might get an employer that really wants to invest in you.I am ready to answer questions about this but here is a summary of the conditions to apply.

Here is the new law
EU/EEA citizens, Swiss citizens, their family members and people with long-term resident status in another EU country are not required to apply for a work permit. There is more information on our website under ”EU/EEA citizens”.

Other foreign citizens who want to work in Sweden must have a work permit. A residence permit is also required if the person is going to work for a period of more than three months. Citizens of certain countries must have a visa to work for periods of less than three months. See www.ud.se for a list of nationalities required to have a visa.

What is required to get a work permit?
A person who wants to work in Sweden must have an Offer of Employment from an employer in Sweden.

The following are also required to be granted a permit:

The employee must have a valid passport.
The employee must earn enough from employment to support him/herself.
The terms of employment must be equivalent to those provided by a Swedish collective agreement or to customary terms and conditions for the occupation or industry.
The relevant union must be given the opportunity to state an opinion on the terms of employment.
The job vacancy must have been advertised in Sweden and the EU. Where should the employee apply for a residence and work permit?
The main rule is that the employee must apply for a residence and work permit in the country of origin or another country outside Sweden in which he/she resides. The permit must have been granted and the permit sticker affixed to the passport before entering Sweden. However, in certain cases, employees may apply for a work permit in Sweden.

People who may apply in Sweden:

Students with a student residence permit who have completed at least 30 higher education credits or one semester/term of postgraduate education in Sweden.
Job applicants who have received an offer of employment and who are in Sweden to visit an employer, and there is special need to begin the work immediately. The occupation must also be found on a special list, which is posted on the Migration Board website.
Asylum-seekers whose application for asylum has been rejected and the decision has taken legal force.
What applies to family members?
Family members of employees may be granted a residence permit for the same duration as the residence and work permit granted to the employee. If the permit is valid for at least six months, family members may also be granted a work permit.

The following people are considered family members:

Husband/wife, de facto (“common law”) spouse or registered domestic partner.
Children (under the age of 21) of the employee or his or her husband, wife, de facto spouse or registered partner.
Children over the age of 21 cannot be granted a residence permit unless they are financially dependent upon the parent. Note that the age limit for residence and work permits is 18 for family members of asylum seekers.

How much does it cost?
Most applicants are required to pay an application fee. The fee is SEK 2,000 for the initial application and in certain cases for an extension. When an application to extend a permit concerns the same employer or the same occupation the fee is SEK 1,000.

The fee is SEK 1,000 for family members over 18 and SEK 500 for family members under 18.

How long is the permit valid?
If the employment is temporary, the employee will be granted a residence and work permit valid only for that period and for a maximum of two years at a time.

After 48 months, the employee will be eligible for a permanent residence permit.

What happens if the employee changes employers?
For the first two years, the residence and work permit is restricted to a specific employer and a specific occupation. For that reason, the employee must apply for a new work permit if he/she changes employers or occupations during the first two years. If the residence and work permit is extended after two years, it is restricted only to a specific occupation. In that case, the employee must apply for a new work permit if he/she changes occupations.

What happens if employment is terminated?
A residence and work permit in Sweden is always temporary. If the employee loses his/her job, the Migration Board may withdraw the residence permit. However, the employee may look for other employment in Sweden for three months after the date the previous employment ended.

If the employee does not find a new job during that period, the Migration Board may withdraw the residence permit and the employee must leave the country.

If the employee gets a new job and the current permit does not cover the duration of employment, he/she must submit a new application for a work permit. The Migration Board will then examine the conditions of employment by the new employer.

Appeal
Rejection of an application for a work permit cannot be appealed.

Further information
For further information about work permits in Sweden, contact the nearest Swedish embassy/consulate or the Swedish Migration Board's Public Contact Unit.

The TooMuch Syndrome

2008-12-14T01:38:00.000-08:00

You might ask your self what is the TooMuch Syndrome? What is this guy writing about? It is syndrome created by parents in developed countries who buy too many toys and offer too many choices to children in about everything.What i have noticed is that child even become more aggressive,arrogant and confused because of too much choices they have.Parents become friends to their children and when children take control .Children become confused and angry even though they got everything i call it the toomuch syndrome.May be they are adults who have this problem of obsession with things but things will always be things and we have to be parents from day one till when the relationship changes to an adult one when children move to their own homes.

Anyway parenting is not about buying too many toys.I think kids should have time to enjoy each toy they have and really make some connection to it before new one come in.They learn how to focus and appreciate things.
I will end by saying that after living in Sweden for all this years i see the Too much syndrome in many people and i ask myself if they do not get it.THINGS WILL NEVER MAKE US HAPPIER THEY CAN ONLY MAKE LIFE EASIER FOR US. I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE IS OUR LIVES AND BODY AND FAMILY.To get that balance we need to eat good healthy food,love , have a passion and have fun.

In a country like Sweden where basic needs of life is not really a problem it is easy for your children and your self to develop the TooMuch Syndrome.You can avoid it buying what is really necessary or needed and let your children grow and learn that things are not what that makes us happy because they are just things and you do not need to pay for happiness.

Back to the university

2008-09-15T00:12:00.000-07:00

I have not posted for a long time now because i am now studying computer science (Datavetenskap) at the university.I always wanted to be a computer engineer and this dream of mine finnaly came true when i got admission for the program entirely in swedish and partly in english.I worked very hard to get the requirements for an entrance into the university.I had to do lots of maths in the swedish language but anyway maths is maths and i had really great support from my darling wife .Without her support and care i do not think i would have made it through.

The truth is there is no short cut to make money or get a good job in Sweden.You have to be good in something and the opportunity is there for you if you have the will, motivation and determination to study free of charge in one one thier excellent universities.I will keep on posting on issues i think are important and will like to get ideas on what you guys want to know.I always say good things do not come easy.

What or who is a Swede?

2008-08-08T02:25:00.000-07:00

I just thought of sharing this with you guys.Anyway i have my own reservations about this but i think the person that wrote this had really good points. I will update it later with what i think is Swedish. You can get an image of how the majority Swedish people are and do not forget to always take a queue in what ever place you need a service e.g.bank,shops etc . Its always first come first served in Sweden."Just stand on the line or take a number and wait. Isn't that nice?

A Swede is tall, blond, blue-eyed, and wears a woolly hat in the winter. By nature he is shy, reserved, serious, industrious, and finds it hard to laugh at himself. He is also a creature of habit and every morning gets up at 5.30 to give himself enough time to read the morning newspaper before going to work. Since work does not usually start until 8 o’clock, this can only imply that a Swede is also a slow reader.

Apart from himself, his chief interests are money, his job, his home, ice-hockey, and his family (in that order). He also loves animals – especially dogs – and spends hours cycling through the town dragging a huge and ferocious German Shepherd behind him on a leash.

A Swede is usually punctual, honest, reliable, clean, has his own teeth, and is law-abiding. Evidence of the latter is particularly noticeable at pedestrian crossings. No matter what the weather is like, a Swede would rather get soaked to the skin than cross an empty street when a red light is showing. Similarly, he always wears a seat belt, never drinks and drives, always has a television licence, usually hands in his tax-return on time, invariably has a plastic bag in his pocket when he walks his dog, and never has a bath after 10 o’clock.

A Swede is also very cautious and rarely does anything on impulse (except perhaps sneeze). To him, all decisions are a matter of life and death. Take a simple matter like buying cheese, for example. A Swede may try at least ten different sorts of cheeses before finally deciding to buy twenty grammes of Brie. It is the same sense of caution that prevents him from plunging into marriage straight away. Instead, he lives with a woman first, has one or two children, then – if all seems well – asks her to marry him.

