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 are going to work as an au pair in Sweden, this means you will be living with a host family and help them with childcare and light housework. The purpose of your stay in Sweden is to learn the Swedish language and take part in Swedish culture.

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

You must have a valid passport

You must be at least 18 years of age but less than 30 years old when the decision is made

You must have a written agreement regarding au pair work from a family in Sweden
The agreement must state that you will do light housework and provide childcare for a maximum of 25 hours per week and that you will study Swedish for most of the time that you are not working. The combined time spent on housework and studies must not exceed 40 hours per week.

Your host family must have taken out accident insurance for you
Among other things, this insurance should cover accidents during working hours and illness if you become ill from your work. Accident insurance that only provides financial compensation in the event of an accident that occurs during your leisure time is not sufficient.

You or your host family must have, or have applied for, a comprehensive health insurance policy for you
The comprehensive health 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 enough money for your stay in Sweden and for your return journey
This means that you must be offered compensation from the host family totalling at least 10 percent of the price base amount per month before tax.

The current price base amount can be found on the website of Statistics Sweden External link.

Make sure that your host family has the correct information about you
Your host family 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 host family 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

A written agreement from the host family
The terms and conditions of your employment as an au pair must be stated in the agreement.

Certificate proving that your host family has, or has applied for, accident insurance for you
It must state the insurance company with which they have taken out the insurance, the insurance policy number, and the period for which the insurance is valid.

Certificate proving that you or your host family have, or have applied for, a comprehensive health insurance policy for you
It must state the insurance company with which they have taken out the insurance, the insurance policy number, and the period for which the insurance is valid. The health insurance must cover treatment in Sweden.

A representative can apply for you, if you grant them power of attorney. In that case, the person who applies for you must attach a copy of the power of attorney to your application.

Power of attorney (107011) Pdf, 1.1 MB.

Read more about power of attorney

Other rules apply if you are a citizen of the EU/EEA or Switzerland, or if you have long-term resident status in another EU country.

EU/EEA citizens with right of residence

If you are an EU/EEA citizen, you have the right to live in another EU/EEA country if you fulfil the requirements for right of residence through work, your own company, your studies, or by having sufficient funds to support yourself. If you have right of residence, you do not need to apply for a residence permit to live in Sweden.

EU/EEA citizens

Swiss citizens

If you are a citizen of Switzerland, you can move to Sweden to work, study, start your own business, or live on your own funds. If you want to remain in Sweden for longer than three months, you must apply for a residence permit for Swiss citizens.

You want to apply – Swiss citizens

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country, you can move to Sweden to work, study or live on your own funds. If you plan to stay longer than three months, you need to apply for a residence permit for long-term residents.

You want to apply – Long-term residents in another EU country

You can be granted a residence permit as an au pair for a maximum of one year, but never for longer than your passport is valid.

The permit cannot be extended.

The fee is SEK 1,500.

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.

Complete applications

75% of applications receive a decision within:4 months

Incomplete applications

75% of applications receive a decision within:5 months

You can change host family without submitting a new application, as long as your permit is valid. The requirements for a residence permit must still be met.

No. If you apply for a residence permit as an au pair, you must do so from outside Sweden.

No, your family cannot accompany you to Sweden if you are granted a residence permit as an au pair.

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.