Fees and cumbersome bureaucracy hinder foreign students

Sweden is losing students

The University Chancellor's Office has, on behalf of the government, mapped the system of tuition fees.

- Our survey shows that the recruitment process has several thresholds where we lose students. The fees are probably the biggest reason for the loss, as a large part of the fee must be paid to be able to apply for a residence permit. Even if there are scholarships, they are not enough for everyone, so large amounts have to be paid. Then it is important that the residence permit is granted in time so that the stay in Sweden can be prepared, says Annika Pontén, acting head of authority for UKÄ.

Higher education institutions: Residence permits the big challenge

The higher education institutions themselves state that the process of obtaining residence permits is the biggest challenge right now. The waiting times are often long and sometimes the paying students do not receive a residence permit on time. This is a recurring reason why higher education institutions pay back tuition fees, says Annika Pontén.

When tuition fees for students outside the EEA and Switzerland were introduced in 2011, the number of students affected decreased by 80 percent. Although the number has increased since then, it is still significantly less than before. The student population has also become less heterogeneous, ie the spread from which countries the students come from has become smaller.

The survey was conducted in close collaboration with the University and College Council.

Map from the survey:

• The survey shows that fee-financed education is more expensive than state-funded, partly due to the administrative tasks that were added with the introduction of tuition fees.
• UKÄ believes that the rules on reimbursement of tuition fees need to be clarified.
• The fees have probably had a negative effect on recruitment to postgraduate education.
• Scholarships are important for the recruitment of paying students