With reference to marriage, a Swede is quite unlike most European men. Anything a housewife can do, he can do better – from cooking to sewing on buttons. In fact, everything in the home (apart from breast-feeding) is shared.

A Swede also likes to think he is well informed and spends hours finding out all he can about such things as nuclear power, the Third World, pollution, South Africa, the sexual habits of the centipede, etc. while at the same time paying little attention to unimportant matters - such as the name of his neighbor or whether certain types of beer should be banned or not.

Most Swedes as fanatics when it comes to keeping fit and regularly spend their weekends running through the nearest forest or cycling for hours in the cellar on a bicycle fixed to the floor. With his health in mind, he has also given up smoking, sugar, drinking coffee in the evenings, going to bed after 10 o’clock, and mixing with strangers.

But perhaps the greatest thing about a Swede is his sense of equality – of everyone being the same as everyone else. To help this, most Swedes have the same surnames – Svensson, Nilsson, or Persson – earn the same amount of money after tax, have the same taste in furniture, dress alike, think alike, drive a Volvo, and go to Majorca or Kreta in the summer.

A Swede also refuses to admit that he is prejudiced in any way. To him, all foreigners are just the same as Swedes and, although he doesn’t actually have any Jugoslavian, Greek, Turkish, Polish, Italian, Finnish or Czechoslovakian friends, he is certain there is very little difference between them and Swedes – apart from their names, their customs, the way they grow vegetables in the kitchen, the fact that they carry knives, rob banks, live on social security, pinch their jobs, breed like rabbits, beat their wives, and speak Swedish like someone with a gobstopper in his mouth.

Finally, a Swede loves the sun, hates queuing, gets a kick out of being first on the bus, detests winter, enjoys sex, can’t stand gypsies, believes what the National Social Board of Health and Welfare tells him, doesn’t believe in God, worships Ingemar Stenmark, only gets drunk when he drinks, is patriotic (wears Swedish flag underwear), visits the off-licence twice a week, visits his parents at Christmas, goes to English classes, and, inevitably, is deeply offended by an article such as this.

(Found in the computer lab in Umeå.)

Leva ditt eget liv och bli inte som alla andra!

2008-08-02T01:20:00.000-07:00

I dag tänkte jag på de folken som försöker leva upp till deras grannar eller kompisar in stallet för att skapa och hitta deras sätt att leva. Jag tycker att I den här samhället har folk mycket press på sig. Man måste vara så och så. Du måste göra så och så med dina barn. Du måste köpa så och så eller så. Du måste har så och så eller så. Om du inte har så och så eller så tycker andra att du är konstig eller att du inte vill vara med nya trender.

Vem är det som sätter trender?Vem är det som säger att vi måste göra så och så. Jag vill bara säga att alla ska försöka ha självförtroende och bli själv de nya trenderna.

Jag har redan bestämt att leva mitt liv som jag vill och skit vad vem som helst tänker eller säger. Alla har sina problem och sitt liv. Vi behöver inte jämföra med någon. Om dina grannar köper en ny bil eller "flat screen tv" det har ingenting att göra med dig. Lev ditt eget liv och skapa dina erfarenheter i livet. Du behöver inte vara så eller så för att bli glad. Har kul i livet istället och vet att det alltid kommer finnas problem att lösa när du lever.Det är så mycket roligare saker i livet än att skapa och ha den pressen på sig.Det är därför jag säger "Leva ditt eget liv och bli inte som alla andra"!

Choosing your status in Europe

2008-07-18T04:52:00.000-07:00

Many people in the developing countries think that money just flows in Europe and if you live here you must be rich and have lots of money. That is not really true. As a matter of fact they are very many poor and homeless people here in Europe . However they are not as many compared to the developing countries. I do not have time to back these with statistics.

If you are form any developing nation and you move to Europe , i think you can choose your status and the type of live you want to leave here and in the future.
You can decide to do stupid desperate jobs,suffer everyday and have a situation worse than even you had back in your home country ,feeding poorly and only saving money to send back to your home country.

You can also decide to sell illegal drugs and live a dark life but you will be caught someday for sure.

You can stand up intergrate yourself,enjoy your life, educate yourself and make the best of it and be as rich and have a high standard of living as any other European.

You should know that if you choose a way of live you choose the consequences and the outcome.Bad choices usually lead to a bad outcome and good choices usually lead to a good outcome.

I have divided those living in Europe from developing nations into three categories namely :-

1)The desperate ones
People in this group have no official papers to live in Europe and their situations are quite complicated and i usually have pity for them.They are very desperate and can do almost anything to get money for survival.I just hope things turn out good for them,

2)The dull and short sighted
This is the people that came to Europe through legal means and have official papers to live and work in Europe. These people want to make fast money and get rich fast.They will work and work.They might live about 10 of them in one room apartment and only save money to take back home which i think is good but they live a very isolated life of no intergration.I will describe them as staying in Europe but having living a life way below standard of that country.I think they are dull because there is more to Europe than just making money and living like packed sardines in a can.I think they can have a better status and create a very good image of us immigrants than reducing it and others seeing us as pathetic.I challenge you if you are in this group to get to next level and get a good education,intergrate yourself,have a good life and make good money.

3)The smart and intelligent
These are the people who think like me.Europe has a lot to offer so go for it. Get an education, get a good job, save money, get a good pension, buy a good house, enjoy and have good live quality , make real money like Europeans and get respected in this society and even when you go back to your home country. These people know what they want and they are long - sighted and they usually make it. This category ends being the richer ones with higher status and most secured group financially and socially.

You can ask yourself these two questions . What category am i in ? What is my status and what do i want to achieve here in Europe?

I love these quotes

2008-07-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."

"The only source of knowledge is experience."

- Albert Einstein

No more free education Sweden soon

2008-06-23T04:07:00.000-07:00

If you from a non - European nation and you have admission to study in Sweden you should better hurry up for it will cost you double soon.Fees will soon be implemented in Swedish Universities. I will encourage you to get those funds and get to the university before it is too late.I came myself to Sweden because they had free education and i have written much about it on this blog.(search in blog).The education is good but having a job and learning a new language can be a real challenge

The Swedish minister of Higher education has been given the go ahead to implement and develop a system that will allow Swedish Universities to take fees from students of non- European Union Students.The amount and date has not yet been set but it just a matter of time now.They are already working on it.
From an earlier investigation the estimated that the fees will be about 80 000 sek per year.Anyway that has not been confirmed.If it is confirmed it means that to study in Sweden you will need to have to show an account of more than 160 000 sek(1 year.).

I do not know how the Swedish minister is thinking. He compares Sweden to USA and England. There is only one thing to compare between them.Its the education quality factor but there are many variables that play in the life of a student in a new country.
It is easier to intergrate and get a job as a student and after studies as a graduate in USA and England.Its damn difficult here in Sweden except you are the engineering field.

I do not know how many parents in the world that will be willing to cough out more than 200,000 sek for a child to study in a country where it is difficult to intergrate, get a job as a graduate or a student, must learn the language and other main stream societal difficulties? On the other hand you can get all these named above for same price in UK,Canada and Auatralia. Anyway to stand these challenges will depend on individual people.

However i still thank Sweden for offering free education to me and gave me the chance to fulfill a dream.If you want yours to fulfilled , when you get that admission letter better hurry up before you pay a double price.

Rapid Integration in Sweden

2008-06-12T02:39:00.000-07:00

It is always tough at the beginning when you have just landed in a new country but sooner or later you can make it here if you got a plan and know exactly what you want and what your goals are.It is possible if you start taking actions that will make you integrate better and take some risk in trying to meet people and make connections as much as you can.

