Study Support

You can apply for Unionen Study Support if you:

• have been a Working* Member of Unionen for at least 6 months
• are a New Working* Member of Unionen but have been a member of another trade union for at least 6 months. You must include your Membership Certificate from the other trade union with your application.
• are a New Working* Member of Unionen but have been a member of Unionen Student for at least 6 months.

The following additional rules apply to New Working Members of Unionen who have applied for study support for the autumn term 2015 or earlier. You must:

• have been a member of another trade union for at least 6 months in the past 3 years.  You must include your Membership Certificate from the other trade union with your application.
• have been a member of Unionen Student for at least 6 months.

Are you a member of Unionen Manager? The same rules apply to members of Unionen Manager as to Working Members of Unionen. See above.

Are you a member of Unionen Self-employed? The same rules apply to members of Unionen Self-employed as to Working Members of Unionen with the exception that study support is given on an individual basis. For more information see our website.

Are you a member of Unionen Student? Read about study support for students. (information only in Swedish)

* Working members include those of our members who have been a working member for the past six months but who may temporarily be on parental leave, unemployed, studying or on sickness leave.

Courses that we reimburse

You can apply for study support regardless of whether you study full-time or alongside your everyday work. Unionen Study Support is available for both longer study programmes and shorter evening or one-day courses. Perhaps you are studying to learn a new language, marketing, law or a new software or perhaps you are studying something completely different that will enable you to develop work related skills and strengthen your position in the labour market. Reimbursement is also available for the cost of driving lessons as long as these are given by an approved driving instructor.

Courses must be teacher-led. We also reimburse distance learning and online study programmes as long as you, throughout the course, are in personal contact with and supervised by a teacher.

Reimbursement is available for courses attended at colleges, universities, adult education centres or vocational universities. The cost of courses attended at folk high schools, adult educational associations and private education companies can be reimbursed too, depending on the course subject and contents. Unionen Study Support is also available for studies abroad.

Study Support is not available for

• Leisure and hobby based courses
• Boat Driving Licence, Coastal Skipper exam, Hunting Licence, Motorcycle Licence or Green Card Certification in Golf.
• Self-studies without teacher supervision.
• Distance learning and online study programmes without teacher supervision.
• Courses where the aim is for the new skills learnt to be practised in the workplace, in addition to ordinary work duties, such as courses in massage, diet and nutrition, etc.
• Courses in preventive healthcare and personal development including mindfulness, counselling or inspirational/motivational seminars, yoga or stress management. You can, however, apply for the reimbursement of a course that leads to an instructor qualification in any of the areas mentioned.

Costs that are reimbursed

We will reimburse you for costs such as your student union membership fee, course literature and materials (for example, software, calculator or anything else that you may need for the course as specified by the school.

We will also reimburse you for the cost of any certification that you may need in your professional life that is completed before 31 December 2015. As of 1 January 2016, costs in connection with professional certifications will no longer be reimbursed.   

Costs that are not reimbursed

• Membership fees of various organisations
• Broadband Internet services
• Travels, accommodation and food
• Business invoices

Receipts and invoices

Receipts and invoices must be dated while your membership is still valid and you fulfil the criteria of having been a Working Member of Unionen for no less than 6 months. Receipts and invoices relating to course literature/materials should be dated in close connection to the course period. Read more about it under ‘How to apply’ and ‘How to apply for the current term or retrospectively’. Applications received from our Working Members are always registered upon receipt.

Because we reimburse you as an individual member and not as an employer or company, all invoices issued to you must be in your name and paid by you personally. Read more about it here.

Acceptable purchase/receipt dates for course literature/materials

Receipts and invoices relating to course literature/materials should be dated in close connection to the course period. We accept receipts for the purchase of course literature as follows:

• Spring term (weeks 1 - 24): Purchases made as of 1 December
• Summer term (weeks 25 - 32): Purchases made as of 1 May
• Autumn term (weeks 33 - 52): Purchases made as of 1 July

Term dates

The term dates applied by Unionen follow the Swedish academic terms dates (spring and autumn) with the addition of an extra summer term - as and when confirmed by the school or academic institution in question. As regards courses/study programmes offered by other academic institutions such as colleges, universities, folk high schools and adult education centres, the following term dates apply: Spring term: Weeks 1 - 24. Summer term: Weeks 25 - 32. Autumn term: Weeks 33 - 52.

