Important to know

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA, you will in most cases need a permit to work in Sweden.

If you have visited an employer in Sweden and found employment, you can apply for a work permit without needing to leave Sweden. You may not start working in Sweden before you have been granted a work permit. If you do not meet all the requirements for applying from within Sweden, you must instead leave the country and apply for a work permit from your country of origin.

Occupations that cannot qualify for a work permit

Since 1 June 2026, it has not been possible to obtain a work permit to work as a forest berry picker (subgroup 9210 in SSYK 2012 – however, it is still possible to obtain a permit for other types of berry picking within the same subgroup). It is also not possible to obtain a work permit as a personal assistant (subgroup 5343, SSYK 2012).

Read more in the Aliens Ordinace (only in Swedish, utlänningsförordningen (2006:97, 5 kap 6 §, riksdagen.se) External link.

To be granted a work permit without leaving Sweden, you must meet these requirements:

You must have a valid passport

You must have an employment contract

There must be a high demand for labour in your profession
See list of occupations that are experiencing a labour shortage (in Swedish) pdf, 65.9 kB, opens in new window.

Your employer must have an urgent need for your skills
This means that the business cannot be fully functional if you are forced to travel back to your country of origin to apply for a work permit.

The reason you are in Sweden must be to meet an employer
You cannot apply for a work permit from within Sweden if you have come here as a tourist or to visit a friend or relative, even if you have received an offer of work during the visit.

You must apply during your visa-free period (90 days) or within the period that your entry visa is valid

Your employer must have taken out insurance for you
By the time you start your job, your employer must have taken out health insurance, life insurance, industrial injuries insurance, and occupational pension insurance for you.

If your employment will last for a maximum of one year, you must have, or have applied for, a comprehensive health insurance policy
The insurance must be valid for the entire time you will be in Sweden and cover the cost of urgent and other medical care, hospitalisation, and emergency dental care. It must also cover the cost of medical repatriation, if you need to return to your country of origin for health reasons.

You must have the right terms and conditions of employment
Your salary/wages and other working conditions must be at least on par with Swedish collective agreements or common practice in your profession or industry.

You must meet the salary requirement
This means that you must have a monthly salary or wages totalling at least 90 percent of the median salary published by Statistics Sweden (SCB) that applied when you submitted your application.

To meet the salary requirement, you must have a monthly salary/wages of at least SEK 33,390. This corresponds to 90 percent of the current median salary that Statistics Sweden publishes in June of each year.

Read about the current median salary on Statistics Sweden’s website (only in Swedish) External link.

Your monthly salary/wages must also be in line with collective agreements or with common practice in your profession or industry. This means that your salary/wages may need to be higher than 90 percent of the median salary.

Read more on the page Salary requirements for a work permit

Certain professions and groups of applicants are exempt from the salary requirement. If a person is covered by one of the exemptions from the salary requirement, their salary must amount to at least 75 per cent of the median salary in Sweden at the time of the application.

Occupations included in the Government’s list of exempt occupations

The list used by the Swedish Migration Agency when making decisions is the one that determines which occupations are exempt from the salary requirement. The exemptions apply for the duration of the permit.

When applying for an extension of a permit, you must check that the profession is still on the list. If the profession is no longer on the list, the salary requirement applies.

The list is in the Aliens Ordinance.
Read the Aliens Ordinace (only in Swedish, utlänningsförordningen (2006:97, 5 kap 6 §, riksdagen.se) External link.