You can meet some people around you church or what ever.

You can date a girl
Dating a Swedish girl.

Check on line for jobs or companies that easily employ immigrants but do not let yourself be exploited with 20kr per hr job.

Learn the Swedish language always be yourself .Swedish language guide.

Be different from other guys and you do must not follow the crowd or do exactly what people from the same country like you are doing.

Set you goals clearly on what you what to achieve in the nearest months and start working towards them.

Visit the Swedish integration office of your town or area and ask the right questions

Good luck

Immigrants and thier old habits

2008-05-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

They has been a couple of reports about jobs and immigrants on how there are being forced, because of desperation to take jobs and get paid ridiculous salaries which are far less than the Swedish minimum wage. The terms of the job and conditions in which they work can only be linked to slavery. How can this be happening in Sweden? What i noticed was that they are immigrants exploiting immigrants. I do not understands why these guys will want to exploit a fellow immigrant and say that they are helping him. May be its just old bad habits of corruption in some immigrant from developing countries that just want to keep these bad habits going. Has these really worked?I really got shocked when i read about a well established business woman had embezzled money and employed lots illegally even though she could still have mad good money the honest way here.

It is really sad to know that some immigrants spoil our own image and by so doing letting the Swedish become suspicious about us.I always have this philosophy that you do not need to cheat ,embezzle or steal to be successful in this country.You can become very successful in Sweden if you choose the right business at the right time and if you have the right people around you.The road to success is clear and the doors are open.If you work hard you earn what you worked for and if you want to be lazy and live on social welfare sure you will be poor all your live and complain about Sweden. It makes no difference because you moved here and before you came they had their life so it's for you to make and do things that can make you better intergrate.If there is something you can get from this post, is that.

No matter where you come from keep you bad habits away and know that honesty and truth can lead to success in this society.It may be not one hundred percent sure but its about 80 percent sure.Enjoy Sweden and learn more about it.Its your choice and it your life.I know personally that things get better for you in Sweden when you just relax and connect with people.

Finally if you are an immigrant in Sweden and you are exploiting your fellow immigrants shame to you.I hope you get caught some day.On the other hand if you have just arrived in Sweden try to ask questions and meet people and do not be to desperate because some people take that as weakness and will make you more desperate.Remember cheating,exploitation,corruption and unreliability will get you no where in this country.Ninty nine days for the thief and one day for the owner and for the owner.

Applying for a visa to Sweden

2008-04-18T02:59:00.000-07:00

A person who wishes to study at a university or college in Sweden for a period longer than three months must have a residence permit. The permit must be complete and entered into the passport before entry into Sweden.

A person who is in Sweden for a period of less than three months does not need a residence permit. However, citizens of certain countries must have a visa.

A residence permit for study purposes is time limited. Even if the period spent in the country has extended over several years you are normally not permitted to become a permanent resident in Sweden.

Countries whose citizens require entry visas

What is required to be granted a permit?
To be granted a residence permit for study purposes at a university/college in Sweden you must show that you:

have been enrolled for full-time study, i.e. 30 credits per term (Special conditions apply to doctoral students)
can support yourself for the whole of the planned period of study
have comprehensive health insurance which is valid in Sweden if you intend to study for a period of less than one year.

How can I prove my capacity to support myself?

You should show that you have your support secured by means of verification of bank assets, a grant or in another similar manner. The support requirement is at present at least SEK 7,300 per month. If you intend to study for one year or more you must show that you can support yourself for 10 months per year.

Example: if you intend to study for:

18 months you must have SEK 109,500 (15 x SEK 7,300)
24 months you must have SEK 146,000 (20 x SEK 7,300)
If you can show, for example, that you will receive free accommodation and/or food, the monthly amount can be reduced. If you want to know the exchange rate in your local currency,check it out here

Which documents do I need?
When you apply for a residence permit you must use the form Application for a residence permit for students and doctoral students, No. 105031.
You can obtain or order forms on this website.Application Forms You can also order by e-mail, Distributionen@migrationsverket.se, fax 011-15 66 91 or by writing to the Migration Board, Distributionen, 601 70 Norrköping. Forms are also available at Swedish embassies and consulates.

Enclose copies of the following documents:
A copy of your passport, showing your identity, the period of validity of the passport and any permit required to spend time in a country other than your home country.

A certificate stating that you have been enrolled for full-time study.

A certificate stating that you have comprehensive health insurance valid in Sweden if you intend to study for a period of less than one year.

A certificate from a bank confirming that you have funds of your own to support you
or
that you have received a scholarship or similar funding. Include details of the amount and during which period you will receive the money.
or
that you have received a study grant or a salary (only doctoral students). Include details of the amount and during which period you will receive the money.
Please do not enclose any education certificates.

Please note that the embassy or consulate where you submitted your application could require further documents. Visit www.swedenabroad.se or contact the embassy or consulate for more information.

Remember
If a permit from a central bank or equivalent is required to transfer money from your country, you must enclose such a permit.

Important to submit a complete application
It is important that you send in a complete application for a residence permit as soon as you have been enrolled in a programme. You can not expect to receive a decision in time for the commencement of your programme if your application:

is not complete
arrives at the Migration Board when there is less than six weeks remaining before commencement of the programme even if you received late notification of enrolment.

Can the permit be extended?
When you apply for an extension you should use the form Application for a residence permit for students and doctoral students, No. 105031.

You must produce proof of acceptable study results to have your residence permit extended. You must also confirm that you have received money regularly for your support during the time you have been in Sweden. This can be done by means of a bank statement or similar document.

You must also show that you have been enrolled for continued full-time study and that you still have your support secured.

Where do I apply?
You apply for the permit at the Swedish embassy or a Swedish consulate in your home country or in the country where you are a permanent resident. Swedish embassies and consulates

The application for an extension of your residence permit can be submitted to any of the Migration Board permit units. You can also apply for an extension of your permit via the Migration Board website or you can send your application by post.

Addresses to the Migration Board's Permit Units

What does it cost.
Permit for, for example, a visit, work or study Adult SEK 1,000
Most people are required to pay an application fee. You will also be required to pay a fee when you apply for an extension of your permit. If your application is rejected the fee will not be refunded.

Fees for applications and how to pay
How long is the permit valid?
You can be granted a residence permit for one year at a time during the period of your study. If the period of study is less than one year you will be granted a residence permit that is valid for the length of the period of study.

Am I permitted to work?
You are permitted to work during the same period you have a residence permit. You do not need a separate work permit.

Permit for relatives
Your husband/wife or partner and unmarried children under the age of 18 years can be granted a residence permit if they can show, among other things, that their support is secured. In that case they will be granted a residence permit for the same period as you. However, they are not permitted to work.

Who decides?
The Migration Board decides on a residence permit for study purposes. The permit must be complete and be entered into your passport before you travel to Sweden. You will be notified of the decision by the embassy or the consulate where you submitted the application.

Where will your application be processed?
First-time applications from students at universities/colleges are processed by four of the Migration Board's permit units. Where yur application will be processed depends on which university/college you have been accepted to.This unit will process your application.

Revoking of your permit
The Migration Board can revoke your residence permit if, for example:

you do not register at the place of learning

you discontinue your studies

you do not satisfy the support requirement.

Appeal
If the Migration Board decides not to grant you a residence permit you can appeal against the decision within three weeks of the date on which you received the decision. The same applies if we revoke your permit. You send the appeal to the Migration Board. If the Board does not change its decision in line with your request the appeal will be forwarded to the Migration Court at one of the county administrative courts in Stockholm, Gothenburg or Malmö.

