You want to apply Athletes and coaches

You want to apply for a work permit because you have been awarded a contract with a sports club or sports association in Sweden. If your family will be accompanying you, they can apply at the same time.

  • Important to know
  • How it works
  • Apply

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

These requirements must be met in order for you to be granted a work permit:

You must have a valid passport

You must play in a certain division or league – football
If you are a football player, you must play in at least Division 1 for men or Damallsvenskan or Elitettan for women. The same requirements apply if you are going to work as a football coach.

You must play in a certain division or league – basketball
If you are a basketball player, you must play in the Swedish Basketball League or Basketettan (women’s or men’s divisions). The same requirements apply if you are going to work as a basketball coach.

You must play in a certain division or league – ice hockey
If you are active in men’s ice hockey you must play or train in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), Hockeyallsvenskan, or Hockeyettan. In women's ice hockey, you are required to play or train in the Swedish Women’s Hockey League.

You must have a contract with a club or association in Sweden
You must have a written contract with a club or association in Sweden that is affiliated with the Swedish Sports Confederation. The contract must be signed by both parties.

Your salary/wages must be high enough
You must be offered a salary that, before tax, is at least one third of the price base amount at the time of application. The current price base amount can be found on the website of Statistics Sweden External link..

You must have health and accident insurance
You must have health and accident insurance that corresponds to what is customary in your sport and at your level.

The Swedish Sports Confederation must certify that your employment is of significant importance
They must certify that your employment is of significant importance for the positive development of your sport.

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 which embassy to visit to present your passport
You may need to present your passport at an embassy before you can receive a decision. In the application, you must therefore state which embassy you want to visit.

Not all Swedish embassies and consulates-general handle migration cases, so it is important to check which one you should contact:

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

Contract with a club or association that is affiliated with the Swedish Sports Confederation
The contract must bear the signatures of both you and an authorised signatory for the club/association. The contract must state:

  • salary (in Swedish kronor)
  • insurance information
  • the period for which the contract applies.

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, 1.1 MB.

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 you are a professional athlete or official who does not have a contract with a Swedish club, you can participate in international competitions in Sweden for a maximum of three months in a 12-month period without a work permit. However, citizens of certain countries require an entry visa in order to enter Sweden.

Countries whose citizens need an entry visa to travel to Sweden External link.

You want to apply – Visiting Sweden for up to 90 days (entry visa)

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 6,186 for a single adult
  • SEK 10,219 for cohabiting spouses or cohabiting partners
  • SEK 3,306 for children 0–6 years of age
  • SEK 3,967 for children 7–10 years of age
  • SEK 4,629 for children 11–14 years of age
  • SEK 5,290 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.

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

Your residence permit can be extended.

If your family is accompanying you to Sweden, they can be granted a 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.

Complete applications

75% of recently decided cases have been decided within:1 months

Incomplete applications

75% of recently decided cases have been decided within:2 months

Employees: SEK 1,500.
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.

News

2025-07-23

Extended passports become invalid on 1 October

As of 1 October 2025, Swedish authorities will no longer accept passports that have had their period of validity extended by inserting a stamp or sticker into the passport. If you have such a national passport, you should apply for a new one.

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.