How do foreigners rent in Sweden?
October 5, 2017 9:33 AM Subscribe
My girlfriend and I are looking to rent a place in Sweden for 3 months, MAYBE a year (depending on circumstances). Does anyone here have experience with that?
Basically, I ended up meeting my Swedish cousins recently, and had a blast. I first met them in San Francisco, and then over this past summer went out to Stockholm and stayed for 2 weeks. They really want me to come out there and I'm beginning to save up money in order to do so. My only problem is I don't know how to rent out there. What is the process like? How come some of the prices seem so low (I'm seeing places that are apparently 4400 KR/mo, which seems outrageously cheap)? My cousin's husband said he'd love to get me a job with his company, so in that situation what happens?
I feel like I am running into a wall with finding peoples' experiences with this stuff. I have info about getting a visa and the process to citizenship, but no details about things like this. Unfortunately, I'm not a student, and my girlfriend won't be either by the time we'd be ready to go, and that seems like the main way that people move out there. On that note, this isn't something I'm trying to do tomorrow, this is a year-and-a-half goal or so. I am also not explicitly trying to live in Stockholm, but would like somewhere such as Sollentuna (where my cousins live), or Kista.
Also, I'd ask them, but they told me they haven't rented in such a long time that they don't know what it's like anymore. They kept talking to me about buying apartments, and I definitely cannot afford to buy an apartment.
Basically, I ended up meeting my Swedish cousins recently, and had a blast. I first met them in San Francisco, and then over this past summer went out to Stockholm and stayed for 2 weeks. They really want me to come out there and I'm beginning to save up money in order to do so. My only problem is I don't know how to rent out there. What is the process like? How come some of the prices seem so low (I'm seeing places that are apparently 4400 KR/mo, which seems outrageously cheap)? My cousin's husband said he'd love to get me a job with his company, so in that situation what happens?
I feel like I am running into a wall with finding peoples' experiences with this stuff. I have info about getting a visa and the process to citizenship, but no details about things like this. Unfortunately, I'm not a student, and my girlfriend won't be either by the time we'd be ready to go, and that seems like the main way that people move out there. On that note, this isn't something I'm trying to do tomorrow, this is a year-and-a-half goal or so. I am also not explicitly trying to live in Stockholm, but would like somewhere such as Sollentuna (where my cousins live), or Kista.
Also, I'd ask them, but they told me they haven't rented in such a long time that they don't know what it's like anymore. They kept talking to me about buying apartments, and I definitely cannot afford to buy an apartment.
Best answer: I don't have experience myself, but as I understand it most of the apartments in the cities (or at least Stockholm) are subleased. The official waiting list to get a lease can take years so a psuedo-black market developed of subleasing. So I would look there rather than going through a big rental company.
posted by downtohisturtles at 9:40 AM on October 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by downtohisturtles at 9:40 AM on October 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: It definitely is cheap, at least in my experience, which was about eight years ago. I used a website that is similar to Craigslist to find a place (a sublet) while I was still in the U.S. But I would highly recommend looking into housesitting/petsitting. I see long listings quite often on Trusted Housesitters.
posted by pinochiette at 10:04 AM on October 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by pinochiette at 10:04 AM on October 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Renting is very difficult due to rent control and thus little incentive to build rental housing, and there are long queues. Subletting is your best bet. Beware of scam offers on blocket, but it's still a good site to find sublets. There are time limits on sublets, though, if you stay longer, you'll have to keep moving or buy. Housing costs are high, I don't know where you would have seen low rent prices. You might have seen an "avgift", which is monthly maintenance cost to be paid to the house association when you own an apartment.
posted by meijusa at 10:33 AM on October 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by meijusa at 10:33 AM on October 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I had such a difficult time finding housing (and money wasn't an object at the time) that it was one of the main reasons I left Stockholm to move back to the U.S. four years ago. Subletting from friends of friends is your best bet. Illegal third-hand and even forth-hand sublets are not uncommon, just be aware that at that point you have basically no rights as a tenant.
posted by halogen at 11:20 AM on October 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by halogen at 11:20 AM on October 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: You really need to sort out whether or not it will be possible for you to get a residence visa (or citizenship) before worrying about where to live.
posted by ryanbryan at 2:20 PM on October 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by ryanbryan at 2:20 PM on October 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for the answers everyone!