If you have granted a person in Sweden power of attorney to represent you in the permit matter, he or she can prepare the appeal and submit it.

Forms
You can obtain or order forms on this website.Application Forms You can also order by e-mail, Distributionen@migrationsverket.se, fax 011-15 66 91 or by writing to the Migration Board, Distributionen, 601 70 Norrköping. Forms are also available at Swedish embassies and consulates.
If your documents are okay and convincing enough you get the visa. With the Swedish everything is pretty straight and done by the book.Do not forget that it might take sometime to get your reply.To make sure that you get your reply read this post i made about obtaining a visa to Sweden.
A little detail. You can also read more about education in Sweden on my website.You can check out the link at the end of this post. Education in Sweden
Good Luck!!

Sveriges Social System är bra

2008-04-16T05:10:00.000-07:00

Jag kommer från ett land där vårt social system är vår familj. Det betyder att vi hjälper varandra så fort man kan. Familj handlar om alla dina mammas ,pappas familj och alla omkring. Ibland ser vi inte på närmarest sätt hur barn växer för att det finns många som kan hjälpa om man behöver hjälp om barnen.
Jag kom till Sverige för att studera men senare träffade jag min vackra fru och sen gifte vi oss och vi fick vår söta dotter. Jag var pappaledig i fem månader och det var en av den bästa tiden i mitt liv. Jag fick se hur ett barn växer på en nära sätt som jag har aldrig sett förut. Det var möjligt att jag kunde stanna hemma för att Sverige har ett bra social system som gör allt det här möjligt.
Man får mycket kärlek från barnen när man ger. Man är där och se hur alla förändringar hände.
Tack för att Sverige finns och tack för att jag har en vacker fru och ett sött barn.

Getting a job In Sweden

2008-04-14T08:17:00.001-07:00

It is difficult finding jobs generally in Sweden. Sweden is not a haven for jobs. I would tell anyone coming to Sweden to prepare him or herself with a lot of pocket money for personal support before finding a job here. Sweden has one of the worst intergration policies in Europe when it comes to immigrants having jobs. The article can be read on Dagens nyheter in August 2003.

Work time is strictly 40 hrs a week and you must take vacation for four weeks every year.

Where to find jobs:

Government employment agency (Arbetsförmedlingen)Ams
Arbetsförmedlingen database link platsbanken Job service database(Platsbanken) , but note that there is always a requirement of the Swedish language (svenska) in the majority of cases.

Local and daily newspapers

Daily contacts with people

Ask people

Be open for anything from a start

If you cannot buy local and daily newspapers then go to the nearest public library (Stadsbiblioteket) and read them. You just have to locate it, get it and sit down and start reading.
You can also check on blocket.

Job recruiting sites or databases and register your CV for example manpower, proffice.
In bigger towns such as Stokholm and Göteborg you can be lucky to get English speaking related jobs. Some English related jobbs can be found on thelocal website.
If you can drive and you have a licence it can boost your chances of finding a job. To buy a second hand car you can visit Blocket website
Sweden is amongst the countries with the highest income tax of about 30%. For example if you earn 10000kr as monthly pre-tax income you will finally get about 6500 to7000kr as your income at the bank.

Easy jobs to get are unskilled jobs for example

Distributing newspapers (the local daily newspaper of where you are living)
Distributing advertisement papers or junk mails on weekends (Direkt Reklam)
Cleaning jobs
For Au Pair Work you can register on this site for Au pair service You can register on-line and they are really good and helpful in matching you to a suitable family.
For professional and skilled jobs you have to follow the same procedure and make your self a very good CV. For summer jobs you need to apply early enough as February and if you get a job you can start working between June and August if the company employs you.

You can get the addresses from the yellow pages (Gula sidorna).
For English Speaking jobs go:
Jobs in for those who speak english

Financial aid for studies in Sweden

2008-04-11T03:58:00.000-07:00

I have had a couple of comments on a post i made about financial aid for immigrant students studying in Sweden.Let me answer the questions they sent.
When i wrote that post last year on my blog the was actually a way to get it.It was in the form of a loan but with very low interest but you know some immigrant students from Asian and African countries abused it and the institution that gave out that financial support stopped it. Only Swedish student can get it now.
As a student in Sweden if you get a job you can get a small loan from the bank in the form of a credit card.For now there is no available scholarships or aid i know.Free education here is already like a scholarship.It is up to you to work your way out to see about your living cost here.I hope this post answers the questions i received.For more on education you can go to
Education in Sweden

Stop the Critique on Sweden

2008-04-06T03:06:00.000-07:00

I am really tied of immigrants who spend their time criticising this beautiful country.We leave our countries because of various personal reasons and when they settle down they start a prejudice about Sweden.
It is clear that Sweden can never be the way you want and will never be. Even Sweden is not the way all Swedish will like to be.So the question is how do you stop criticising Sweden and Swedish people and instead see it as a land of opportunity?I have done and may be you are still doing it.It's time for you think about your judgments and instead see into how can you to connect better with them.

You know i got a good lesson from my wife when she ask me how will i feel if she starts criticising Africans in Sweden and even the continent?I got it that day.The truth is Swedish will have more to criticize about some of us that we have towards them.

Sweden has a for me the best democratic and social system in the world and they make sure that the base of a societal growth education and health is free for them.If you have lived here you will know how clean and organise this country is.
¨
Many of us immigrants did not grow up here and sometimes we do not even take the time to earn about the culture and language but you want your hopes and expectations to be fullfilled. What is Sweden expecting from you?I will end this by saying that no land and person is perfect but Sweden is a wonderful nation and if you wanna say something negative about it first look into yourself and where you came from. It`s a land of opportunity and you can become what ever you want if you set realistic goals with passion.
Here are some real helpful websites
Swedish dictionay
Living in Sweden

Prices of groceries in Sweden

2008-03-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

This is just a follow up of an article i wrote in 2007 about groceries(check out my archive).
My tip to every one who will like to move to Sweden or has just arrived in Sweden is that, stop converting prices to your local currency while in Sweden and instead seek advise by asking your neighbours the location of low- priced glocery shops. Do not expect much for there is no really big difference between them. Nothing is really cheap in Sweden and it is an expensive country to live in. Buy what you need and avoid subscribing for unnecesarry things that will not help you.You can ask people around you to tell you the cheapest shops in town for groceries and other articles you want. They are also second hand shops and you can visit blocket or your local newspaper pages to buy or look for furniture or whatever you might need for housing equipment. You just need to somebody to be shown them. There are also many shopping centers in the bigger towns and you can be lucky to make good deals that suit you. Here are estimated prices of certain basic items you will need:-(1 Euro = approx. 9 SEK )or ( I dollar =approx 6 SEK:)
Milk-(Mjölk) SEK 8/litre
Bread- (Bröd) SEK 10-20/loaf
Cornflakes box: SEK10- 30
Margarine/Butter: SEK 20 /500g tub
Cheese – (Ost) 30 to 50SEK 30-50/kg
Lamb: SEK 60-90/kg
Beef: SEK 70-140/kg
Pork: SEK 50-100/kg
Chicken:(Kyckling) SEK 30-50/kg
Chicken Legs(Kyckling klubbor)SEK 20-30/kg
Eggs: SEK 2 each
Rice: SEK 30-35/kg
Pasta: SEK 12/kg
Soda: SEK 5/33 cl
Cigarettes: SEK 35.50/packet
Beer: SEK 6-10/33 cl, 2.8 to 3% alcohol at a Grocery shopBeer: SEK 10-20/33 cl , 5.2 to 7% alcohol at Systembolaget - The Swedish alcohol retailing monopoly(Opens Mondays to Satudays) The cheapest beer is 33cl, 5.2%alcohol and cost 10kr.
Wine: SEK from 55 /75 cl bottle ( Systembolaget - the Swedish alcohol retailing monooly)
Newspaper:15 SEK
Cinema:85 SEK Theatre: SEK 50-200
City-centre bus ticket: 18 to 20 Kr
Dinner with wine or beer:200 to 300kr
Pizza: 55 to 65 kr
McBurger:20 to 58 kr
Bananas:14 to 19kr(kg)
Apples:12 to 16kr (kg)
Dinner is an average resturant with wine cost about 250 kr . Anyway there are cheaper restuarants in everytown depending on what you wanna eat. You might get good tips from a local.
I hope you do not buy cat food mistakenly like i did or get items and because you read the prices wrongly and be forced to give it back to the cashier because you cannot afford for it. Take all your time in the world if you have it to look for the best deals.Finally it is very expensive to get drunk in Sweden.

