A Swedish work permit is not one form. It is a sequence of gates, and three different actors hold it in turn: the employer, the trade union, and the applicant. The employer opens the case and the union gets a chance to comment before the applicant ever sees the file. Someone who does not know whose turn it is loses time waiting on the wrong step.
Key takeaways
- In most cases, the employer starts the application, not the applicant, through Migrationsverket's e-service. The employer must give the relevant trade union the chance to comment on the terms of employment. Only then is a link sent to the applicant, who completes and submits the case.
- From 1 June 2026, the salary must reach at least 90 per cent of the median salary in Sweden, SEK 34,470 a month. Twenty-seven shortage occupations are exempted and need only 75 per cent instead.
- Migrationsverket reports that 75 per cent of recently decided cases were decided within one month for highly qualified roles with a complete file. For other employment with an incomplete file, the figure rises to ten months.
- Biometrics timing depends on visa status. Applicants who need an entry visa may be fingerprinted and photographed at the embassy before travelling. Those who do not need a visa are fingerprinted after they arrive in Sweden. The residence permit card can then take up to four weeks; an applicant outside Sweden collects it at the embassy or consulate-general, while an applicant in Sweden receives it at their registered address.
This guide sets out that sequence from the signed contract to the card in hand. It also covers what changed for salary and insurance requirements from 1 June 2026.
Who needs an arbetstillstånd
Non-EU/EEA citizens need a work permit, arbetstillstånd, to work in Sweden. An EU/EEA citizen "does not need a work permit to work in Sweden," covered instead by the right to free movement across Europe, per Migrationsverket. A Swiss citizen also does not need a work permit, but must apply for a residence permit if staying longer than three months, per Migrationsverket.
Migrationsverket splits applications into four categories, per its work-permit overview. The first covers employee or self-employed work, including accompanying family members. The other three are temporary employment, looking for work, and exempt categories that do not need a permit at all. This guide covers the employee route. A family member joining an applicant follows a related but separate process, covered in Partner & Family Permits. Someone coming to study first, rather than to work, should start with Studying in Sweden.
Step 1: the signed employment contract
The sequence cannot start without an employment contract "signed by both you and your employer," per Migrationsverket. That contract fixes the salary and the terms the rest of the case is checked against.
It also sets the ceiling on the permit. A work permit runs for a maximum of two years, but never longer than the term of the employment contract itself, per Migrationsverket. A one-year contract cannot produce a two-year permit.
Step 2: the employer opens the case
The employer, not the applicant, starts the process. "As an employer, in most cases it is you who start the application for the person you want to employ," per Migrationsverket. The employer provides the employment details to Migrationsverket through the e-service.
That submission includes the applicant's name, date of birth, citizenship, education, and email address, per Migrationsverket. Before employment can start, the employer must also arrange four types of insurance for the applicant, per the same page. Those are medical insurance, life insurance, occupational injury insurance, and occupational pension insurance.
Step 3: the job advertisement and the union
Before the case can move forward, the employer must have advertised the vacancy. It must run "in Sweden and within the EU/EEA and Switzerland for at least ten days," per Migrationsverket. The standard route is the Swedish Public Employment Service's job placement portal, which also feeds the EU-wide EURES portal. An employer using another channel must show it reached the same audience across the EU/EEA and Switzerland.
Alongside the advertisement, the employer must give the relevant trade union the chance to comment on the terms of employment. Migrationsverket then checks whether the offered terms match Swedish collective agreements or what is customary in that profession or industry. Two situations skip the advertisement step entirely: employees assigned from an employer based abroad, and intra-group transfers where the post itself stays based abroad.
Step 4: the applicant completes the application
Once the employer has a response from the union, it sends a link to the applicant through the e-service, per Migrationsverket. This is the point where the applicant, not the employer, takes over the case.
The applicant logs in and selects an embassy or consulate-general to handle the case, since not all of them process migration matters. The applicant then attaches the required documents, per Migrationsverket. Those documents are correctly made copies of the passport and the signed employment contract. For a stay of one year or less, add proof of comprehensive health insurance, or a completed application for it. A representative may apply on the applicant's behalf if granted power of attorney. An accompanying family member follows a separate document set, covered in Partner & Family Permits.
Step 5: the fee
The applicant pays the application fee when applying. Migrationsverket is explicit: "you will not receive a refund if your application is rejected." The fee is a cost of applying, not of succeeding. The fees, per Migrationsverket:
- Employee: SEK 2,200
- Adult family member: SEK 1,500
- Child: SEK 750
- Citizen of Japan: no fee
Budgeting this fee alongside deposits and first-month costs is covered in What It Actually Costs.
The salary requirement from 1 June 2026
From 1 June 2026, the salary "must amount to at least 90 per cent of the median salary in Sweden," per Migrationsverket's salary-requirements page. Migrationsverket sets that figure at SEK 34,470 a month. That 90 per cent figure is calculated from the national median wage. Statistics Sweden, SCB, states: "Medianlönen i Sverige är 38 300 kronor" (the median salary in Sweden is SEK 38,300). That figure is 2025 data, updated 16 June 2026, per SCB. The salary must still be in line with Swedish collective agreements or common practice in the relevant profession or industry.
