Work Permits

In order to work in Sweden a person must have a work permit. Once a permit has been granted, it must be entered into the person’s passport before arrival into Sweden.

Obtaining a Swedish work permit is not so easy. Swedes, foreign citizens already living in Sweden and EU/EEA citizens (see below) have preference over others in obtaining work in Sweden.

If there is a temporary shortage of labour, or if a person has obtained employment as part of an international exchange programme, the Migration Board may grant a work permit.

If the offer of work is for more than three months the person will also require a Swedish residence permit.

In some cases an entry visa is required. Information about which citizens are required to have entry visas when entering Sweden is available on the web site of the Migration Board; www.migrationsverket.se. Visas are normally granted for three months at the most.

A specialist employed by an international concern and travelling to and from Sweden in that capacity in order to work for temporary periods does not require a work permit. This applies if total duration of stay in Sweden is less than 12 months.

Requirments

The person must have a written offer of work in Sweden, made out on a special form which the employer can obtain from the employment office.

The employer must guarantee a salary of a minimum of SEK 13,000 per month before tax.

Accommodation must have been arranged in Sweden.

The person must be fully prepared to leave Sweden when the term of employment is over.

Applications

Application is made at a Swedish embassy or consulate in the person’s country of origin or of domicile. An application fee may be required, which - if the application is denied - will not be refunded. Normal proceedings will take approximately 6 to 8 weeks.

Validity of Permit

Work permits are normally granted for one year at a time, or, if it is less than one year, for the period for which employment is offered. Permits are granted for a maximum of 18 months altogether if the employment is due to a temporary labour shortage.

If the work is part of an international exchange programme or the like, the permit may be extended up to a total stay of four years.

The permit is restricted to the trade or profession envisaged in the offer and to the employer who made the offer.

Appeal

If the Migration Board decides not to grant a residence permit, the person may lodge an appeal with the Aliens Appeals Board (Utlänningsnämnden). This must be done in writing within three weeks of the date on which the person received notice of the decision. The appeal is to be send to the Migration Board. The Migration Board then goes through the case once again to see whether the appeal contains information that would cause it to revise its decision. If it finds no relevant new information, it forwards the appeal to the Aliens Appeals Board in Stockholm.

There is no right of appeal against decisions to turn down work permit applications.

Citizens of EU/EEA States

As a member of the European Union, EU, Sweden has special regulations concerning citizens of the EU/EEA states as follows.

To enter Sweden, citizens of the EU/EEA states and their immediate families only need a valid passport or ID card clearly stating their nationality. If a person plan to remain here for longer than three months, however, the person must have a residence permit, and can choose whether to apply for this under the EEA Agreement or under Swedish national law (Aliens Act 1989:529/Aliens Ordinance 1989:547).

All EU/EEA citizens, children included, have to apply individually. An application by a child under 18 must be approved by the child’s custodian/guardian, who either signs the application or personally applies for a residence permit on the child’s behalf.

Children under 18 applying for a residence permit in order to be with their parents in Sweden need only complete the application form; they do not need to fill in the questionnaire.

EU/EEA citizens and their immediate families applying for residence permits may be granted them even after entering Sweden.

EU/EEA citizens and their immediate families are exempted from the requirement to possess a work permit in order to work in Sweden.

Requirments

When applying for a residence permit a copy of (valid) passport or ID card must be enclosed. Furthermore, documentation showing that the requirements in one or other of the following categories are met (only requirements regarding persons working are shown):

Employed Persons

A certificate of employment showing the duration and type of employment involved must be enclosed to the application. The certificate must be written and signed by the employer. Besides the name, address and phone number of the company, the name of a person acting as the contact at the company should also be included. The application shall also include the company registration number and a specification of the job duties to be performed as well as specification regarding how many hours per week the employment contains.

If the term of employment is 12 months or more, a five-year permit will be granted. If the term of employment is less than 12 months, a permit for the employment period will be granted. The permit certificate will be mailed to the person’s address in Sweden.

Should the person reach retirement age while in Sweden, the person will be allowed to stay if the person has been living here for at least three years and working here for the past 12 months.

Should the person has to terminate the employment due to lasting work incapacity and has been living in Sweden for more than two years; the person is normally allowed to stay.

Self-employed person

To obtain a residence permit as a self-employed person it is required to prove such status, e.g. by producing a copy of a company’s certificate of registration/incorporation or a company tax card.

Residence permits are granted for five years at a time. The permit certificate will be mailed to the person’s address in Sweden.

Should the person reach retirement age while in Sweden, the person will be allowed to stay if the person has been living here for at least three years and working here for the past 12 months.

Should a person have to terminate an employment due to lasting work incapacity and has been living in Sweden for more than two years; the person is normally allowed to stay.

Consultant, Freelancers, etc

If a person is the user or supplier of a specific service, e.g. a consultant or a freelancer, the person must be able to prove this by means of a certificate, a contract or the like. The document should describe what kind of service is involved and for how long it will be offered or received. It must be written and signed by whoever is using or supplying the service.

A residence permit is granted for as long as the working relationship lasts. The permit certificate will be mailed to the person’s address in Sweden.

Cross Border Employment

If a person works in Sweden but is domiciled in another EU country to which the person return at least once a week, the person does not require a Swedish residence permit.