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While making your journey to Sweden, it is always a better idea to bring some stuff of daily day usage from Pakistan rather than buying it after arriving in Sweden. This is not due to the fact that things Pakistani people use aren’t available in Sweden but due to their high cost which arises of currency conversion from PKR (Pakistani Rupee) to SEK (Swedish Krona).
For the ease of understanding of a reader, multiple categories have been formed with different items/things so one can pick the things of his interest easily.
A. Bag
Normally you are allowed to carry 3 bags with you on an economy class ticket to Sweden. A book-in bag, a hand carry and a laptop bag. Now about the book-in bag, always buy one with a light and strong cloth. An issue of overweight at the airport normally arises with the students due to the weight constraint of airline. Now a days airline allow 20Kg of weight for the book-in bag with the exception of some which allows 30Kg. Now if the bag you bought is itself of 5-7 Kg then you can do the math for the rest of the weight yourself. About the hand carry, a knapsack is recommended rather than Pullman since it is much lighter and can contain more things.
B. Clothing
This category totally depends upon the traveler’s choice of interest. You can take whatever you want but just as a reference and something to start with, you can always look at the list below;
1) T-shits (7) – Take more if you only wear T-shirts with jeans.
2) A warm jacket to protect you from snow. A jacket made of parachute with fur or feathers inside it is recommended rather than a leather jacket.
3) Jacket Normal (2) – A light weight jackets for casual wear.
4) Upper for summer (2)
5) Sweater (1 or 2) – Students normally prefer jacket but a sweater might some time comes handy.
6) Dress Shirt (2 or more) – It depends whether you want to wear a dress shirt with a jeans or not. Students normally prefer T-shirts.
7) Jeans (4) – Or as many as you want.
8) Dress Pant (2) – You might not need them during the whole 2 years but again it depends totally upon you whether you want to wear them or not.
9) Ties (2) – Your choice!
10) Pant coat Suit (1) – The one you might need at your degree awarding ceremony
11) Shalwar Qamiz (2) –
12) Trousers (2)
13) Shorts/boxers (3 or 4)
14) Socks (5 warm, 5 normal)
15) Underwear (6)
16) Bunyan/Underwear-top (6)
17) Muffler (2)
18) Leather Gloves (2)
19) high-neck (3)
20) Cap (2)
21) Sunglasses – Might come in handy during the summer!
22) Extra Optical Glasses – Bring atleast 3-4 extra optical glasses. Glasses are too expensive is Sweden!
23) Leather Belts (3-4)
24) Handkerchiefs (1)
25) Umbrella of very good quality (1)
26) Raincoat (1)
C. Footwear
You can also buy shoes from Sweden which are on sale or in some deals offered by big stores. Shoes available here are of very good quality and specially designed for extreme weather. But you can always buy them from Pakistan. Just make sure that they are of good quality.
1) Leather Shoes (2)
2) Joggers (2)
3) Chappal/Slipper (1)
D. Sleeping Accessories
1) BedPillow-small (1)
2) Blanket (1)
3) BedSheet (1 or 2)
You can also get these items from IKEA store, which is the largest manufacturer of furniture and house hold items in Sweden at a very affordable price.
E. Kitchen Accessories
1) Spoon/Fork (1 or 2)
2) Glass (1)
3) Plate (2)
F. Masalas
For living you have to eat and for eating you need to cook and for cooking you require different masalas and spices. Masalas are very expensive in Sweden. They are roughly 3-4 times the prices of that available in Pakistan. You can bring as many readymade Masalas of Shan Foods and National Foods (The most popular brand of Masalas in Pakistan) as you want depending on your taste and what you like to eat very oftenly. Just remember to buy the Double Pack of Masalas, check the expiry date before buying and keep the packing intact. You don’t need to bring things like salt, red pepper or black pepper since they are easily available at a very affordable price.
G. Medicines
1) Headache tablets
2) Cold/Illness tablets
3) Stomach Acidity tablets
4) Pain Killers
5) Bandages/ Cotton Cray bandages for elbow, knee and ankle
6) Desi Medicines – if you use!
Always carry your drugs/medicines with a doctor’s prescription. You might be asked at the airport to leave your drugs if you don’t have a proper prescription. So better be safe than sorry!
H. Cosmetics and Misc.
1) Towel (1)
2) Shaving Gel (1)
3) Aftershave (1)
4) Razor (4 Packs x 8 Blades) – Blades are expensive in Sweden.
5) Haircutting electric machine
6) Toothpaste (1)
7) Toothbrush (1)
8) Comb/brush (1)
9) Cold Cream (1)
10) Shampoo (1)
11) Soap (2)
12) Body Spray
13) Perfume
14) Chap Stick
15) Hair Oil
16) Scissors
17) Nail Cutter
18) Extra buttons
19) Needles and Thread
I. Documents
1) All Academic Documents/Degrees Original
2) All Academic Documents/Degrees Photocopies (3 Sets of each)
3) NIC
4) Passport
5) Admission Letter
6) International Driving License
7) Insurance Documents
8) Cash Money in Swedish Kroner or Euros
9) Travelling Check
10) Books
11) Your picture in different sizes
It is always a good practice to scan all your relevant documents, encrypt them and save them over the internet.
J. Misc/Technical Accessories
1) Laptop
2) Important Data burned on CDs/DVDs
3) USB Drive (8 or 16 GB)
4) Portable USB Hard Disk (500 GB)
5) Mouse
6) Re-Writable/Writable CDs and DVDs
7) Mobile Phone
8) Camera
All the above written things are totally based on the experience of different students over the time. Initially this list was compiled, edited and published by three of our good seniors Syed Ahmed Zoha, Najam Nazar and Qamar Touheed. Afterwards it was again modified and edited and now what you’ve read is the latest and most completed version till now. You can always bring the things of your choice to Sweden but this list will act as a first brick for the wall of your things. If you are travelling in pair with your friend or someone else, you can divide the luggage accordingly and can carry more things with you. Hope this list helps and you get benefit from it.
Rayyan Ali Qureshi
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