Sweden's work permit salary requirement in 2026: the 90% rule

Until 31 May 2026, a work permit had to provide "a good living" — in practice, a salary of at least 80% of the Swedish median wage. From 1 June 2026, that maintenance test is gone. In its place, the salary must reach at least 90% of the median wage published by Statistics Sweden (SCB) that applied when you submitted your application.

The percentage is only half the test. Your salary must still be at least on par with Swedish collective agreements or common practice in your profession or industry. Where the collectively agreed level for a role sits above 90% of the median, that higher level is your real floor.

The floor is not a fixed amount in kronor. It is a percentage of a median wage that SCB refreshes each June, so the krona figure steps up when the statistics do.

For the first two weeks of June 2026, the median was SEK 37,100, which put the 90% floor at SEK 33,390 — the figure most guides still quote. On 16 June 2026, SCB updated the median to SEK 38,300, which moved the 90% floor to SEK 34,470 per month. That is the current requirement, and it will change again when SCB updates the median in June 2027.

First-time applicants receiving a decision on or after 1 June 2026 are covered by the new rule, including applications filed earlier. Extensions of permits decided under the new rules are also covered. Separately, the Migration Agency uses the median salary current when the application was submitted. A later statistical update does not by itself change the median used for an already-submitted application.

There is one carve-out, and it is time-limited. If you were granted your current permit under the old rules (before 1 June 2026) and you apply to extend it between 1 June and 1 December 2026, you are still judged under the old 80% maintenance test rather than the new 90% floor. Based on the current median, that 80% figure is SEK 30,640 per month.

From 2 December 2026 onward, the transitional window closes and the 90% requirement applies to extensions as well — subject to any exemption that fits the occupation.

Certain occupations and applicant groups only need to reach 75% of the median rather than 90%.

The exempt occupations are set out in a Government list in the Aliens Ordinance, and cover a range of shortage roles — for example, several assistant-nurse and care categories, a set of IT technician roles, welders, forestry workers, and various food-industry operators. The list is the one used by the Migration Agency at the moment of decision, and it can change: when you apply to extend, you must check that your occupation is still on it, because if it has been removed, the full salary requirement applies again.

Beyond occupations, some groups of applicants are also exempt. Former students and researchers in Sweden applying for a first work permit, and people with temporary-protection status applying on the basis of employment, are exempt for two years (or until their permit expires, if longer). Foreign-qualified doctors, dentists, and nurses in the process of obtaining Swedish certification are exempt, as are employees of certain tech or life-science companies that are in a start-up phase — under five years old and with fewer than a hundred employees.

Two occupations moved the other way and can no longer qualify for a work permit at all: forest berry pickers and personal assistants.

A salary just above SEK 34,470 can still fall short of the collective-agreement level for the role. Part-time work must clear the salary requirement on its own; two jobs cannot be combined. Check both timing rules: submitting after a median update changes the applicable salary figure, while the 1 June reform date and the extension transition ending on 1 December determine which percentage applies. Also check whether an occupation exemption still applies at the time of decision.