What is SFI?
SFI (Svenska för Invandrare), also popularly known as Swedish for Immigrants, is a national free Swedish language course offered to immigrants of most categories. A simple way to understand this is that if you have a valid national registration number from Skatteverket and hold a valid Swedish residence permit (any residence permit – work or study or dependent) you can join SFI. This is a course that is funded by the state and their primary aim is to help immigrants learn the language without having to spend a fortune on it.
There are many SFI schools across each city in Sweden but since I know more about Stockholm, I will stick to that region in this article.
There is actually a lot of information available about SFI at this website, but in this blog post, I want to share my experience with you and share some practical advice to get you going.
Who can join?
Any immigrant who:
Is 16-yrs. or above
Has a valid national registration number
Has a valid residence permit
How to join?
When my wife and I decided to register for SFI, we read the instructions on SFI website and went to SFI Centrum (Hornsgatan 124 on Södermalm) – which is the main office responsible for all information and admissions to SFI in Stokcholm city. It turned out to be a mistake for us because what we did not realize at that time was that we were residing in Solna kommun, whereas SFI centrum was where you went to register if you were residing in Stockholm kommun. I know this kommun thing can be a bit tricky for new-comers so more on this later.
There, we were told that since we belonged to Solna kommun, we must go to Solna kommun office in order to register for SFI. Another reason why we made this mistake was that the SFI page on stockholm.se says: “If you are registered in Stockholm City, you can apply by paying a personal visit to the SFI Centre at Hornsgatan 124. Here you can test your knowledge and choose where to study.”
So, at least for us, it did not imply that they meant Stockholm kommun specifically, which was different from Solna kommun. But then, we were in Sweden less than a month.
Now, we were given the address to Solna kommun office and we went there to register for SFI. When you go there, they basically ask you to fill a simple form online (the computers are available in their office) and then they sit with you, counsel you on the best timing and location for your SFI course. You will have the option for choosing the timings and school location. Just carry an ID with you which shows your personal number.
Practical Advice
SFI Free Courses vs. Paid Courses outside SFI
This is a question that probably haunts you when you decide to learn Swedish. should you go for the SFI courses which are free?
Or, should you join one of the many paid courses that are offered by universities such as Folkuniversitetet. It is of course, a bit difficult to answer this question definitively because when you search online and read about people’s views, they will have both good and bad things to say about SFI. Some people might say that teachers may not be very serious, or that students just come and go as they please, etc. I have heard some people say that the paid courses are not that great because, first of all, they are expensive. I think there are five levels (?) and each level costs 2700 SEK, so that seems a very huge price. On the other hand, the number of classes per level are just about 10 with a lot of homework so it might seem too fast for some.
But enough of technicalities. My own experience? SFI has been great. I started going to SFI classes at Folkuniveritetet (yes, SFI has classes in various locations including Folkuniversitetet and, mind you, this is different from Folkuniv.’s own paid classes) and had a really great time. The teachers that taught us were all very dedicated and even the batch of students in my class were all quite serious. At SFI, you get to meet so many people form so many different backgrounds and nationalities that you can, for a while, forget that you are in Sweden. For me, it has been great because I have got to meet some very nice people and made some very good friends.
So, what is the open class culture that people talk about when they say that students just come and go? What this means is that nobody is forcing you to be there for the entire length of a class or for the entire duration of a course. It is not that only after attending a certain number of classes or topics do you become eligible for the next level. Anybody, whoever can put in more effort in their own time and learn faster than others can progress to the next level whenever they decide to. So, if I give more time at home and learn faster than others, I can go and tell my teacher that I would like to move forward to the next level. The teacher then decides if you can move forward (for lower levels) or can allow you to sit for the next national test for clearing levels C and D.
If you really ask me, I would definitely recommend joining SFI. They teach well but it is also a good thing to get to know a large number of people who are coming to SFI by choice and not just because their employer is paying money to send them to a paid course.
Conclusion:
To join SFI, go to your kommun’s office and register, but make sure you have a residence permit and an ID with your personnummer. If you belong to Stockholm kommun, go to Hornsgatan 124, otherwise search for the address of your kommun’s office online and go there.
Should you join SFI? – absolut!
If you have any questions that you Think I might have missed answering, do write back to me and I will try to answer them as best as I can.
Important links:
SFI – Official website
SFI – Levels and Study options
SFI – Swedish for trained professionals
SFI – FAQs
Folkuniversitetet – Paid Courses
My Swedish Journey 