Passport prolongation for Cameroonians

2008-02-03T06:59:00.000-08:00

After living in Sweden for over three years my passport was to expire this year. I had thought of travelling to UK or to France where there is are Cameroonian embassies respectively. After inquiring for a while i finally got information that prolonging my passport in UK or France will just be as difficult and bureaucratic like trying to prolong it in Cameroon. I ask myself what are this guys at the embassy thinking? Should´t this be just a simple process? Anyway it is Cameroon and everything requires bribe or an extra unaccountable charge.

I finally got reliable information and instead prolonged my passport in Denmark . I did not even travel to Denmark. I sent all the requirements by mail and got back my passport after 5 days prolonged by four more years .

If you are a Cameroonian living in Sweden and you want to prolong your passport, contact the Cameroonian consulate in Denmark. If you want an address and telephone number you can leave a comment with your email at the end of this message and i will send you an attachment with information on everything you need to do. I hope this information help you guys.

Life and opportunities after studying in Sweden

2007-10-27T02:25:00.000-07:00

Sweden offers free education and when you come to Sweden as a student it is good to study and get your degree. It is always good to have a degree and increase your intellectual capacity. It will always help you some where someday. Having a degree from a European university opens many doors of opportunities in Europe, USA, Africa and Asia for those who search for them.

After studying in Sweden you can apply for jobs in Sweden or other European countries such as England, Germany, or may be Canada ,USA etc.. depending on what you studied and what languages you can express your self in. The more languages you know the better for your chances.

I always recommend to people that ,if you want to get a chance in Sweden then you have to learn Swedish .They are no two ways here. If you are an engineer you can get job without knowledge of the Swedish language.If you do not want to learn Swedish but you want a career job the you have to apply for jobs in other countries. They are European scholarships that foreign students can get when you are enrolled in one of their universities.

For me personally i have a masters degree in international marketing but my chances of getting a job here is very minimal because there are no real career jobs for marketers in Sweden except you have had a lot of experience some where else. They are more jobs for computer and electrical engineers.

My advice on this issue is that when you are in Sweden get your degree and look for jobs all over Europe if you want a job out of your home country. If you want a career in Sweden then you must learn the Swedish language and you know it is always free of charge of charge.
Good luck

A small detail about getting a Swedish visa

2007-09-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

I have been getting mails about visa issues on Sweden from many of my African brothers and sisters. I thought about writing something about it and giving some details people neglect when they are applying for a visa.

The point i want is that if you are applying from a country which has a poor postal system , you might loose your reply or may never see it. One thing that is true and certain is that after applying for your visa the Swedish authorities will and always send you a decision. There is no argument about that. If you do not receive a reply then you have to check out with the nearest post office or the address you were to receive your reply from, if in case you used somebody else´s address. Maybe the post address you used became inactive.

The number to call for your reply should be active and reliable and easily accessed. i think you should buy a mobile phone and keep it active and wait for your reply. You will always get that call and you will know the immigrations decision.

My advice on this issue is that you should try to get a reliable, stable and active postal address and telephone number that is functional so that you can be sure to get a reply and know their decision. You can use a company´s postal address as your recipients if you have a friend or family member working in that company. The reply address and telephone number is a small detail that is very important and should always be considered. How will it be if you can loose you life´s opportunity just because of a simple postal address or a missed call? The ball is now in your court.
Good luck!!

Discrimination in a simple soccer training game

2007-01-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

I did not really understand why nobody passed on the ball to me during my first local soccer practise game in Sweden . I am an ardent lover of soccer and everything about it and has been playing this game from the time I was a kid. I really wanted to join a team and to connect with other soccer lovers here in my home town Västerås.

I had to go through a process like an interview before i was even called for practice. I did not really understand why they had to interview me. I know if somebody says he is good, give him the chance to prove himself. I do not know how to describe how good I am to control the ball or run with the ball. Soccer is just a game and let me prove myself i told him.

Finally the big day came and the weather was damn cold. I was almost freezing when i got to the big beautiful football pitch. I was told i will get equipment from them but to my greatest dismay i got just shoes and I had to play with the clothes i had on me. I was not the only African but i was the most African in my ways.

I did not understand any word in Swedish and the trainer did not even look at me but i simply followed what the others were doing. After a couple of physical exercises it was time to play a little game . I was in one group of only Swedish guys and they never passed the ball onto me, no matter the position i was standing or even if i was free in front of the goal. They shouted at me when i had the ball and when i missed it they became really angry. I also stopped passing the ball to them and the trainer warned me. When i tackled somebody i was bullied at by that stupid trainer. I did not know what to do. Before the end of the game and after running after the ball and being shouted at, i bowed out of the game. I moved toward our trainer and tanked him for encouraging bulling and discrimination towards me. He wanted to defend himself but i just left.

With my wet, soaked and sweaty clothes i took my old bicycle and started riding about 2km back home. I fell abused, bullied, disappointed and my body was freezing because of my wet clothes on that day. I asked myself if this is really a developed society? How can somebody be discriminated in a simple training session of soccer? Is this really how Sweden is?What a beautiful game!!!

I think a developed society should also have developed morals regarding sociability and acquaintance of human behavior and not only industrial development. I also think that those who discriminate against others because of their sex, age, colour, race etc are all cowards, frustrated, low self-esteem and miss the joy of living and knowing other people.

Shopping for Groceries and basic items in Sweden

2007-01-02T02:37:00.000-08:00

The first day i went to a glocery shop in Sweden i got scared of prices and ran out of the shop,took a deep breath and went back inside. You might think i saw something scary but that was not the case. After looking at prices of various items in the shop, I immediately converted them to my local currency . I could not believe those were the prices because they were, way to expensive for me and i did not think of gloceries as being so expensive in Sweden. I ask myself if i was at the wrong place.I kept on multiplying all prices of articles by seventy(exchange rate of my Cameroonian currency to the Swedish kronor). After my mathematical calculations and brain storming in the shop i got tired and ran out.

You might guess what happened next. I told some guy we lived in the same corridor and he advised me not to convert anything to my local currency and he kindly took me to a cheaper shop in town. I did not do any more brain storming that day and bought the things i needed. I mistakenly got cat food that day, thinking i wanted to try somethng new and because it was cheap.

My tip to every one who will like to move to Sweden or has just arrived in Sweden is that, stop converting prices to your local currency while in Sweden and instead seek advise by asking your neighbours the location of low- priced glocery shops. Do not expect much for there is no really big difference between them. Nothing is really cheap in Sweden and it is an expensive country to live in. Buy what you need and avoid subscribing for unnecesarry things that will not help you.

