If you are a jobseeker and unemployed 100 %, you can under certain conditions apply for work in the EU/EEA/Switzerland and keep your benefits from us. To be able to do that you need a certificate called U2. You apply for the certificate from the IAF and it is valid for three months.

Do you meet these conditions?

  • You have been unemployed 100 % for four weeks.
  • You have received a decision on the right to unemployment benefits.
  • You are entitled to benefits on the day you want to go.

The IAF decides on the certificate

It is the Inspectorate for Unemployment Insurance (IAF) that decides on certificate U2. You apply with the form ”Ansökan om intyg U2 eller intyg E303” which you can find at www.iaf.se/intyg 

Send the application form to us approximately three weeks before the scheduled departure. You fill in all the information on section A of the form yourself. Remember to enter the departure date. When we process your application, we register the day you have said that you will travel. This means that benefits is not paid from the day of departure until we have been informed that you have registered with the employment service in the country where you are looking for work. If you change your departure date, it is therefore important that you notify both us and the IAF.

We report your right to compensation under B and send the form back to you at the Swedish address you have provided. After that, arbetsförmedlingen must fill in its information under C. Finally, you sign the application under D and send it to the IAF at the address stated in the form.

It is important that you report your time in Mina sidor until the scheduled departure. The IAF must be able to state that you have declared that you are completely unemployed for at least four weeks before your departure.

You must apply before you leave

You must apply for a U2 certificate before leaving Sweden. You can not apply for the certificate if you are already abroad.

The requirement for four weeks of full-time unemployment

Four weeks' full unemployment before departure normally means that you do not work or have sickness or parental benefit, but are entitled to full-time unemployment benefits for four weeks. It is the IAF that assesses whether you are considered unemployed 100 %.

If you want to apply for an exemption from the requirement of four weeks of unemployment before departure, you must write down your reasons. Attach your exemption application and any attachments when you submit the form to the IAF. It is the IAF that decides on the exemption and you do not need to send these documents to us.

Your application for unemployment benefits must be approved

If you have recently become unemployed and are applying for compensation and a U2 certificate at the same time, your benefits application must be complete in order for us to be able to handle both cases directly. IAF cannot decide on certificate U2 until we have decided on your right to benefits.

Did you choose to resign?

If you have handed in your notice, we will examine whether you have had a valid reason for this, in the sense of unemployment insurance. If you have resigned without a valid reason, you will be suspended from benefits for a certain period of time, usually for 45 compensation days. The IAF can grant you departure even though you are suspended from benefits. However, the certificate period is always three months, which means that you then only receivebenefits paid for the part of the period that is after the suspension.

We prioritize your application!

We prioritize the processing of U2 applications and you can therefore count on a short processing time. A benefits application that is submitted at the same time is also a priority. Make sure that all the documents we need are included. Please call 08-412 33 00 or email U2@aea.se if you have questions before your application.

When you receive the certificate

Once you have received the U2 certificate from the IAF, it means that your application has been approved. Carefully read the certificate and information from the IAF. 

The certificate states, among other things:

  • the date on which the certification period begins, ie your day of departure,
  • the date on which you must register as a jobseeker in the country where you are looking for work in order to receive compensation without interruption, and
  • how long you can stay abroad with benefits from Sweden.

Check the information in the certificate and contact the IAF if you discover anything that is incorrect.

If you decide not to travel, you must return the original certificate to the IAF together with a letter stating that you wish to revoke your certificate. We will then receive notification of this from the IAF.