Queues, queue dates, place guarantees – and an e-service with a name you may never have heard of. Applying for a preschool place can feel complicated the first time. But in Stockholm you apply to all preschools in one place, municipal and independent alike. Here is how it works, step by step.
1. Join the queue as early as possible
Your waiting time counts from the day you apply. So do not wait until you have visited preschools – join the queue first and book visits afterwards. The City of Stockholm has a shared queue for all municipal and independent preschools, and you apply in the city’s e-service Edlevo. You will find us by searching for ”Svenska Internationella Förskolan”.
- Up to five choices. Rank them – the first is the one you want most. Include us from the start: a choice added later gets a new, later queue date.
- Each choice gets its own queue date – the day you added it. Changing the order or the preferred start date does not affect the queue date, but a completely new application gives every choice a new date.
- Apply in good time. The earliest possible queue date is the day your child turns six months. You can apply earlier, but the waiting time counts from then.
- Enter your phone number and email. Without contact details in the application, it is hard for us to reach you when a place becomes available.
Your place in the queue is not shown in the e-service. If you have a place guarantee, you will instead see the date by which your child should be offered a place.
2. Book a visit
Once the application is in, it is time to visit. Does it feel safe? How do the teachers talk to the children? What does an ordinary day look like? A lot becomes clear within a few minutes – and since you can change the order of your choices without affecting the queue date, re-ranking after your visits is no problem.
With us in Kista and Hässelby, you book a visit at a time that suits you. It takes about an hour, you are welcome to bring your child – and there is no obligation.
The reading corner under the canopy. More photos from Kista
Want to know what to look for? We have gathered the essentials in our guide Choosing the right preschool.
3. How places are allocated
Children who live in Stockholm have a place guarantee from the age of one: you should receive an offer within three months of the day you applied. If none of your choices has a place, you will be offered a place at a municipal preschool as close to home as possible.
Independent preschools may have their own admission rules approved by the city. With us, available places are allocated in this order:
- Children who need special support in their development in the form of preschool.
- Children with a place guarantee who risk not being offered a place within the guarantee period.
- Children with siblings in the same household who already have a place with us.
- Children with the longest waiting time who want to start in the month the place becomes available, or earlier. If the waiting time is the same, older children go before younger ones.
You can read the full rules under Admission rules.
4. The offer – reply in time
The offer arrives by email and text message, and you reply in Edlevo. You have seven calendar days to reply unless stated otherwise – independent preschools may have different deadlines, so read the offer carefully.
- If you accept one of your lower choices, you stay in the queue for the ones you ranked higher. Choices you ranked lower are removed automatically.
- The place guarantee ends once you have received an offer. If you decline, the next offer may take longer.
5. Settling in – a calm start
Once the place is confirmed, you will receive a welcome pack from us with all the information you need to prepare for the start. We plan the settling-in period itself together with you, so that your child can land at their own pace. This is what the first days usually look like:
- Day 1: you as the parent are active together with your child – you play, eat and get to know us.
- Day 2: the teachers take more space and begin to take over, so that the sense of security moves from you to us.
- Day 3: if the trust is there, we try a first separation. If your child needs more time, your child gets that time.
Read more in Settling in at preschool.
Watercolours out in the yard. More photos from Hässelby
Do you live in another municipality, such as Järfälla, Sollentuna or Sundbyberg?
You still apply for a place with us in the City of Stockholm’s e-service Edlevo. Get in touch and we will help you with the application.
If you are moving to Stockholm, you can apply before you move. Enter your new address and moving date in the application. If you apply at least three calendar months before the move, your child is entitled to a guaranteed place from the month you move.
What does it cost?
The same as at a municipal preschool – we apply the national maximum fee (maxtaxa). From August of the year your child turns three, 525 hours per year are free of charge (universal preschool). You will find the current amounts under Admission rules.
Availability, autumn 2026: New places open up in Hässelby this winter – book a visit today. Kista has a waiting list, but places open up throughout the year.
Would you like to see the preschool first?
Come and visit us in Kista or Hässelby – we will show you around, introduce our teachers and gladly help you with the application.
Read more: Choosing the right preschool · Settling in at preschool
