Sweden work permit salary requirement 2026: the SEK 34,470 rule explained

Sweden replaced the previous general work permit maintenance rule, often described as the 'good living' requirement, with a salary requirement tied to the national median salary. For most covered work permit cases, the offered monthly salary must now be at least 90% of the median salary in Sweden that applied when the application was submitted.

For applications submitted from June 16, 2026, the practical number is SEK 34,470 per month. That comes from the current Swedish median salary of SEK 38,300: 38,300 multiplied by 0.90 equals 34,470. The Migration Agency says the median salary is published by Statistics Sweden and updated in June each year, so the figure should be treated as a dated threshold, not a permanent one.

The salary threshold is only one layer. Salary and other employment conditions must still be at least in line with Swedish collective agreements or common practice in the profession or industry. In plain language: clearing SEK 34,470 does not automatically make a case strong if the normal Swedish salary for that occupation is higher.

The calculation itself is simple, but the date matters. The Migration Agency applies the median salary that was current when the work permit application was submitted. For applications submitted from June 16, 2026, the current median salary is SEK 38,300, making the 90% threshold SEK 34,470 per month. If Statistics Sweden publishes a new median salary, future applications may use a different amount.

Applicants should check the guaranteed gross monthly salary in the employment contract, not an optimistic annual total that relies on uncertain bonuses. If the offer includes commission, bonuses, allowances, variable hours, or part-time work, the safe question is whether the contract clearly guarantees enough monthly salary and whether the terms match Swedish norms for the role.

The rule also interacts with household maintenance. If family members move with the employee, there may be a separate maintenance assessment for the family. It considers income after tax, housing costs, and standard amounts for household members. Do not treat the SEK 34,470 work salary threshold as the only financial check in a family move.

The new salary requirement applies to people applying for a Swedish work permit for the first time when the Migration Agency makes its decision on or after June 1, 2026. This includes cases submitted before June 1 that were still pending when the new rules took effect.

It also applies to extensions where the current permit was granted after June 1, 2026. In those cases, the extension follows the new salary requirement because the permit being extended was already granted under the new system.

People who already held a work permit under the previous rules receive a transitional window. If their current permit was granted before June 1, 2026 and they apply for an extension between June 1 and December 1, 2026, the new 90% salary requirement does not apply. Instead, the previous 80% maintenance rule applies during that period. The current 80% amount is SEK 30,640 per month.

From December 2, 2026, extension applications are expected to fall under the new salary requirement unless another specific rule applies. Timing therefore matters: the same person can be assessed against different salary thresholds depending on when the current permit was granted and when the extension is filed.

Pending first-time applications are not protected simply because they were submitted before June 1, 2026. The Migration Agency states that the new salary requirement can apply if the decision is made on or after June 1. This is the detail many applicants miss: the submission date and decision date can lead to different rule outcomes.

If a pending case was submitted from June 16, 2026 and the salary is below SEK 34,470, the applicant and employer should review whether the role is covered by an exemption, whether the contract can be updated, and whether all other requirements are fully documented. If the application was submitted before June 16, check the threshold that applied on that submission date. The Migration Agency can also reject applications because of employer-related deficiencies under the new rules, so an updated salary alone may not solve every risk in a pending case.

After the initial April announcement, the Swedish Government decided that certain occupations and applicant groups would be exempt from the 90% threshold. In those cases, salary must instead be at least 75% of the median salary at the time of application. With the current median salary, that is SEK 28,725 per month.

The exemption list is occupation-specific and uses the employer's classification of the role. Examples include:

There are also exemptions for applicant groups, including some former students and researchers, people with or following temporary protection, certain healthcare professionals working toward Swedish authorisation, and employees at some young technology or life-science companies. These are narrow categories and should be checked carefully rather than inferred from a job title.

Two occupations are now excluded from ordinary work-permit eligibility regardless of salary and conditions: personal assistants and forest berry pickers. Seasonal work rules may still be relevant for many berry-picking cases, but that is a different permit route.

• IT operations technicians, IT support technicians, systems administrators, and network or systems technicians
• several assistant nurse and care-assistant groups
• laboratory engineers and chemistry or chemical-engineering technicians
• welders, maintenance mechanics, machine repairers, and certain electrical distribution technicians
• selected agricultural, forestry, food-processing, and machine-operator roles

'Borderline' is not an official Migration Agency label. It is a useful practical category for cases that may satisfy the headline salary rule but still contain facts that often need closer review. In a ReloClear assessment, borderline usually means the case should not be treated as application-ready until its weak points have been checked.

Common borderline triggers include:

A salary of SEK 34,470 can be enough for the general threshold, but it is not a universally safe salary. If the occupation normally pays more under Swedish collective agreements or industry practice, the application can still have a salary problem. The safest approach is: meet the national threshold, then check the occupation-specific salary and terms.

• a salary only just above SEK 34,470, especially when the normal Swedish salary for the role is higher
• part-time or variable-pay offers where the guaranteed monthly amount is unclear
• no collective agreement, or employment terms that require a union or market comparison
• a start date that assumes the permit will be decided faster than is realistic
• employment lasting one year or less without documentation of comprehensive health insurance
• an employer with registration, tax, sanction, or previous permit-case concerns
• an occupation that may be exempt, excluded, regulated, or difficult to classify under its SSYK occupation code

From June 1, 2026, comprehensive health insurance matters more explicitly for short employment. If the stay in Sweden will last no more than one year, the applicant must have, or have applied for, comprehensive health insurance. It should cover urgent and other medical care, hospitalisation, emergency dental care, and medical repatriation if needed.

The employer must also have arranged the regular employment insurances by the time work begins: health insurance, life insurance, industrial injuries insurance, and occupational pension insurance. In addition, the Migration Agency can now reject work permit applications for deficiencies linked to the employer, including certain crimes or sanctions.

The EU Blue Card is not simply a higher-salary version of the ordinary Swedish work permit. It is a separate route for highly qualified employment. Its salary threshold is also separate: since July 15, 2026, the Migration Agency lists the EU Blue Card threshold as SEK 53,625 per month, based on 1.25 times the average Swedish gross salary.

The Blue Card can be attractive when the salary is high enough and the role is clearly highly qualified. It requires higher education corresponding to at least 180 higher education credits or at least five years of relevant professional experience, a signed employment contract for at least six months, and comprehensive health insurance. From June 1, 2026, the maximum Blue Card permit period increased to four years at a time.

If the offer is below SEK 53,625, the ordinary work permit may still be the relevant route if the SEK 34,470 threshold and all other requirements are met. If the offer is at least SEK 53,625, applicants should compare both routes because the stronger option depends on the role, qualifications, contract, family plan, and timing.

For a route-by-route breakdown, see our EU Blue Card vs work permit comparison.

The first mistake is using the wrong figure for the application period. For a 2026 work permit case, SEK 27,360, SEK 29,680, SEK 30,640, and SEK 34,470 each belong to different rules, dates, or extension situations. The second mistake is checking only the national salary threshold and ignoring the salary required by a collective agreement or industry practice.

The third mistake is treating the employer process as a formality. Advertising, contract terms, employer registration, insurance, union comments, start date, and the employer's own history can all affect practical risk. The fourth is comparing the work permit and EU Blue Card only by salary without checking the Blue Card education or experience requirement.