This is how you apply for the current term or up to one year in retrospect

For example, when applying 1 year in retrospect, you may submit your application for the spring term of 2015 no later than on 30 June 2016. However, before applying, you must meet the membership criteria for the period that you are applying for.

Working Member of Unionen for at least 6 months

You can either apply for Study Support for the current term or up to 1 year in retrospect. Receipts and invoices must be dated while your membership is still valid and you fulfil the criteria of having been a Working Member of Unionen for no less than 6 months.

For example: If, during the Spring term of 2015, you attend a course that has been approved by Unionen and the course receipt dates from 1 January 2015, you must have been a Working Member of Unionen since 1 July 2014 in order to receive Study Support.

New Working Member of Unionen who have been a member of another trade union

Membership of another trade union for no less than 6 months Please include your Membership Certificate from the other trade union with your application. Receipts and invoices must be dated while your membership is still valid and you fulfil the criteria of having been a Working Member of Unionen for no less than 6 months.

For example: If, during the Spring term of 2016, you attend a course that has been approved by Unionen and the course receipt dates from 1 january 2016, you must have been a Working Member of Unionen since 1 July 2015 in order to receive Study Support. 

If you are applying for the autumn term of 2015 or earlier and you, in the past 3 years since joining Unionen, have been a member of another trade union for no less than 6 months, such membership will be taken into account when we consider your application.

For example: If you became a member of Unionen on 1 January 2015 and attended a course that had been approved by Unionen during the spring term of 2015, the receipt for which is dated 1 January 2015, you must have been a Working Member of another trade union for no less than 6 months during the period of 1 January 2012 - December 2014 in order to receive Study Support.

New Working Member of Unionen who has been a member of Unionen Student for no less than 6 months 

If, at the time of updating your membership to Working or Self-employed Member, you have been a member of Unionen Student for no less than 6 months, such membership will be taken into account when we consider your application. Receipts and invoices must be dated while your membership is still valid and you fulfil the criteria of having been a Working Member of Unionen for no less than 6 months.

For example: If, during the Spring term of 2015, you attend a course that has been approved by Unionen and the course receipt is dated 1 January 2015, you must have been a Working Member of Unionen since 1 january 2015 and before that, a member of Unionen Student for at least 6 months in order to receive Study Support. 

This is how you apply

In order to keep the processing time to a minimum, we ask you to apply for each term separately. If you are applying for the reimbursement of more than one course run by different schools/course providers, please complete one application for each of the school/course providers. Make sure to include all the documents and certificates required with your application. Receipts/invoices must be dated while your membership as a Working Member of Unionen is still valid and you fulfil the criteria of a 6-month membership. You must be registered as a member of Unionen when we receive and start processing your application.

Please note that Unionen Study Foundation reserves the right to ask for the repayment of any incorrect payouts.

Please send your application form and accompanying documents to:
Unionens Studiestöd
105 32 Stockholm

1. Download the application form here
   Please include the following with your application form:

2. 2.1 Certificate from the school/course provider - specifying your name, social security number, what course you have enrolled on and for how long.
   2.2 Certificate/diploma if you are applying for the reimbursement of costs in connection with a professional certification. Because we reimburse you as an individual member and not as an employer/company, the invoice must be issued to you in person. As of 1 January 2016, only costs in connection with professional certifications completed before 31 December 2015 will be reimbursed.

3. As regards of driving lessons, we will need an accounts ledger from the Driving School/driving instructor with dates and costs of all theory and driving lessons taken including Risk Training 1 and 2 (skid pan), together with your new driving licence.

4. Material list - if you are studying a practical subject. The material list must be issued by the course provider. The course provider must verify any additions or amendments that you make to the material list.

