SFI in English

Have you or anybody you know recently moved to Sweden? As an adult immigrant, you may be eligible to receive a free education in Swedish for Immigrants, a Swedish language program that is also known as SFI.

Have you or anybody you know recently moved to Sweden? As an adult immigrant, you may be eligible to receive a free education in Swedish for Immigrants, a Swedish language program that is also known as SFI. If you have the proper qualifications, your education will be paid for by either your municipality or the Swedish government. You should be able to start your SFI program within three months after being registered in your municipality. You can find more information about SFI at studier.se.

SFI is a program for adults

You must meet the following criteria in order to receive a free SFI education:

• You must have residency in Sweden. You must be registered in Sweden to be a Swedish resident.
• You must be at least sixteen years old.
• You must have a determined need for SFI.

SFI is a part of municipal adult education (Komvux). In certain cases you can also take SFI at a Folk High School. More information about Folk High Schools can be found on our website.

SFI consists of three different levels (1, 2, and 3) and four courses (A, B, C, and D). Your level will be determined by your prior knowledge. Therefore, course B and C can either be the first course you take or can build on previous courses, all depending on your level. The courses are based on different situations from every-day life, including both social life and work life. In order for you to learn as much as possible, the courses are oriented towards your interests, experiences, knowledge and long-term goals. After you have completed the entire program, you will receive a grade and a certificate as proof of your having completed SFI.

Your prior knowledge can be assessed through an evaluation

An evaluation will assess and document your prior knowledge and experiences. An evaluation is useful if you want to:

• Start studying and ensure that you don’t end up repeating anything you’ve already learned.
• Shorten the length of a program you’re currently enrolled in.
• Document your knowledge.

If you want an evaluation, you should contact your municipality.

Newly arrived children are able to attend compulsory and upper secondary school

All children in Sweden must attend school for at least nine years. Most children start in compulsory school when they are seven years old. Some newly arrived children are immediately able to join a class with Swedish-speaking children while others are placed in a class with other newly arrived children so they can focus entirely on learning the new language.

After having completed the ninth year of compulsory school, many students begin upper secondary school. Most are around sixteen years old at that point. The essential qualifications need to be met in order to be accepted into the upper secondary school’s national program. This means that you must have at least passing grades in Swedish/Swedish as a second language, English and mathematics. If you don’t meet the necessary qualifications for the ordinary upper secondary school, you can be offered a place in the introduction program (IM). The hope is that after the introduction program you’ll be able to move on to a vocational education program. Some of the vocational upper secondary programs include Children and Free Time, Vehicles and Transport, Handcraft, Electricity and Energy (EE) and Plumbing and Real Estate.

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