  • Engineers and technicians in chemistry and chemical engineering (subgroup 3115 in SSYK 2012)
  • Laboratory engineers (subgroup 3215 in SSYK 2012)
  • IT operations technicians (subgroup 3511 in SSYK 2012)
  • IT support technicians (subgroup 3512 in SSYK 2012)
  • Systems administrators (subgroup 3513 in SSYK 2012)
  • Network and systems technicians, etc (subgroup 3514 in SSYK 2012)
  • Assistant nurses in home care, home healthcare and elderly care homes (subgroup 5321 in SSYK 2012)
  • Assistant nurses in habilitation services (subgroup 5322 in SSYK 2012)
  • Assistant nurses in healthcare and specialist wards (subgroup 5323 in SSYK 2012)
  • Assistant nurses in outpatient reception services (subgroup 5324 in SSYK 2012)
  • Childcare assistants (subgroup 5325 in SSYK 2012)
  • Ambulance care assistants (subgroup 5326 in SSYK 2012)
  • Care assistants (subgroup 5330 in SSYK 2012)
  • Breeders and caretakers of farm animals (subgroup 6121 in SSYK 2012)
  • Other animal breeders and animal caretakers (subgroup 6129 in SSYK 2012)
  • Crop growers and animal breeders, mixed farming (subgroup 6130 in SSYK 2012)
  • Forestry workers (subgroup 6210 in SSYK 2012)
  • Welders and gas cutters (subgroup 7212 in SSYK 2012)
  • Structural steel erectors and heavy sheet metal workers (subgroup 7215 in SSYK 2012)
  • Maintenance mechanics and machine repairers (subgroup 7233 in SSYK 2012)
  • Electrical distribution technicians (subgroup 7413 in SSYK 2012)
  • Butchers and meat cutters, etc. (subgroup 7611 in SSYK 2012)
  • Machine operators in meat and fish processing industries (subgroup 8161 in SSYK 2012)
  • Other machine operators in the food industry, etc. (subgroup 8169 in SSYK 2012)
  • Other operations technicians and process monitoring operators (subgroup 8199 in SSYK 2012)
  • Drivers of agricultural and forestry machinery (subgroup 8341 in SSYK 2012)
  • Berry pickers and planters, etc. (subgroup 9210 in SSYK 2012)
    Note: Work permits for the occupation of forest berry picker cannot be granted under Chapter 6, Section 2 of the Aliens Act. The exemption therefore applies only to other occupational roles within that category if invoked.

Other groups that are also exempt from the salary requirement

Former students and researchers, and persons with residence permits under the Temporary Protection Directive
  • Persons who hold a residence permit as a student or researcher in Sweden when applying for a work permit for the first time.
  • Persons who hold a residence permit with or after temporary protection under the EU Temporary Protection Directive and who apply for a work permit, an EU Blue Card (issued by Sweden), a permit for research or a permit for higher education studies.

These persons are exempt for two years or, if their permit is valid for a longer period, until the permit expires. The exemption will apply from 11 June 2026.

Certain healthcare professions

Doctors, dentists and nurses with foreign qualifications who are in the process of obtaining Swedish professional certification.

Employees of certain tech or life science companies

Persons employed by certain tech or life science companies. The company must be in a start-up phase, be less than five years old and have fewer than one hundred employees.

Make sure that your employer has the correct information about you
Your employer needs information about your name, date of birth, citizenship and email address. They will use this information when they start your application for a work permit.

It is important that you have access to the email address that you give to your employer until you have received a decision about your application. The Swedish Migration Agency will use this email address when we contact you.

Translate documents
All submitted documents should be in Swedish or English. If you have translated your documents, the translation should be certified. You must also include a copy of the document in its original language.

Plan to present your passport
You may need to present your passport before you can receive a decision. You should do this at one of the Swedish Migration Agency’s service centres. We will contact you with information about how and when to do this.

In some cases, you can have your passport checked digitally instead of presenting it in person.

Read more about the e-service for digital passport control

In some cases, you will not be required to present your passport. For example, if we have already checked your passport at a previous appointment, we do not need to do so again.

If your family is applying with you, they must present their passports at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general. Children under the age of 5 do not need to come to the embassy; it is sufficient for a parent or legal guardian to present their child’s passport.

You must attach copies of these documents to your application

Make sure that the information on your submitted documents is clearly visible.

Correctly made copies of your passport

You can never be granted a permit for longer than your passport is valid.

Read more about what the passport copies must show

Employment contract
It must be signed by both you and your employer.

Documents showing that you have or have applied for comprehensive health insurance
If you will be working in Sweden for a maximum of one year.

Certificate showing that your employer will have problems if you are forced to leave the country to apply for a work permit

Documents showing that the purpose of your visit to Sweden was to visit an employer

Correctly made copies of each family member’s passport

Your family member can never be granted a residence permit for longer than their passport is valid.

Read more about what the passport copies must show

Documents showing your relationship

If you are married: marriage certificate, marriage record, or similar document.

If you are cohabiting partners: documents showing that you have lived together, such as population registration certificates, a joint rental contract, or proof of the joint purchase of a home.

Documents showing that you meet the maintenance requirement

You can act as a representative for your family members over the age of 18 and apply on their behalf. To do this, you must have a power of attorney and attach it to the application.

Power of attorney (107011) pdf, 535.1 kB.

Read more about power of attorney

Birth record or birth certificate stating the names of the child’s parents

Sole custody decision
If you have sole custody of your child, you must attach a court decision to this effect. If the other parent is deceased, you must submit a death certificate.

Consent that the child may move to Sweden
If a child has two parents/legal guardians and the child’s other parent/legal guardian will be remaining in their country of origin, you must attach a statement of consent from the other parent/legal guardian to the application. You must also attach a copy of the other parent or legal guardian’s passport or other identity document.

