Cost of Studying in Sweden for Indian Students (2027 Intake)

  • Last Updated on: October 17, 2026 by
  • Ananya Nallagalla
Cost of Studying in Sweden for Indian Students
Cost of Studying in Sweden for Indian Students

The cost of studying in Sweden for Indian students is about SEK 236,400 to SEK 364,720 for the first year of a master’s. That covers tuition, 12 months of living costs and the two fixed fees. Tuition moves the total most: for 2026-27 it runs about SEK 80,000 to SEK 320,000 a year, depending on your subject. Swedish universities charge no tuition to EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, so with an Indian passport you pay the full fee. For Autumn 2027 entry, applications open on 16 October 2026 and close on 15 January 2027. Price your shortlist now, and if your parents are funding the year, plan to move the money into your own bank account.

Written by
Ananya Nallagalla
Senior Counsellor
Ananya Nallagalla, Senior Counsellor for Nordic Countries at AOEC India (Hyderabad), has 7 years of experience in Nordic admissions and has counselled 113 students at AOEC India, specialising in Sweden and Finland.
95% visa success rate
Reviewed by
Sridhar Kongara
Managing Director
Mr. Kongara Sridhar, Director of AOEC India, has over 12 years of experience in overseas education consulting, admissions, and student visa guidance.
Over 12 years Experience

Key Takeaways

  • Tuition runs about SEK 80,000 to SEK 320,000 a year (₹7.63-30.53 lakh), with an average near SEK 160,000 (₹15.26 lakh).
  • Year one of a master’s costs about SEK 236,400 to SEK 364,720 (₹22.55-34.79 lakh), with 12 months of living costs included.
  • Living costs run about SEK 8,900 to SEK 18,360 a month (₹84,906-1,75,154), depending on the city.
  • The permit’s SEK 10,656 a month (₹1,01,658) is your living money shown in advance, not an extra cost.
  • The fixed fees are SEK 900 to apply (₹8,586) and SEK 1,500 for the permit (₹14,310).
  • Indian citizens can’t apply for the SI Scholarship for Global Professionals; university tuition waivers are open.
  • On permits granted from 11 June 2026, you can work at most 15 hours a week during term.
Table of Contents
Tuition Fees in Sweden for Indian Students, 2027-28 Scroll here ↓ Application, Permit and Arrival Costs Scroll here ↓ Monthly Living Costs in Swedish Cities Scroll here ↓ Scholarships and Part-Time Work for Indian Students in Sweden Scroll here ↓ Total Cost of Studying in Sweden for One Year Scroll here ↓ How to Keep Your Sweden Budget Down Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓

Tuition Fees in Sweden for Indian Students, 2027-28

Swedish tuition for students from outside the EU runs from about SEK 80,000 to SEK 320,000 per academic year (₹7.63-30.53 lakh), on the Swedish Institute’s national figures for 2026-27. Humanities and social sciences cost about SEK 80,000 to SEK 135,000 (₹7.63-12.88 lakh), and technical and natural sciences SEK 140,000 to SEK 185,000 (₹13.36-17.65 lakh).

Universities quote a year, a semester or the whole degree, so the table turns each fee into a cost per year.

Master’s programmePublished feePer year (SEK)Per year (INR)
Stockholm University, humanities, social sciences and lawSEK 90,000 a year90,000₹8.59 lakh
Stockholm University, sciencesSEK 140,000 a year140,000₹13.36 lakh
Uppsala UniversitySEK 49,500-90,000 a semester99,000-180,000₹9.44-17.17 lakh
KTH Royal Institute of TechnologySEK 385,000 for most two-year programmesabout 192,500₹18.36 lakh
Chalmers University of Technology, most programmes, 2027-28SEK 95,000 a semester190,000₹18.13 lakh
Karolinska InstitutetSEK 330,000-400,000 for two years165,000-200,000₹15.74-19.08 lakh
Malmo University, one-year master’sSEK 110,000-195,000 for the year110,000-195,000₹10.49-18.60 lakh
Malmo University, two-year master’sSEK 220,000-430,000 for two years110,000-215,000₹10.49-20.51 lakh
Jonkoping University business school, 2027-28SEK 144,000 a year144,000₹13.74 lakh

Malmo’s fees are for Autumn 2026 starts. Chalmers rises from SEK 80,000 a semester in 2026-27 to SEK 95,000 in 2027-28, so check which year your offer is priced in. Lund and Gothenburg set a separate fee for each programme, so look up the exact programme before you budget. Our list of affordable universities in Sweden lists lower-fee options.

