Sweden work permit requirements in 2026: the complete checklist

Citizens of countries outside the EU/EEA generally need a work permit unless another status already allows the work. Examples include permanent residence and certain family, protection, research, or study permits. Check the conditions of that status: a study permit is not an unrestricted right to work. EU/EEA citizens do not need a work permit, and Swiss citizens follow separate rules.

For the Migration Agency to grant a work permit, the employment has to meet every requirement — and you cannot combine two jobs to get there. In practice, the checklist is:

• A valid passport. Your permit can never run longer than your passport.
• A signed employment contract, signed by both you and your employer.
• Terms at least on par with Swedish collective agreements or common practice in your profession or industry.
• A salary that meets the salary requirement — at least 90% of the median wage, currently SEK 34,470 per month — and that also reaches the collective-agreement or industry level, which for some roles is higher.
• Employer-provided insurance: health, life, industrial-injury, and occupational pension, in place by the time you start.
• Comprehensive health insurance if your employment will last a year or less.

Before you can be hired, your employer must advertise the vacancy in Sweden and within the EU/EEA and Switzerland for at least ten days — for example, through the Swedish Public Employment Service's portal, which also gives it visibility across Europe. The point is to give residents of Sweden, the EU/EEA, and Switzerland a fair chance to apply first. The employment contract should be signed only after that ten-day advertising period has run. Certain permit categories, such as intra-corporate transfers, follow their own rules.

Once the employer starts the application, they send the details of the employment to the trade union relevant to the industry, and the union is given the opportunity to comment on the terms and conditions. It is a comment rather than a veto, but it feeds into the Migration Agency's assessment of whether the terms are genuinely on par with Swedish standards.

The salary floor is 90% of the median wage published by Statistics Sweden — SEK 34,470 per month as of the June 2026 update — and it moves when the statistics do. On top of that, the salary must match the collective-agreement or industry level, which can be higher.

Certain occupations on the Government's list, and certain groups of applicants, need only 75% of the median. The occupation list is set out in the Aliens Ordinance and can change, so at extension you must check your role is still on it. Exempt applicant groups include former students and researchers applying for a first work permit from within Sweden, people with temporary-protection status applying on the basis of employment, foreign-qualified doctors, dentists, and nurses obtaining Swedish certification, and employees of certain small, young tech or life-science start-ups. (Our salary-requirement guide covers this in detail.)

Since 1 June 2026, two occupations can no longer get a work permit at all: forest berry pickers and personal assistants.

A first work permit is applied for from outside Sweden — applying from within the country as a first-timer risks rejection — though there are exceptions, such as someone switching from a study or other permit whose conditions have been met. Your employer starts the application in the e-service by submitting the employment details; you then receive a link, complete your part, and present your passport at an embassy or via a digital passport check.

A work permit is granted for a maximum of two years at a time, and never longer than your employment contract or your passport — and it can be extended. If your contract begins with a probationary period, the first permit may be limited to that probation, so a six-month probation can produce a six-month permit even on an otherwise permanent contract. Follow the permit decision and apply to extend before it expires. The application fee is SEK 2,200 for employees, SEK 1,500 for an adult family member, and SEK 750 per child.

If your family applies at the same time, a spouse, registered partner, or cohabiting partner and children under 21 can be granted residence for the same period as you. Once they hold permits, adult family members and children turning at least 16 during the year are allowed to work. A maintenance requirement applies when family apply with you — you must show income enough to house and support the household.