Student monthly budget

Students who require a resident permit need to demonstrate that they have secured access to financial support of SEK 8568 a month to study in Sweden. The full loans and grants that Swedish students receive from the Swedish government is about SEK 9000–10 000/month. Most international students are living on a budget somewhere between these sums.

This is what a monthly student budget in Malmö may look like:

Food: SEK 2500
Accommodation: SEK 2500–6500
Local travel: SEK 550
Course literature: SEK 400–1000
Miscellaneous (clothing, leisure, phone): SEK 1500

You can read more about your living expenses as a student on Study in Sweden's website.

Student discounts

You will be able to save some money by using student discounts while you are in Sweden. When becoming a member of the Student Union, you will get access to the Student card STUK (Studentkortet) and the Mecenat card (mecenatkortet), both of which give you access to different student discounts in stores, cafes, gyms, restaurants, etc.. You can find more information and instructions for obtaining the cards on the Student Union's website.

If you are not a member of the Student Union, you can still get the Mecenat card. You can find instructions for applying for a Mecenat card here.

It is important to note that only the Studentkort and Mecenatkort are considered valid proof of your student status when making use of student discounts. Your Malmö University student ID card is not valid student identification outside of the university. If you are using the student discount to travel with Skånetrafiken, it's also important to double check that your Studentkort or Mecenatkort has the student travel symbol.

Banking

If you are staying less than 6 months in Sweden, it is a good idea to sort out your banking before you come to Sweden. The process of opening a bank account in Sweden for international students can be difficult and time-consuming and not all banks may allow you to open an account with them, especially if you do not have a personnummer. You can find information about becoming a bank customer on the Swedish bank associations website. Bear in mind the regulations regarding money laundering and the strict restrictions that the banks have regarding accepting big amount of cash in transactions—it might be a good idea to not bring large amounts of cash.

Cash-free

Sweden is moving more and more towards being cash-free. There are many restaurants, cafes and stores that do not accept cash, although major supermarkets always do. Instead, you can pay with a debit or credit card, or often mobile pay on your phone. On the other hand, there are some food vendors (usually falafel restaurants) and open-air markets in the city squares, including the large fruit and vegetable market at Möllevångstorget, where you cannot pay by card, only with cash or the Swedish cash app Swish.

Swish is quickly becoming an option for paying for many things, not just for paying your friends back for a night out, but you'll need a personnummer to obtain a Swedish BankID as well as a Swedish mobile phone number in order to use Swish. For that reason, it can be a good idea to bring some cash in case of difficulties with your card or if you plan on shopping at outdoor markets. The local city buses accept cards with the contactless payment method, or you can purchase a ticket on the app using a card or Swish, but they do not accept cash!