Choose your subject before your university. At Stockholm University a humanities master’s costs SEK 50,000 a year less than a science one. So pick the field first, then compare universities within it.

If you’re applying after Class 12, a bachelor’s runs three years and the fees work the same way:

Bachelor’s programmePublished feePer year (SEK)Per year (INR)
Karolinska Institutet, BiomedicineSEK 540,000 for three years180,000₹17.17 lakh
Malmo University, most programmesSEK 325,000 for three yearsabout 108,300₹10.33 lakh
Jonkoping University business school, 2027-28SEK 120,000 a year120,000₹11.45 lakh

Our guide to studying in Sweden after 12th covers which board results Swedish universities accept.

Application, Permit and Arrival Costs

Every Indian applicant pays two fixed fees, whatever the university.

University Admissions in Sweden charges an application fee of SEK 900, paid once per semester however many programmes you apply to, so fill every choice on your list. The residence permit fee is SEK 1,500 for an adult and SEK 750 for a child under 18.

Smaller costs follow before or soon after you land:

  • Student union: membership costs SEK 50 to SEK 350, if you choose to join.
  • Your first month: bring enough for a rent deposit, the first month’s rent and food, plus winter clothing if you’re coming from a warm climate.
  • Health cover: a course shorter than a year needs comprehensive health insurance of your own. If you study a year or more, you register in Sweden’s population register (the national list of residents), which opens up public health and dental care.
  • Doctor visits: once registered, a visit to a healthcare centre costs about SEK 250 to SEK 400.

The permit also asks you to prove you can live in Sweden: at least SEK 10,656 a month for applications made in 2026, for the whole permit period. That isn’t an extra cost. It’s your living budget, shown in a bank account before you travel, and it’s already inside the living costs below. Parents, three rules decide whether the money counts. It must sit in the student’s own account, a fixed deposit locked for the permit period doesn’t count, and an education loan from India can count. Our Sweden proof of funds guide covers the bank statement.

From our counselling desk: in the Sweden funds files we prepared for the autumn 2026 intake, the most common reason for rework was a fixed deposit locked past the permit start date. Second was money still sitting in a parent's account on the statement date. Neither family was short of money; the money sat in the wrong account on the wrong date.

Pay the first tuition instalment, then apply for the residence permit: tuition must be paid before you apply, and your offer stays preliminary until it is. Plan for the wait too: 75% of recent permit cases were decided within 3 months.

Monthly Living Costs in Swedish Cities

A student month in Sweden costs about SEK 8,900 to SEK 18,360 (₹84,906-1,75,154), and rent decides most of the gap. The Swedish Migration Agency’s minimum of SEK 10,656 a month (₹1,01,658) is the least you should plan on. It is not a comfortable budget in Stockholm or Gothenburg.

City, per the local universityPer month (SEK)Per month (INR)
Lund, Lund University (rent, food, books and other costs added up)8,900-13,500₹84,906-1,28,790
Uppsala, Uppsala University9,500-11,600₹90,630-1,10,664
Linkoping, Linkoping Universityabout 10,000₹95,400
Permit minimum, anywhere in Sweden10,656₹1,01,658
Stockholm, Stockholm University12,000 or more₹1,14,480 or more
Gothenburg, University of Gothenburg10,525-17,525₹1,00,409-1,67,189
Gothenburg, Chalmers14,360-18,360₹1,36,994-1,75,154

Even where students spend less, you still show SEK 10,656 a month for the permit. The national figure splits into SEK 4,900 for housing, SEK 2,716 for food, SEK 650 for local travel, SEK 400 for phone and internet and SEK 1,990 for everything else. Course books come on top at about SEK 750 a month, and engineering students pay more: Chalmers budgets SEK 3,000 a month for course literature.

Rent is the line you can control. In Gothenburg a student room costs SEK 4,000 to SEK 7,500 a month and a small flat SEK 6,000 to SEK 10,000, while Stockholm University’s sample budget puts rent at SEK 6,500. Gothenburg can cost more than Stockholm, so don’t rule out Stockholm on price alone. Apply for student housing the day you accept your offer, not after your permit arrives.

Scholarships and Part-Time Work for Indian Students in Sweden

The best-known Swedish scholarship isn’t open to Indian citizens, so university tuition waivers are your route.