You can ask people around you to tell you the cheapest shops in town for groceries and other articles you want. They are also second hand shops and you can visit blocket or your local newspaper pages to buy or look for furniture or whatever you might need for housing equipment. You just need to somebody to be shown them. There are also many shopping centers in the bigger towns and you can be lucky to make good deals that suit you. Here are estimated prices of certain basic items you will need:-
(1 Euro = approx. 9 SEK )or ( I dollar =approx 6 SEK:)

Milk-(Mjölk) SEK 8/litre
Bread- (Bröd) SEK 10-20/loaf
Cornflakes box: SEK10- 30
Margarine/Butter: SEK 20 /500g tub
Cheese – (Ost) 30 to 50SEK 30-50/kg
Lamb: SEK 60-90/kg
Beef: SEK 70-140/kg
Pork: SEK 50-100/kg
Chicken:(Kyckling) SEK 30-50/kg
Chicken Legs(Kyckling klubbor)SEK 20-30/kg
Eggs: SEK 2 each
Rice: SEK 30-35/kg
Pasta: SEK 12/kg
Soda: SEK 5/33 cl
Cigarettes: SEK 35.50/packet
Beer: SEK 6-10/33 cl, 2.8 to 3% alcohol at a Grocery shop
Beer: SEK 10-20/33 cl , 5.2 to 7% alcohol at Systembolaget - the Swedish alcohol retailing monopoly(Opens Mondays to Satudays) The cheapest beer is 33cl, 5.2%alcohol and cost 9kr.
Wine: SEK from 55 /75 cl bottle ( Systembolaget - the Swedish alcohol retailing monooly)
Newspaper: SEK 12Cinema: SEK 85Theatre: SEK 50-200
City-centre bus ticket: 16 to 20 Kr
Dinner with wine or beer:200 to 300kr
Pizza: 55 to 65 kr
McBurger:20 to 58 kr
Bananas:14 to 19kr(kg)
Apples:12 to 16kr (kg)
Dinner is an average resturant with wine cost about 250 kr

I hope you do not buy cat food mistakenly like i did or get items and because you read the prices wrongly and be forced to give it back to the cashier because you cannot afford for it. Take all your time in the world if you have it to look for the best deals.Finally it is very expensive to get drunk in Sweden.

When you have lived in Sweden for a long time

2007-01-01T07:32:00.000-08:00

After living in Sweden for about a year, i noticed that i had changed in certain ways of looking at various aspects of life, doing things and reacting to people. It is quite interesting when one thinks about it. I collected a couple of this Swedish behavioral patterns of thinking , doing things and also got some of them from friends.

Here are some of the behavioral patterns that will be linked to you after living in Sweden for a certain period of time. It is part of the culture here. It is subjective and there are common things one sees everyday. Here are some of them :-

You get extremely annoyed when the bus is two minutes late.
You become a punctuality freak and dump your friends for being late more than once.
When offered a bottle of beer the first thing you look at is the alcoholic percentage .
You use the alcohol percentage-per-kroner standard for measuring the quality of beer and wine.
You get extremely annoyed when somebody is five to ten minutes minutes late.
The first thing you do upon entering a bank/post office/chemist etc. is to look for the queue number machine.
You think it is normal EVERYTHING is regulated and you obey the rules voluntarily.
When a stranger on the street smiles at you, you assume that he is either drunk, insane or is he's an American .
When someone asks you for "sex" you assume they mean half-a-dozen.
You no longer fold your paper money. You always put your money in your wallet
Silence is fun.
You think that riding a bicycle in the snow is a perfectly sensible thing to do
You become extremely skilled at assembling prepackaged furniture kits
You always thinking about of changing ques in a grocery store.
Your idea of unforgivable behaviour now includes walking across the street when the light is red and there is no WALK symbol, even though there are no cars in sight.
It no longer seems excessive to spend 1,000kr or 100 euro on alcohol in a single night
You regard it as sensible to eat ice cream when it is –15C.
Paying $6 for a cup of coffee seems reasonable.
You start to differentiate between types of snow.
You accept you must walk 2 kilometres to collect your book/tape from the Post Office, because they don't deliver small packages (or large ones)
You own a pocket calendar.
You start avoiding your neighbour.
It's normal to have an entire pizza just for yourself.

I hope you are enjoying Sweden and i hope you have a good time when you are in Sweden. You will joins us in looking at the percentage content of alcohol of a beer can or bottle when you are offered one.

Sweden is not a dream land

2006-12-29T04:26:00.000-08:00

Sweden is not a country you should have a big expectation about making money and having a good job.
When i came to Sweden i thought as usual like others from Africa that it was going to be a wonderful land with so much to explore and acquire.I came here to further my education with help from my country and i knew that i will have a constant flow of income from home. I also knew i will get a job the next day i get up from bed in Sweden if i just looked around.

However things did not turn out the way i thought. In Sweden it was difficult to get a job the next day as i had earlier thought. I got lucky one day to get a job as an advertisement newspaper distributor on weekends known in Swedish as Direktreklam in Swedish. This is a job for kids in Sweden to have pocket money.

I worked my ass in the cold winters on week ends and pushed my trolley for very long distances in the cold winters. I almost thought of going back to Cameroon someday when i had distributed the papers in the wrong district. I had to start all over.

I thought of the sun down there at home , hot spicy food and my family said to myself i have to get my degree and see what life hold for me. I am in Sweden pushing a trolley in winter for more that six hours in a day to be paid 120kr about 12 euro. You cannot imagine that is in Europe but it is even worse in other countries in Europe.

However there are many positive sides of Sweden as well, you need to stay positive about life and know what you want to be in future but do not expect to much when you are in Sweden.

How to obtain a Swedish Driving Licence.

2006-12-27T04:14:00.000-08:00

To make things easy for you, here are the answers of some of your major questions on driving in Sweden.

Do I need an International Licence?
No. Anyone driving a motor vehicle in Sweden must hold a valid national (e.g. Cameroonian) driving licence. In other words, an international driving permit is not enough on its own. You can drive 12 months here on your Cameroonian licence.

Can I swap my Cameroonianor any other country's driving licence for a Swedish one?
No. Only those who hold a valid licence from an EEA country (=Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Germany, France, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Austria etc) can directly swap their licence.

What if I just drive more than a year on the Cameroonian licence?
I will advice you not try it. It will cost you if you are caught and you may end up paying a huge fine or going to jail. And the phrase “I didn’t know that is was like that here” “i have been here for just a few months” won’t work with the police! Note that it will also annul the car insurance if you are driving and if you have an accident. It’s not worth a try!!

How do I get a Swedish licence?
Well, it’s fairly straightforward, if somewhat expensive. There are three tests that you must pass to obtain a Swedish driving license:

(1) the slippery road test (halkbana),

(2) the written theory test, and

(3) the driving test.

These tests must be taken in the order that they appear and, contrary to what you may have heard, it is possible to pass each test the first time around--even if you don’t speak Swedish!