5. Literature list - if you are studying a theoretical subject. The literature list must be issued by the course provider. The course provider must verify any additions or amendments that you make to the literature list. If you are writing a thesis and have chosen the literature yourself, the literature list must be verified by your academic supervisor.

6. Original receipts for the purchase of literature/materials. NB! Receipts and invoices relating to course literature/materials should be dated in close connection to the course period. We accept receipts for the purchase of course literature as follows:
   - Spring term (weeks 1 - 24): Purchases made as of 1 December
   - Summer term (weeks 25 - 32): Purchases made as of 1 May
   - Autumn term (weeks 33 - 52): Purchases made as of 1 July
   When paying online using a debit or credit card - include the delivery note showing the price paid and a proof of payment from your bank with your application.
   When paying against an invoice - include a copy of the original or e-mailed invoice with your application together with a proof of payment, such as an online bank statement showing the recipient’s and account holder’s names, together with a receipt or copy of the payment order.  
   Tip! When purchasing books online, the delivery note or invoice is usually attached to the package itself.  
   Because we reimburse you as an individual member and not as an employer or company, the invoice must be issued to you and paid by you in person.

7. Second-hand books  Option 1. When buying second-hand books, please include a handwritten receipt in original with the following information:
   - Purchase date and the buyer’s name
   - Seller’s signature, clarification of signature and telephone number
   - Book title, price and method of payment
   Option 2. When buying second-hand books from the online shop ‘Blocket’, please include the following: A handwritten receipt in original (as above) or e-mail correspondence with details of the seller, book title and price together with an online bank statement.

8. Membership Certificate from another trade union that you would like or should be taken into account together with your application.

We recommend that you make copies of all relevant documentation before submitting your application to us.

Have you received my application?

Log in and click on ‘My details’ (Mina uppgifter) and ‘My Study Support’ (Mitt studiestöd). Here, you can see if your application is registered as received, your current application status, how much study support you have received so far and how much more you can still apply for. When logging in, use the e-mail address that you have previously submitted to Unionen.

When can I expect to hear back from you?

In order to speed up the application process, it is important that you carefully read and follow the instructions above under ‘This is how you apply’. Make sure that you submit all the documents required together with your completed application form so that you do not have to submit any additional information as this would only prolong the process.

Processing an application usually takes around 5 weeks (from receipt of application until payment of Study Support). Please note, however, that during the period of December - February, the processing of applications may take anything between 5 to 8 weeks. The processing time is dependent on the number of applications received and how many of those applications that need to be supplemented.

Log in and click on ‘My details’ followed by ‘My Study Support’ to see your current status application. When logging in, use the e-mail address that you have previously submitted to Unionen.

If you are unemployed and would like to start studying

If you would like to study part-time and still receive unemployment benefit, you must apply to Unionen’s Unemployment Benefit Fund. So as not to risk losing your unemployment benefit, we advise you not to start studying until you have a decision from our Unemployment Benefit Fund. For more information, visit Unionen's Unemployment  Benefit Fund

If you are self-employed and would like to apply for Unionen study support

Unionen's study support is designed for you as a person. You are subject to the same rules as other working Unionen members. It is important that the invoice or part of the invoice that you are applying for is addressed to you personally.

Unionen Study Support is granted on an individual basis. The same rules apply to you as to other Working Members of Unionen. It is important that the invoice or part of the invoice that you would like to be reimbursed by Unionen’s Study Foundation is issued to you in person.

Remember

• The invoice must be issued to you in person - and not a company.
• The invoice must be paid by you in person - and not a company.
• Include the original invoice and proof of payment when you submit your application to us.
• If the course costs more than the maximum study support available (SEK 3,200 including VAT) and the cost is tax deductible for the company, ask the course provider to issue two invoices: One invoice to you as an individual (SEK 3,200 including VAT), based on which you can apply for Study Support, and one invoice to the company for the remaining amount.

Do you have questions?

Send us an e-mail to studiestod@​unionen.se or call us at 0771-27 28 10 during our normal telephone hours: 9 a.m. - 12 noon and 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.