Consent for a child to settle in Sweden (217011) pdf, 1.1 MB.

Adoption documents, if your child is adopted

Documentation showing that a child over age 21 is dependent on you or their other parent for their financial maintenance
If you have any children over 21 years of age who are accompanying you to Sweden.

If any of your family members also want to apply for a residence permit, they can do so at the same time as you. “Family members” are considered to include spouses, registered partners, cohabiting partners, and children under the age of 21. Children over the age of 21 can also accompany you to Sweden in special cases, if they are dependent on you for their financial maintenance.

If anyone in your family decides later that they want to move to Sweden to join you, they must submit their own application afterwards.

You want to apply – Family of an employee or self-employed person who apply afterwards

If your family is granted residence permits, your adult family members and children who will turn at least 16 during the current year are permitted to work.

You must be able to financially support your family

If your family applies together with you, you are subject to a maintenance requirement. This means that you must have an income that allows you to financially support yourself and your family.

To meet the maintenance requirement, you must have an income that can cover housing costs and living expenses for yourself and your family members.

In the first instance, the Swedish Migration Agency looks at your income from salary/wages, but if this is insufficient, it is also possible to count income from business activities or personal wealth.

The following types of income count

  • taxed income from the employment for which you are applying or have been granted a permit
  • parental benefits or sickness benefits, provided that you have ongoing employment and your parental leave or sick leave is not assessed to be longer than 18 months
  • income from business activities
  • assets.
Amount of income

Your income after tax must be high enough so that after paying your monthly rent, you still have a certain amount of money left over that can cover the costs of food, clothing, hygiene, telephone, and insuring everyone in your household, among other things.

For 2025, the amount you must have left after paying your rent is:

  • SEK 6,243 for a single adult
  • SEK 10,314 for cohabiting spouses or cohabiting partners
  • SEK 3,336 for children 0–6 years of age
  • SEK 4,004 for children 7–10 years of age
  • SEK 4,672 for children 11–14 years of age
  • SEK 5,339 for children 15 years of age or older.

If you have a child with whom you do not live and you pay maintenance to the child’s other parent, your salary/wages must also be sufficient to cover their maintenance allowance.

The amounts applicable to children are reduced by any child allowance and large family supplement.

Housing costs

The housing costs that your wages must be sufficient to cover each month depend on the type of home in which you live:

  • If you live in a rented flat, you must include both the rent and the cost of heating in this calculation, if the latter is not included in the rent.
  • If you live in a tenant-owner flat, you must include any fees paid to the tenant-owner association and the interest on any home loans in your calculation. You must also include necessary operating costs (such as water and heating), if these are not included in the monthly fee.
  • If you live in a freestanding house, you must include the interest rate for any home loans and necessary operating costs (such as water and heating) in your calculation.

Amortisation of home loans is not included in the cost of housing. You also do not have to include the cost of electricity in your calculation, as this cost is included in the so-called “standard amount”.

You should count your entire actual housing cost. If you and your family are moving to Sweden together, you may not yet have arranged your housing when you apply for a residence permit. The Swedish Migration Agency then assumes a so-called standard cost for housing a family of your size in the town or city where your workplace in Sweden is located.

What income does not count?

You may not count income from

  • a family member
  • unemployment insurance (unemployment benefits) or an activity allowance
  • various forms of grants or scholarships
  • subsidised employment (for example, when the Swedish Social Insurance Agency or the Swedish Public Employment Service pays all or part of the salary/wages)
  • undeclared work or employment without the legal right to work.

You can be granted a work permit for a maximum of two years, but not for longer than the term of your employment contract. You can never be granted a work permit for longer than your passport is valid.

The work permit can be extended.

If your family moves to Sweden to live with you, they can be granted a residence permit for the same period as you, but never longer than the period of validity of their passports.

It is not possible to say exactly how long you will need to wait for a decision. There are many things that affect the waiting time, for example whether your application is complete to begin with or whether we need to request more information, or whether we need to check with other authorities when investigating your case.

Here we show statistics on how long it has taken for people who have applied for the same permit as you. The statistics are based on cases decided in the last 12 months.

There are too few decided cases for us to be able to calculate the waiting time.

Employees: SEK 2,200
Adult family members: SEK 1,500
Children: SEK 750

Citizens of Japan do not pay an application fee.

You will not receive a refund if your application is rejected.

Are you an employer?

You can find information on our pages for employers.

The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for considering applications from people who want to live in Sweden, seek protection or become Swedish citizens. Our work is based on Swedish laws and international conventions, with a focus on legal certainty and effective reception and return.