Bring your family
If you are contemplating bringing your family to Gothenburg there are a lot of thing to consider. Here you can read about schools, childcare, spouse support and more.
Residence permit
Regardless of if your family travels with you or joins you later, you should apply for your residence permit as a family to ensure that the processing time is as short as possible.
Preschools and schools
The Move to Gothenburg web portal has collected a lot of helpful information about the Swedish school system parents need to know. There is also a list of international and bilingual preschools, international schools, schools offering the international baccalaureate programme, bilingual schools, and schools with a language profile in the Gothenburg region.
Parental benefits
Parents who have a Swedish personal identity number and are registered with the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) are generally entitled to parental benefits.
- The parental leave (föräldraledighet), is comprised of a total of 480 days of payment per child
- You can receive parental benefit to take a leave of absence from your job to look after your child
- The University pays parental benefit supplement in conjunction with parental leave, see the Staff portal/Working at GU
- You may be entitled to temporary parental benefit if you stay home to look after a sick child
- Children who live in Sweden start receiving a child allowance the month after their birth. The allowance is paid until the child turns 16
- You may also apply for housing allowance, which is a support for families with children who need help to pay rent
Housing
If you are planning to bring your family to Sweden, there are some things that are important to know. It is quite hard to find housing in Gothenburg, but it is especially hard to find for a whole family.
To avoid the stress of coming here without having a place to stay, there are two things we recommend:
- Start looking for housing as soon as you have been admitted.
- Consider to travel alone to Gothenburg at first. It is easier to find single room housing and once you are here you can look for accommodation that suits families.
Housing
If you are planning to bring your family to Sweden, there are some things that are important to know. It is quite hard to find housing in Gothenburg, but it is especially hard to find for a whole family.
To avoid the stress of coming here without having a place to stay, there are two things we recommend:
- Start looking for housing as soon as you have been admitted.
- Consider to travel alone to Gothenburg at first. It is easier to find single room housing and once you are here you can look for accommodation that suits families.
Spouse support
Moving to a new country as an accompanying spouse can be challenging. If you are looking to find work or simply to find ways to fill your spare time, you will find some helpful information here. If you have further questions, feel free to contact Welcome Services.
Socializing and networking
Move to Gothenburg has compiled a lot of information about socializing and networking in Gothenburg. Their website has links to different social clubs and associations, sports clubs, religious groups, and much more.
Finding work
If you want to find work in Sweden, there is a lot of helpful information to be found on the Swedish Public Employment Agency's (Arbetsförmedlingen) website. You can read about work permits, employment contracts, unemployment insurance, learning Swedish, and much more.
The Move to Gothenburg web portal has also compiled a lot of information regarding how to search for jobs in Gothenburg before you arrive. You can learn about the local labour market, various employment sites, staffing companies, and more.