The SI Scholarship for Global Professionals lists 34 eligible countries for its 2026-27 round, and India isn’t one of them. These university awards are open to you:

KTH and Lund only consider the programme you rank first on your application, so your ranking order is also a money decision. Budget on the full fee and treat any waiver as a bonus.

A job helps with groceries, not fees. Since 11 June 2026, you can work at most 15 hours a week during semesters, with no limit in June, July and August. Permits received before that date aren’t covered by the cap. Plan as if you earn nothing; our guide to part-time jobs in Sweden covers pay and the jobs students find. After you graduate, you can apply for a permit to look for work for up to one year.

Total Cost of Studying in Sweden for One Year

Year one of a master’s in Sweden costs about SEK 236,400 to SEK 364,720 (₹22.55-34.79 lakh) for an Indian student. Each case below adds published tuition, 12 months of living costs and SEK 2,400 (₹22,896) in application and permit fees, because the permit needs living money for its whole period.

CaseTuition (SEK)Living (SEK)Total (SEK)Total (INR)
Humanities master’s, Stockholm University, year one90,00012,000 x 12 = 144,000236,400₹22.55 lakh
Business master’s, Jonkoping 2027-28, living at the permit minimum, year one144,00010,656 x 12 = 127,872274,272₹26.17 lakh
Science master’s, Stockholm University, year one140,00012,000 x 12 = 144,000286,400₹27.32 lakh
Engineering master’s, Chalmers 2027-28, year one190,00014,360 x 12 = 172,320364,720₹34.79 lakh
KTH master’s at its usual fee, in Stockholm, both years385,00012,000 x 24 = 288,000675,400₹64.43 lakh

The SEK 2,400 covers the two fixed fees, paid once. The living column already holds the bank balance the permit asks for, so don’t add proof of funds as another line. The Stockholm and permit-minimum cases leave out course books, so add about SEK 9,000 a year at SEK 750 a month. A three-year bachelor’s at Jonkoping’s business school, at SEK 120,000 a year with SEK 10,656 a month to live on, comes to about SEK 746,016 in total.

Count months before you compare totals. A 10-month budget looks cheaper, but the permit asks for the whole permit period, and at Chalmers that means 13 months of living money. If you’re also weighing Finland, its English-taught degrees typically charge EUR 9,000 to EUR 20,000 a year on Study in Finland’s figures, and our Finland vs Sweden comparison sets the two side by side.

How to Keep Your Sweden Budget Down

Your subject, your city and your housing cut a Swedish budget more than any part-time job. After those, the savings are smaller but steady:

  • Cook at home: in Gothenburg, food runs SEK 3,000 to SEK 4,000 a month, and the lower figure assumes you cook most meals yourself.
  • Buy second-hand: a second-hand bicycle saves on bus fares, and you can borrow textbooks or share them with classmates.
  • Use your student status: students get lower prices on gym memberships, insurance and some cultural events.

Build the budget on the full fee, your real city and 12 months, then treat any waiver or job as money back. If you’re still choosing a country, start with our guide to studying in Sweden.

Get in Touch

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Tuition is free only for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, so as an Indian student you pay the full tuition fee plus the SEK 900 (₹8,586) application fee. A non-EU citizen who already holds a permanent Swedish residence permit doesn’t pay.

For applications made in 2026, you need at least SEK 10,656 (₹1,01,658) for every month of the permit, in an account in your own name. A 12-month permit means about SEK 127,872 (₹12.20 lakh). That money is your living budget, so you spend it after you arrive.

Add SEK 4,440 (₹42,358) a month for a spouse or partner and SEK 2,664 (₹25,415) a month for each child, on top of your own SEK 10,656 (₹1,01,658). The extra money has to cover every month of the permit, not just the teaching terms.

Not at KTH or Jonkoping. KTH charges tuition in advance for each semester, and Jonkoping splits each year’s fee into two instalments. Pay the first instalment before you apply for the residence permit, because the Migration Agency wants tuition paid first.

Among the universities in our table, Stockholm University’s humanities, social science and law master’s carry the lowest yearly fee, at SEK 90,000 (₹8.59 lakh). Uppsala’s cheapest programmes cost SEK 49,500 (₹4.72 lakh) a semester, about SEK 99,000 (₹9.44 lakh) a year.

Ardent Overseas counsels students in person from Hyderabad and Tirupati and prepares Swedish admission and permit files in-house, which is where the fixed-deposit and parent-account patterns above come from.

Sources

Official Swedish government and university sources, national agencies first.

Show 26 more sources

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