Details of the forms needed are available here. Visit Vägverkets webpage in English. Forms for application

Körkörtstillstånd (driving permit)
The first step before getting your license is to apply for permission to practice driving. Call Vägverket and ask them to send you an application that will allow you to practice driving with your spouse, partner, or friend. Once you have written permission to practice, you must buy a green “övningskörning” (practice driving) sticker from a petrol station and place it on the back of your car whenever you are driving. In the back of the pamphlet you receive from Vägverket is a card that must be signed by your instructor and stamped by the slippery road test facility. Road test

Do I need a driving school?
You don’t have to attend a driving school, but doing so is highly recommended since getting a Swedish driving license is a very complicated procedure. You are not required to take any courses at a driving school as long as you have someone who can be your "private instructor" (handledare) who has had a Swedish license for more than 5 years, but it is recommended. Why? Well, many driving schools offer theory courses (mostly in Swedish) and textbooks, pre-tests, and driving lessons (in English). Call around to compare costs and to see what they have to offer in English. For a list of all driving schools approved by the National Association of Swedish Driving Schools, see the website at Sveriges Trafikskolors Riksförbund. The school will also prepare you for the slippery road, theory, and driving tests. Here is some information about each test:

Halkbana: (slippery road testing)
This course takes about 4 hours for driving school students and 4½ hours for private students. The training consists of both theory and practical exercises in driving in slippery or hazardous road conditions. You'll receive a booklet in the mail after you've received an appointment, detailing the different exercises. Your task will be to show the driving inspector that you know how to handle your car on an icy road. You will be asked, for example, to step on your brakes going 80-100 kilometres per hour and then regain control of your car. Active participation, following the given instructions, completing the exercises at the required speeds and not abusing the vehicles is basically all that's required to pass the training. Your successfully-completed training will remain valid for two years. You will not receive any certificate or other paperwork; rather, they inform Vägverket that you have completed the training and it is noted in their computers. If you don't understand Swedish well, you'll need to arrange to bring your own interpreter with you.

Theory test
The theory test is computerised and consists of 70 questions. Of these, 65 are 'counted' and you must get 52 right. You don’t need to be computer literate to take this test, and you can request it in English. The test focuses on the practical points of driving. In preparing for the theory test, you must purchase a textbook and take about 14 pre-tests. Textbooks in English are available. Most schools are currently translating the new pre-tests into English. After you have passed all the pre-tests, the school will then schedule a time for you to take the theory test at Vägverket. You can obtain "Passing Your Driving Test" from Sveriges Trafikskolors Riksförbund or from your driving school. You can also study online and even take practice tests (which are very similar to the real thing!) at Korkort.com.

Driving test
The driving test takes around 45 minutes. Even if you have many years of driving experience, it is still a good idea to drive with an instructor from a driving school before taking the final driving test. Why? Because Vägverket’s inspectors have high standards, and they will expect you to follow certain rules. The driving instructors know exactly what the inspectors will be looking for during the test and can thus prepare you in advance. The instructors will also teach you how to perform three additional mini-tests relating to your car: an engine check, an inside car check, and a light check (you will be asked to perform one of these three tests before your final driving test begins). After you have driven once or maybe several times with an instructor and have demonstrated that you are ready to take the final driving test, the school will then schedule a test time at Vägverket. Ask your instructor to go with you during the final test to translate if necessary.

What does it cost?
What can I say, it’s EXPENSIVE! There are fees along every step of this process. There are separate costs for your driving permit, the eye examination required for the driving permit, your theory study materials, the theory test, the driving test, the manufacturing of your driver's license, the slippery road training, hire of car for the halkbana test, driving lessons, use of a double-control car for the driving test and the photos for your license. Expect to pay at least 5000 Sek and more (and even more depending on if and how many driving lessons you take) for the whole process.

Where can I find schools etc?
The telephone books list plenty of driving schools under the heading "Trafikskolor". Slippery Road Test locations: Look for "Halkbanor" or "trafikövningsplatser" in the yellow pagesGula sidornaor eniro.se for a slippery road test range nearest you. For a complete list of all of Vägverkets testing locations, see Vägverkets homepage.

Bilprovning
Cars are annually tested for roadworthy at Bilprovning. These tests are compulsory. You can book a time on the internet, but allow plenty of time ahead to make an appointment for the test, which takes around 20 minutes or so to complete. It covers the exhaust system, the braking system, the front and rear suspension, tyres and steering system, and wheel housings to check, headlights, indicators, front and rear lights, wipers, horn and rear view mirrors. The inspection fee for a car is currently 300 SEK. If the car is failed, the re-inspection fee is 200 SEK.

How to care for your car in winter
Be certain to wash your car regularly, including an underneath wash in winter, to minimise rust development. The rust increases in proportion to the amount of salt sprayed on snow/ice covered roads.

When you have washed your car in winter, beware of locking it when the temperature goes down, i.e. do NOT lock it the same night as washed if it is outside. The locks will be sure to freeze!

Carry and use lock oil in winter. If the locks have frozen due to weather changes (wet and warm and suddenly icy cold the same day) you can unfreeze them by using a cigarette lighter to warm the key and/or a plastic bag of hot water on the door lock.

Cars are commonly 'plugged in', during winter to keep the motor warm to start in the morning!

It’s common to change the car tyres over to studded winter ones on Alla helgons(public holiday) weekend and back to summer tyres over Easter weekend. They have to be changed by December 1st and May 1st.

Speed Limits are posted everywhere. They are medium size red circles with a yellow background and black numbers. 50 kph (30 mph) in built-up areas, 70 kph (44 mph) or 90 kph (56 mph) outside built-up areas, and 110 kph (68 mph) on highways (though this is reduced to 90 kph near major towns). Cars towing a trailer are limited to 80 kph (50 mph).
If you speed in Sweden, you risk a heavy fine and maybe even losing your driving license. To see a current scale of fines, check out Trafikjuristen. For serious speed offences, as well as having your licence withdrawn, you will face the prospect of a jail term and/or be subject to a fine that equals 40-60 “dagsböter”. Dagsböter is dependent on your income, with one dagsbot equalling anything from 30 to 100 SEK.
Moose, deer etc Sweden is 54% forest, so there are a lot of "Animal" warning signs posted. These signs must be taken seriously. You should be extra careful when driving around sunset and dawn. Samples of some common road signs can be seen here.

You can see these at the AWC website Important road signs. These road signs are scanned in from the pamphlet "Swedish road signs, signals, road marking and signals by policemen" published by Vägverket. You can also obtain the pamphlet from them or from your nearest driving school or you can view the pdf file at their website.

Vägverket has a great animation page in English that clearly demonstrates rules for things like cyclists, pedestrian traffic, roundabouts, stopping and parking and vehicle lighting. Check it out here.

Sweden's drinking and driving laws are quite strict and the police are able to stop you at any time and give a driver a breathalyser test. Driving with a blood alcohol limit over 0.02% can mean a gaol sentence. So the limit is effectively zero. The bottom line is Do Not Drink and Drive.

Whenever you are sitting in a car, you must use a seat belt. Children under the age of seven must sit in a child safety seat. All other children must use a seatbelt. It is forbidden to use a back facing child safety seat in the front seat of a car that has a passenger side airbag.

It is the law in Sweden that you have to be seen when you are driving. All vehicles must drive with at least dimmed headlights, always day and night.

GOOD LUCK!!

Dating a Swedish Girl

2006-12-19T22:17:00.000-08:00

I know many guys who are always complaining that having a date or even contact with a Swedish girl is difficult. As a matter of fact I think it is wrong. Swedish girls are just like any other girls or women in the world who want to meet interesting and charming men. It is the feeling and respect for the girl that really counts and not how much money you got nor how expensive clothes you wear.

A few things though are necessary to consider. As a matter of fact the tips I give below are based on my expereinces here, interviews and vibes from friends. I am going to be straight to the point. If you really want to meet someone here then you have to consider these things.

In short:
Never patronise the girl or put her down. If you do, you are probably sure not see her around again. Why would she put up with that?
Sweden is probably the most clean country in the world, also the people. Basic hygiene is a must .

Be real. Be proud of where you come from and who you are. If that is not good enough for a girl - is she really good enough for you?
There is equality between men and women in Sweden: When you want to meet a girl then always keep that in mind. Men are not superior in Sweden as they might mistakenly be in the social structures of other parts of the world. I personally think women are the most amazing and beautiful creatures in the universe.

