Important to know

Sweden has concluded youth exchange agreements with several countries. These agreements mean that if you are between 18 and 30 years old, you can holiday in Sweden for up to one year. Sweden currently has agreements with Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, New Zealand and South Korea.

The purpose of this type of residence permit is to give young people the opportunity to experience Swedish life and culture. When you are in Sweden, you are allowed to work, but the work must not be the main purpose of your trip to Sweden and must end when your permit expires.

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

You must have a valid passport

You must be a citizen of Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand or South Korea

You must be between 18 and 30 years of age

You must have enough money to support yourself financially
You must have at least SEK 15,000, so that you can support yourself financially when you first arrive in Sweden.

You must have a return ticket or money to buy one

You must have comprehensive health insurance
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. The requirement for comprehensive health insurance does not apply to Australian citizens.

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

Bank statement
The statement must show that you can support yourself financially when you first arrive in Sweden. You must have access to at least SEK 15,000. The bank statement must not be more than six months old.

Copy of your return ticket
Copy of your return ticket or documentation showing that you have enough money to buy one.

Documents showing that you have comprehensive health insurance that is valid in Sweden
If you are a citizen of Australia, you do not need to attach this.

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

In the agreements, you can read more about what applies to citizens from your particular country, such as what health insurance you need. The content of the agreements can vary, so read them carefully.

Agreement between Sweden and Australia External link.
Agreement between Sweden and Hong Kong Pdf, 228.4 kB, opens in new window.
Agreement between Sweden and Japan Pdf, 77.1 kB, opens in new window.
Agreement between Sweden and Canada External link.
Agreement between Sweden and New Zealand External link.
Agreement between Sweden and South Korea External link.

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

A residence permit for a working holiday 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:5 months

Incomplete applications

75% of applications receive a decision within:6 months

If you are applying for a residence permit for the first time, you must do so from outside Sweden, otherwise your application may be rejected.

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.