For people already established in the labour market
Student finance for transition and retraining is a new scheme for adults in the labour market who need to broaden their skills to improve their employability. You can now apply for student finance for transition and retraining for studies in Sweden beginning between 1 January and 30 June 2023.
Table of contents
What is student finance for transition and retraining?
Student finance for transition and retraining is a new kind of student finance aimed at adults who have already entered the labour market. Student finance for transition and retraining allows you to study and broaden your skills to improve your employability, either by further developing your expertise within your chosen field, or by starting down a new path.
Student finance for transition and retraining consists of a grant of up 80 per cent of your salary, up to a maximum amount, and a loan that you can use to top up your income, if you are looking to do to. Student finance is available for 44 weeks or longer, should you choose to study part-time.
Student finance for transition and retraining is available for studies in Sweden that starts on 1 January 2023 or later. However, under certain circumstances, you may receive student finance for courses and programmes that have already begun.
CSN is responsible for the new student finance for transition and retraining.
Support from a transition organisation
Student finance for transition and retraining is part of a larger package intended for those who are about to take the next step in their professional lives. The package includes transition and retraining and skills support from a transition organization.
The support offered by the transition organization can vary depending on the nature of their agreement. As an example, it may include survey interviews, educational and career guidance, or help to validate your knowledge. When you apply for student finance, the transition organization can inform CSN if the studies will strengthen your position in the labor market. Under some circumstances, students may get an additional collectively agreed study grant.
What is a transition organization?
List of transition organizations
Who is eligible for student finance for transition and retraining?
In order to be eligible for student finance for transition and retraining, you must meet a number of requirements. Click the headings below for more information about each requirement.
The courses or programs you intend to attend must make you eligible for student finance for transition and retraining
Amounts for grants and loans
Student finance for transition and retraining consists of a grant and a loan. You can choose to only take the grant and forgo the loan.
How much you receive through the grant and loan depends on your income. The money is paid monthly in arrears.
Grant – money you will receive
The grant corresponds to 80 percent of your previous income, up to a maximum amount. For 2023, the maximum grant amount is SEK 5,143 per week before tax. If you earn SEK 27,863 or more per month before tax, you will reach the maximum amount.
The grant is taxable and CSN will deduct preliminary tax before the money is sent. The grant is also pensionable.
Some transition organizations can offer an additional study grant depending on the contents of their collective agreement.
Examples of grant amounts for full-time studies, 2023
Loan – money that you need to pay back
In addition to the grant, you can also take out a student loan for transition and retraining, should you wish to do so. The loan amount is based on your income and is also subject to a maximum amount. For 2023, the maximum loan amount is SEK 12,556 per month.
The idea behind the loan is that you should be able to have approximately the same income after taxes during your studies as you do when you work. The income you get through student finance for transition and retraining can never exceed your salary amount.
We cannot say how much you will be able to borrow until we know the amount you are entitled to through grants. When calculating the amount you are entitled to, we include grants from both CSN and your transition organization, provided that you are receiving grants from them.
Examples of maximum loan amounts for full-time studies, 2023
If you are working part-time in addition to studying
You can work part-time while studying with student finance for transition and retraining. There is no limit to how much you can earn while you are receiving student finance for transition and retraining (known as an income limit). However, you may only receive student finance for transition and retraining for the time during which you do not work. This means that if you work at a rate of 50 percent, you may only receive student finance for transition and retraining at a rate of 50 percent, even if you are a full-time student (100 percent).
If you receive other types of grants during your studies
You may not receive other types of social grants while receiving student finance for transition and retraining.
This means that you are not eligible for student finance for transition and retraining while receiving, for example, a full allowance from Försäkringskassan. However, if you are receiving a 50 percent allowance from Försäkringskassan, you are eligible for student finance for transition and retraining at a rate of 50 percent.
Below are some examples of grants you may not receive while also receiving student finance for transition and retraining:
activity support
sickness, activity, and rehabilitation benefit
parental allowance
development benefit
establishment benefit
short-term benefit.
However, if you are receiving income support (social benefits), housing allowance, and child allowance, you may continue to receive these benefits whilst receiving student finance for transition and retraining.
Two application periods per year
There are two application periods per year. When you can apply is determined by when your studies are set to start. You can apply for student finance for transition and retraining for up to one year in a single application. Applications are submitted through “Mina sidor” on csn.se.
Two application periods per year
Every year, CSN receives an amount of money intended for student finance for transition and retraining from the Riksdag. It is divided into two pots – one for civil servants and one for private employees. We grant applications in the order in which we receive them, and as long as there is money available. If you are studying with student finance for transition and retraining, you have priority if you apply again for the same courses or program.
Checklist for applying
There are a few steps you need to take in order to make the application process as frictionless as possible. Click the different steps to learn more.
1. Plan your studies and contact your transition organization
Formal opinion regarding how your studies will strengthen your position in the labor market
In order to receive student finance for transition and retraining, you verify that your planned studies will strengthen your position in the labor market. The most efficient way to accomplish this is through a formal opinion from a transition organization.
If your transition organization can provide a formal opinion, CSN will request it from them directly when we process your application. This means that you do not need to submit it yourself.
Waiting time from application to decision
Since the application opened on 1 October, significantly more people have applied than was expected. Therefore, the waiting time is currently longer than the 10-12 weeks that we had originally anticipated.
We process the applications in the order in which they are received by CSN. Right now we cannot say how long the waiting time will be.
In order for CSN to determine whether you will receive student finance for transition and retraining, we need to collect data from other organizations and government agencies.
Payment
Student finance for transition and retraining is paid on the 25th of each month of your study period. You will receive the money in arrears.
In order for you to receive the first payment, the following requirements need to be met:
You must have started your studies.
You must have submitted a study assurance to CSN certifying that you are studying pursuant to the information listed in the decision.
The school has informed CSN that you are studying pursuant to the information listed in the decision.
If you receive a decision from CSN after your studies have begun and after the 25th of that same month, we will send the money immediately. We will not wait until the next month.
Required study results
When you study with student finance from CSN, you need to achieve certain study results, i.e. pass a certain number of credits, in order to be entitled to continue receiving student finance. We will check your study results when you apply. The number of credits or courses you need to pass varies depending on what you study. If your study results do not reach the required levels, you may need to retake and achieve a passing grade for the credits or courses that you have failed before you can receive student finance for transition and retraining.
If anything changes, you become ill or need to care for a sick child
Do your studies include fewer credits than you had initially planned? Have you interrupted your studies? These are examples of events that could have an impact on your grants and loans. It is therefore important that you report any such changes to us as soon as possible.
Changing circumstances that can have an effect on your student finance for transition and retraining:
Your rate of study changes, or your studies cover fewer credits.
You interrupt your studies.
You fall ill or need to care for a sick child.
Your number of working hours increases.
If you are a foreign citizen, your right to Swedish student finance will also be affected should your number of working hours decrease or if the number of hours that your relative works decrease.
Repaying the loan
Student finance for transition and retraining is the same type of loan as a regular student loan (since 1 July 2001).
When it is time to start making repayments, you will receive a payment plan from CSN. In 2023, the interest rate on the loan is 0,59 percent.
You start repaying the loan no earlier than six months after receiving your last student finance for transition and retraining payment. Repayment always starts after the end of a year.
https://www.csn.se/languages/english/student-finance-for-transition-and-retraining.html
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