Basic hygiene: Hey guys, this is common sense and my mum always told me to smell good when you wanna meet a girl. Smell good, wear clean clothes and good shoes. You should have some fresh clothes and some deodorant. To avoid an embarrasment (and to secure a second date) buy one today and they cost nothing.

Tell no lies: I have had friends who think pretending they are from USA, UK, Jamiaca, France etc will attract a girl to them. Sometimes guys ridicule themselves because they say they are from USA and they cannot even speak basic English or speak with a real accent. It does not work. If you are from China, Cameroon, Nigeria, Indonesia, India just say it and stop constructing stories that will not help you. It does not really matter to a lot of girls here -all they care about is you and what you really stand for. And that you are not a liar. "Good liars should have good memories". Watch out guys and girls.

Be yourself also means relax and do not try to play a comedy of being somone else. Ask your self for how long you can play your comedy. There comes a day that you have to account for all that. Just relax and be yourself. Anybody who loves you should love who you for who you are. One thing you can keep in mind though is that in Sweden people do not really talk loudly to each other in conversations and they usually talk one at the time. Listen as much or more than you talk!

As you respect your own country and culture you should also show respect for hers. If she is Swedish - do not critisize Sweden a lot as a lot of foreigners here do. Maybe you think people are more sociable in your country and so forth, but keep the negative thoughts of Sweden to yourself for a while. What would you think if she would start talking badly about Africa or wherever you come from?

Be a man and be confident. It is normal to have sweaty palms, though. During my first date with my wife I was lucky it was in winter so my hands where cold and the sweat was inside but brothers, was I nervous and took some deep breaths to relax. Remember - women are also nervous when they meet someone for the first time.
Where does one meet a girl in Sweden? Well, where do you meet a girl in your country?
The most usual places here are through friends, at your workplace, in the club or through the internet.
I hope my dating guide helps you to double your dating in Sweden.

Good luck and happy dating!

Must know if you want to study Sweden

2006-12-15T21:30:00.000-08:00

Before i came to Sweden , I knew little about the educational system and standards. The only thing i knew about education in Sweden was that it was free for all immigrant students. That really boasted my willingness to further my studies in Sweden .I started asking myself who pays for our education? The answer was simple and it is the tax payers money. Sweden has one of the highest income tax in the world and that is why you as a foreign student can study in Sweden and only buy your books and pay you student association fee.

It is very interesting to see that in many universities in Sweden the programs are professionally oriented and on graduation you know where and what kind of job to look for.
I am saying this because i do not see why one should study a subject like history, geography, literature etc. in a university. Back in my country the single subject programs a very many in the universities and students graduate and cannot answer a simple question of what is your profession?

I am very impressed with the Swedish program anyway that is why they are amongst the top in the world when it comes to literacy and quality of life. I think students from developing countries who do not have the means to study in USA or England should apply to Sweden universities. If you have read this article and you are interested to study in Sweden ,you should consider the following things:-

The truth is, it is free but it is not really cheap to live in Sweden.
You have to really prepare yourself financially and do not think you can get a job to support your studies. That is far-fetch in Sweden as a foreign student. You can be lucky to get some shit job that the swedes do not want to do.
You have the right to work in Sweden when you are a student. If your stay is more than one year you will can get a social security number at the tax office (Skatteverket). Otherwise you will get a temporal number you can use to apply for jobs.
Scholarships are far fetched for immigrant students and if you are studying for a doctorate program you can get financial aid for your research if you apply
Student loans and allowance are only for Swedish students and immigrants that have a permanent resident permit in Sweden you fall in this category then, you can have the right to about 7000 to 8000 Swedish kronor a month.
You will always get a place to stay if you got money . Try to contact somebody from your home country or friend who lives in that town you are to go to.
The University authorities will always help you and you have to ask the right questions to get the right help.
Take advantage of open days in the university or company presentation days and make some good contacts and learn more.
Take the beginners Swedish language course. It is going to be helpful for you.

Here is a follow up of this post on the .Oppptunities after studying in Sweden

Låt oss vara! Jag älskar vinter och mörkret

2006-12-03T22:05:00.000-08:00

Jag kan inte bra svenska men jag är bestämt att lära mig för det är ett bra språk.Jag har träffat många svenskar och dem frågar mig alltid ,
När ska du gå tillbaka till dit land?
Varför kom du till Sverige från Afrika?
Jag ska börja att svara dem som vill alltid fråga oss från andra länder när ska vi gå tillbaka till våra hemland. Jag vet inte om dem vill ge mig en ny planering för mitt liv eller resa . Man behöver inte fråga oss när ska ni gå tillbacka.

De som kommer från andra EU länder fick inte den här frågan.För de som vill veta varfor så lång till Sverige , dem kan fråga andra svenska varfor dem vill resa till Thailand som är också lång borta.

Jag kom till Sverige för jag älskade mörkret och lång vinter, Vi har inte vinter i mitt land men jag vill vara med i kallt och snö. Det är inte konstig. Det är någon som älskar mörk och lång vinter och det är någon som älskar solen. Det spelar ingen roll för det är samma värld.

Vi vill alla ha samma sak

2006-12-03T22:03:00.000-08:00

Jag kan inte förstå varfor några personer är rasist eller nazist . Jag ha tur att någon ha aldrig varit rasist mot mig men jag vet att det kommer. Några folk tror att de är högre än andra folket från andra länder. De vill bara lägga ner andra folk för att känna sig bra och trygga.De som är rasist är rädd, omogen och vet inte vad liv betyder. Om du är frustrerad med någon ,varfor bara kolla på deras färg? Livet är vacker för att det finns färg i hela världen. Du kan inte springa från en del av livet. Om du är så rädd , kolla på dig själv och tänker vad du behöver i livet för att göra dig glad.
Jag tror att det kosta ingeting att vara snälla mot alla men det kosta mycket för att vara elak mot andra.Det finns ingen högre människor på jorden. Vi vill alla ha samma sak. vi ha karlek, kompisar, förståelse, äter mat, skratta, älskar vår fru och barn och går till jobbet på morgonen.
Alla de här är vad alla folket vill ha eller göra i hela världen. Livet är underbart att leva.
Om du ta din tid att vara rasist mot andra eller misshandla din fru och barnen sluta idag ! och försök ha färg i ditt liv som kan göra dig glad och snäll .Om du inte kan göra dig det är bättre du gå till ett sjukhus idag.

Sugar and Coffee in Sweden(Fika)

2006-11-04T09:04:00.000-08:00

Sugar is sweet and coffee is dark because it has been roasted. What is this thing of "Fika" in Sweden where one has to eat a sugary substances with coffee. Is it really necessary to eat all that sugar with coffee? Every time I fika, I feel really bad afterwards because of to much sugar and coffee in my body. Maybe you share my opinion and may be not. I think the Swedish people should start looking to replace their famous fika with something that is healthy and good. Eating sugar and dark coffee. What is the pleasure? I propose a good sandwich and a drink or juice. What everybody does is not always right. Who even started this trend?

Sweet in winter and bitter in summer

2006-11-03T07:41:00.000-08:00

I was missing the long dark nights and cold winter. Now is has come again. What a great feeling of the long nights and cold weather outside. Anyway that will not stop me from from eating meatballs with cooked potatoes. I just have to sit indoors and watch the snow fall and say to myself "wow those meatballs are really good." That is why i say Sweden is sweet in winter and bitter in summer. To know the bitter aspect of summer you just have to use your tongue.

Sweden is sweet

2006-10-09T04:20:00.000-07:00

Who say sweden is not sweet? I am a invandrare ( immigrant in swedish).Do not sit there and be complaining. Get up and enjoy the best of it.