If you are unemployed 100 % and looking for work can, under certain conditions, take your unemployment benefits with you when you look for work in the EU / EEA / Switzerland. To be able to take your Swedish benefits with you, you need a certificate called U2. You apply for the certificate at the IAF and it is valid for three months. During the period of certification, you will continue to send Akademikernas a-kassa time reports just as usual.

Do you meet these conditions?

  • You have been unemployed full-time for four weeks.
  • You have received a decision regarding your right to unemployment benefits.
  • You are entitled to benefits on the day you want to leave.

How to apply for a certificate from the IAF

It is the Inspektionen för arbetslöshetsförsäkring (IAF) that makes decisions on certificate U2.

  1. You apply with the form "Ansökan om intyg U2 eller intyg E303" which you can find at iaf.se/intyg.
  2. You fill in your part of the form and send it to us at Akademikernas a-kassa about three weeks before your planned departure.
  3. We fill out our part of the certificate and send the certificate back to you.
  4. You check and send the certificate to the IAF.

It is important that you continue to submit time reports to us. When a decision is made by the IAF, they get back to us.

You must apply before you go

You must apply for certificate U2 before you leave Sweden. You cannot apply for the certificate if you are already abroad.

You must be entitled to benefits

If you have recently become unemployed and are applying for compensation and certificate U2 at the same time, your benefits application must be complete so that we can handle both cases immediately. The IAF cannot decide on certificate U2 until we have decided on your right to benefits.

Have you resigned?

If you have resigned, we always check whether you had reasons to avoid suspension. The vast majority do not have that and then you are suspended for 45 benefits days. The period then begins with two mandatory waiting days. The IAF can grant you leave even though you are suspended from benefits. The applicant journey is always three months, which means that you will then only receive benefits for the part of the period that follows the suspension.

We prioritize your application!

We prioritize the processing of U2 applications and you can therefore expect a short processing time. A benefits application submitted at the same time is also prioritized. Make sure that all the documents we need are included. Feel free to call 08-412 33 00 or email utland@akademikernasakassa.se if you have questions before your application.

When you receive the certificate

When you have received certificate U2 from the IAF, it means that your application has been granted. Read the certificate and the information from the IAF carefully. Take the certificate with you when you go. We also recommend that you have a couple of hard copies with you.

The certificate shows, among other things:

  • the date the certificate period begins, i.e. your departure date,
  • the last date you must register as a job seeker in the country where you are looking for work in order for you to receive compensation without interruption
  • and how long you may remain abroad with benefits from Sweden.

Check the information in the certificate and contact the IAF if you discover anything that is not correct. If you decide not to travel, you must return the original certificate to the IAF together with a letter stating that you want to revoke your certificate. We then receive notification of this from the IAF.