A lower bar applies to shortage occupations. The Swedish government states: "Totalt undantas 27 bristyrken från det nya lönekravet" (a total of 27 shortage occupations are exempted from the new salary requirement). This was announced in May 2026, per Regeringen. Those 27 exempted occupations need only 75 per cent of the median salary, per Migrationsverket.
A third tier covers a transitional window. Someone who already holds a work permit granted under the previous rules does not need to meet the new salary requirement. This applies if they apply to extend it between 1 June and 1 December 2026. Their extension is instead assessed at 80 per cent of the median salary, per Migrationsverket. Riksdagen's own committee report confirms the timing: "Lagändringarna börjar gälla den 1 juni 2026 med vissa övergångsbestämmelser," per Riksdagen. That translates to: the legislative changes take effect on 1 June 2026, with certain transitional provisions.
The same date closed two routes entirely. From 1 June 2026, it is no longer possible to get a standard work permit to work as a forest berry picker. The same applies to a personal assistant, per Migrationsverket. A berry picker employed by an employer established in Sweden can still apply for a seasonal work permit instead.
What else changed on 1 June 2026
Beyond salary, an applicant staying up to one year must now show comprehensive health insurance for the length of that stay. Migrationsverket states the applicant "must be able to show that you have, or have applied for, comprehensive health insurance," per Migrationsverket.
Seasonal work and ICT permits were tightened too. Compensation for both must correspond to at least the minimum salary for full-time work under Swedish collective agreements. It may instead match what is customary in the profession or industry, even for a part-time role, per the same page. The scope of the whole change is set by decision date, not application date. "The salary requirement applies to anyone who receives a decision on or after 1 June, even if the application was submitted earlier."
Step 6: biometrics, fingerprints and photograph
Before Migrationsverket can decide a work permit case, the applicant must present a passport and be fingerprinted and photographed, per Migrationsverket. When this happens depends on whether the applicant needs an entry visa to travel to Sweden.
An applicant who needs an entry visa may be fingerprinted and photographed during the same embassy visit, before travelling. An applicant who does not need a visa is instead fingerprinted and photographed once they have arrived in Sweden, per Migrationsverket. This step applies even to someone who has held a Swedish residence permit before, because that biometric information "is not saved," per Migrationsverket.
The decision and how long it takes
Processing time depends on the type of employment and whether the file was complete at submission. Migrationsverket publishes the share of recently decided cases resolved within a given period, split across four bands, per Migrationsverket:
- Highly qualified, complete file: 1 month
- Highly qualified, incomplete file: 2 months
- Other employment, complete file: 4 months
- Other employment, incomplete file: 10 months
These are 75th-percentile figures: three-quarters of recently decided cases in each category were resolved within the stated period. An incomplete file, missing a document or a signature, adds months to the wait, not weeks.
Step 7: the residence permit card
Once the case is approved and documentation submitted, the physical card takes time to produce. Migrationsverket states: "it can take up to four weeks after you have submitted documentation for your residence permit card before it is ready," per Migrationsverket.
Where the card goes depends on where you are. An applicant outside Sweden collects it at the embassy or consulate-general and presents it with their passport when travelling. An applicant already in Sweden receives it at their registered address, per the same page. That card is the document that unlocks the next stage of settling in Sweden, covered in Personnummer, ID & BankID.
After the card: extending the permit and what it unlocks
A work permit unlocks specific next steps, not automatic ones. An extension has to be applied for; it is not granted on its own.
The salary tier that applies at extension time depends on the filing date. Someone who already holds a work permit granted under the previous rules does not need to meet the new 90 per cent salary requirement. This applies if they file to extend it between 1 June and 1 December 2026, per Migrationsverket.
Once the card is in hand, the applicant gains work rights, covered in Work Rights & A-kassa. A first tax return follows, covered in Tax, and eventually a route toward Citizenship & PR. If a case is rejected at any stage, the options are set out in Appeals, Rejections & Disputes.
Frequently asked questions
Does the 90 per cent salary rule apply if you receive your decision after 1 June 2026, even though you applied earlier?
Yes. The salary requirement applies to anyone who receives a decision on or after 1 June 2026, even if the application was submitted earlier, per Migrationsverket.
If you already hold a work permit granted before 1 June 2026, do you need the new salary level to extend it?
No. If you file the extension between 1 June and 1 December 2026, you do not need to meet the new salary requirement, per Migrationsverket. Your extension is instead assessed at 80 per cent of the median salary.
Can you still get a work permit as a forest berry picker or personal assistant after 1 June 2026?
Not a standard work permit. From 1 June 2026, it is no longer possible to get one for either role, per Migrationsverket. A seasonal work permit remains available if the berry picker's employer is established in Sweden.
Conclusion
The employer starts the case, the union comments on the terms, and the applicant completes it and pays the fee. From 1 June 2026, the salary must clear 90 per cent of the median wage, or 75 per cent for 27 exempted shortage occupations. A transitional 80 per cent rule applies to extensions filed before the window closes on 1 December 2026. Biometrics timing depends on visa status, and the card follows within about four weeks of documentation, collected at the embassy from abroad or delivered to a registered address in Sweden.
Once that card arrives, the next gate is registering for a personnummer and BankID. That identity chain unlocks a Swedish bank account and everyday life. That process is covered in Personnummer, ID & BankID.
