Teachers and Educationists

Last updated: 21/2-2024

The teaching profession is regulated, and you have to apply for certification as a teacher from the National Agency for Education. Read more here about what is required in order for you to work as a teacher.

Evaluation of foreign degrees

In order to apply for certification as a teacher or a preschool teacher you need a degree and a degree certificate, and you need to know Swedish. You can also apply for qualifications extending beyond your degree. It is important to have your certificates in order before you begin the application process: they have to be in the original language, with a translation into Swedish or English. To apply for certification with a foreign degree, you fill out an application form and attach certificates attesting your teaching degree and any of the other qualifications your are applying for.

The National Agency for Education issues teacher or preschool teacher certificates and assesses foreign teaching degrees. To obtain a certificate you must have a degree from an education programme that qualifies you for the job. Having worked as a teacher at a foreign school or in Sweden can in some cases compensate for differences between a foreign and a Swedish degree.

Supplementary education and training

If you have a foreign teaching degree you can also attend a bridging programme that makes you qualified to teach in Sweden.

The supplementary education varies in length depending on your previous education and professional experience. The education takes place at six centres: University of Gothenburg, Linköpings University, Malmö University, Stockholm University, Umeå University and Örebro University where Stockholm University has the co-ordination responsibility.

If you have registered with Arbetsförmedlingen there is a Fast Track for teachers and preschool teachers. This is available at the same educational institutions as above. Read more about Snabbspåret (the Fast Track) on Arbetsförmedlingen's website.

Several universities offer supplementary education for those with foreign degrees in education.