@pinochiette, that's the same site I was shown as well. I found it remarkably simple to maneuver, even if I am mostly looking for fun right now.
@ryanbryan, I was under the impression that there's a "visitor's residence permit", or am I misunderstanding the concept of that? Or is that only for if you are staying with the relatives? The website, Migrationsverket (this link, specifically) says:
An application for a visitor's residence permit must be submitted personally at any of our Permit Units. You must book an appointment in advance. If you are invited to Sweden to visit relatives or friends, the person who invited you must accompany you and be able to identify himself or herself. You also need to bring your original passport.
There are some criteria to be met that I see, such as having sufficient funds and such. Is there more info you can give me about this?
posted by gucci mane at 1:05 PM on October 6, 2017
@pinochiette, that's the same site I was shown as well. I found it remarkably simple to maneuver, even if I am mostly looking for fun right now.
@ryanbryan, I was under the impression that there's a "visitor's residence permit", or am I misunderstanding the concept of that? Or is that only for if you are staying with the relatives? The website, Migrationsverket (this link, specifically) says:
An application for a visitor's residence permit must be submitted personally at any of our Permit Units. You must book an appointment in advance. If you are invited to Sweden to visit relatives or friends, the person who invited you must accompany you and be able to identify himself or herself. You also need to bring your original passport.
There are some criteria to be met that I see, such as having sufficient funds and such. Is there more info you can give me about this?
posted by gucci mane at 1:05 PM on October 6, 2017
Best answer: Yes, you're misunderstanding the concept of that. That is for citizens of countries who normally require a visa to visit Sweden to do so longer term, or get a longer entry visa allowing them to visit multiple times. Not only is the US not one of those countries, but this visa doesn't allow you to work anyway.
Your ability to get a residence permit (Uppehållstillstånd) in Sweden is a lot less likely and complicated than you probably think - you cannot just go there to live in the hope of somehow being able to eventually secure a job. The two most likely scenarios are to either go there to study, or to secure a job offer from a Swedish company prior to leaving the US . The latter is complicated for you and the potential employer (unless you have very specialised skills), as it requires a lot of effort by the employer (such as local labour market testing) which they may be unwilling to do. Your cousin's husbands offer will be useful (and might be your best chance if you don't wish to go and study), but it will require significant effort on the part of his employer to actually make it happen, as they have to essentially apply for your work permit for you, and you potentially have to leave Sweden if you were to cease being employed by them. If you don't speak Swedish, your ability to get a job is also compromised (in an already tight labour market), given most Swedes speak exceptionally good English, so your English ability won't be of much advantage.
Another option is if you have the ability to acquire citizenship of Sweden or another EU country. This would allow you to work in Sweden (generally) unrestricted.
posted by ryanbryan at 2:16 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Your ability to get a residence permit (Uppehållstillstånd) in Sweden is a lot less likely and complicated than you probably think - you cannot just go there to live in the hope of somehow being able to eventually secure a job. The two most likely scenarios are to either go there to study, or to secure a job offer from a Swedish company prior to leaving the US . The latter is complicated for you and the potential employer (unless you have very specialised skills), as it requires a lot of effort by the employer (such as local labour market testing) which they may be unwilling to do. Your cousin's husbands offer will be useful (and might be your best chance if you don't wish to go and study), but it will require significant effort on the part of his employer to actually make it happen, as they have to essentially apply for your work permit for you, and you potentially have to leave Sweden if you were to cease being employed by them. If you don't speak Swedish, your ability to get a job is also compromised (in an already tight labour market), given most Swedes speak exceptionally good English, so your English ability won't be of much advantage.
Another option is if you have the ability to acquire citizenship of Sweden or another EU country. This would allow you to work in Sweden (generally) unrestricted.
posted by ryanbryan at 2:16 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by beccaj at 9:39 AM on October 5, 2017 [1 favorite]