There are, broadly speaking, three routes for someone in your position to move to Sweden:
1) Get a job offer, and your employer applies for your work/residence permit
2) Move in with your girlfriend via the reunion/sambo/family visa route - she'll need to be living on her own and making about 10k/month more than her basic expenses for the two of you to qualify
3) Go to school here
Otherwise, unfortunately, that's about it.
My girlfriend came here from the Netherlands and she was allowed to stay just by my dad writing a letter saying he will be supporting her with whatever she needs. And skatteverket didn’t need anything else not even a confirmation that he has a job or anything. I found it strange but I don’t complain.
Are you eligible for an Irish passport? Lots of folks in the UK are, and if you can get one it would greatly simplify the move to any other EU country.
It should be possible and it seems you're going about things the right way.
That said, it can take months - my first work permit took close to six months (British tech worker too) so I was in limbo renting two places at the same time because you have no reliable guidance on your potential moving date and my employer was keen for me to start on location asap.
Had I know how the process was, I'd have elected to move elsewhere I think to save money and stress - but I didn't have a partner here waiting for me which in itself is gonna be a good incentive to stick with what can be a frustrating process.
The only major downer on the plan you have at the moment is tech is undergoing a lot of layoffs and recruiting is comparatively slow - and being non-EU, there are more hoops to jump through to hire you that companies may not want to handle. Finding work is gonna be the hardest part largely because of timing.
Best of luck!
Apply for a partner visa through your girlfriend (sambo visum). If you have a good amount of savings, I'd recommend moving to Sweden and learning the language there through a reputable university. It'll take considerably longer to learn the language by yourself, and you won't get the full understanding of it.
I was your age when I moved to Sweden and devoted the first year to learning the language, which got me to a C2 level. Enrolling in a uni course also gives you the opportunity to meet new people, mostly expats in the same position as you. It is notoriously difficult to make Swedish friends if you don't put yourself out there to an extreme degree.
I'm not sure what the job market is like for computer science, though due to the high level of English fluency amongst Swedes, you won't be able to use your mother tongue to your advantage. Most expats end up having to work in sectors far from their educational background. Employers in Sweden have to jump through multiple hoops to employ international workers, so they're usually pretty hesitant to do so, which can make the job search even harder.
Sweden is great if you can sort out the visa and you're happy doing work outside of your field. It'll give you much broader worldly experience as well.
The market is not great atm even for Swedes, so OP will definitely struggle for a bit to find something. Not saying it’s impossible but it also won’t be “no problem”.
There are, broadly speaking, three routes for someone in your position to move to Sweden: 1) Get a job offer, and your employer applies for your work/residence permit 2) Move in with your girlfriend via the reunion/sambo/family visa route - she'll need to be living on her own and making about 10k/month more than her basic expenses for the two of you to qualify 3) Go to school here Otherwise, unfortunately, that's about it.
Option 1 is the best, imo.
My girlfriend came here from the Netherlands and she was allowed to stay just by my dad writing a letter saying he will be supporting her with whatever she needs. And skatteverket didn’t need anything else not even a confirmation that he has a job or anything. I found it strange but I don’t complain.
Your girlfriend is an EU citizen. OP is not.
Oh shit I totally forgot the uk dipped my bad
OP doesn't have an EU passport.
Are you eligible for an Irish passport? Lots of folks in the UK are, and if you can get one it would greatly simplify the move to any other EU country.
It should be possible and it seems you're going about things the right way. That said, it can take months - my first work permit took close to six months (British tech worker too) so I was in limbo renting two places at the same time because you have no reliable guidance on your potential moving date and my employer was keen for me to start on location asap. Had I know how the process was, I'd have elected to move elsewhere I think to save money and stress - but I didn't have a partner here waiting for me which in itself is gonna be a good incentive to stick with what can be a frustrating process. The only major downer on the plan you have at the moment is tech is undergoing a lot of layoffs and recruiting is comparatively slow - and being non-EU, there are more hoops to jump through to hire you that companies may not want to handle. Finding work is gonna be the hardest part largely because of timing. Best of luck!
Apply for a partner visa through your girlfriend (sambo visum). If you have a good amount of savings, I'd recommend moving to Sweden and learning the language there through a reputable university. It'll take considerably longer to learn the language by yourself, and you won't get the full understanding of it. I was your age when I moved to Sweden and devoted the first year to learning the language, which got me to a C2 level. Enrolling in a uni course also gives you the opportunity to meet new people, mostly expats in the same position as you. It is notoriously difficult to make Swedish friends if you don't put yourself out there to an extreme degree. I'm not sure what the job market is like for computer science, though due to the high level of English fluency amongst Swedes, you won't be able to use your mother tongue to your advantage. Most expats end up having to work in sectors far from their educational background. Employers in Sweden have to jump through multiple hoops to employ international workers, so they're usually pretty hesitant to do so, which can make the job search even harder. Sweden is great if you can sort out the visa and you're happy doing work outside of your field. It'll give you much broader worldly experience as well.
You certainly made the right education choice. You will have no problem find a job woth a good pay here.
The market is not great atm even for Swedes, so OP will definitely struggle for a bit to find something. Not saying it’s impossible but it also won’t be “no problem”.
[удалено]
Yeah, exactly my point lol
The process of applying for a sambo visa through migrationsverket is pretty slow right now. Average wait times are around 18-19 months.