Swedish work permits explained: which route fits you?

Work down the questions in order and stop at the first yes. Some offers fit more than one route; when that happens, compare permit length and how easily you can change jobs later.

• Are you a Nordic or EU/EEA citizen? You need no work permit. Swiss citizens staying longer than three months apply for a residence permit for Swiss citizens.
• Do you already hold a permit that includes the right to work, such as permanent residence, a permit to live with a partner in Sweden, a protection permit, or a first- or second-cycle study permit? You don’t need a work permit for that job.
• Do you have a degree of at least 180 credits or five years of relevant experience, a contract of at least six months, and a salary of at least SEK 53,625 a month? Consider the EU Blue Card.
• Is the monthly salary at least SEK 34,470, in line with the collective agreement? Use the standard work permit.
• Is the job on the exempt list, or are you in an exempt group (for example a current student in Sweden)? The floor drops to SEK 28,725.
• Invited by an approved research organisation? Use the research permit.
• No offer yet but a completed master’s-level degree? Apply for the residence permit to look for work.
• Aged 18–30 and a citizen of Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand or South Korea? A working holiday permit lets you work for up to a year.

This is a reading of Migrationsverket’s published conditions, not legal advice. Only the agency can decide whether you qualify, and the rules changed substantially in 2026, so check the current page for your permit before you pay the fee.

All conditions must be met by one job; you can’t combine two jobs to reach them. First-time applicants apply from outside Sweden.

• A valid passport and an employment contract signed by you and the employer.
• Salary and conditions at least on par with the Swedish collective agreement or normal practice in the profession. That can push the real floor above SEK 34,470.
• Health, life, industrial injury and occupational pension insurance taken out by the employer by your first day.
• For jobs of one year or less, comprehensive health insurance that you have or have applied for, covering the whole stay.
• The salary requirement: at least 90% of the median salary Statistics Sweden published when you applied. The median is updated each June; since 16 June 2026 that means SEK 34,470 a month.

Two occupations can no longer get a work permit at all since 1 June 2026: forest berry picker and personal assistant. From 13 July 2026 Migrationsverket also applies a stricter good-conduct (vandel) test to residence permits, including checks on unpaid debts and whether benefit claims were accurate. Isolated, minor incidents normally don’t lead to a refusal.

Exempt applicants still face a floor: 75% of the median salary, which is SEK 28,725 a month for applications from 16 June 2026. The government’s list of exempt occupations, in the Aliens Ordinance, includes assistant nurses, childcare and care assistants, IT operations and support technicians, systems administrators, network technicians, laboratory engineers, welders, maintenance mechanics, electrical distribution technicians, butchers, food-industry machine operators, forestry workers and farm animal caretakers. The exemption lasts for the whole permit, but check the list again when you extend.

Some groups are exempt regardless of occupation: people who hold a student or researcher permit in Sweden when applying for a work permit for the first time, and people with a permit under the EU Temporary Protection Directive. Both are exempt for two years, or until their permit expires if that is later. Doctors, dentists and nurses completing Swedish certification are exempt, and so are staff of tech or life science start-ups under five years old with fewer than 100 employees.

If your current work permit was granted before 1 June 2026 and you apply to extend by 1 December 2026, the old maintenance requirement applies: 80% of the median salary current when you apply. From 2 December 2026, extensions must meet the new requirement.

Sweden’s EU Blue Card suits well-paid specialists. You need higher education of at least 180 credits (a bachelor’s-level degree) or at least five years of relevant professional experience, a highly qualified job of at least six months, and a salary of at least 1.25 times the average Swedish salary: SEK 53,625 a month. Migrationsverket sets the threshold every year.

The first card is valid for at least nine months and, since June 2026, up to four years. The fee is SEK 2,000, and 75% of complete applications in the last year were decided within a month. Your spouse or partner and children under 18 can apply with you. If you already hold a Swedish work permit and meet the conditions, you can switch to a Blue Card without leaving Sweden. If you hold a Blue Card from another EU country for at least 12 months, you can apply in Sweden within a month of entering. You must tell Migrationsverket if the job ends, you change jobs or your salary drops below the threshold.

Yes, if you have completed studies at second-cycle level: a 60- or 120-credit master’s degree, a professional degree of 60–330 credits, or a PhD. The residence permit to look for work or start a business lasts up to nine months. You must show savings of at least SEK 13,000 for each month you apply for, plus the cost of a ticket home, and hold comprehensive health insurance. You apply from outside Sweden; the fee is SEK 2,200. In the last year, 75% of complete applications were decided within six months, so apply well ahead.

Once you have an offer, apply for a work permit from inside Sweden. You can start the job as soon as you have applied, but only for that employer and occupation. Graduates of Swedish universities have a separate job-seeking permit, covered in our guide for international students.

Researchers invited by an approved research organisation apply for a research permit. It needs a hosting agreement, at least half of your working time on research, and funds of at least SEK 9,700 a month. Researchers with a special research permit do not need a separate work permit.

The working holiday permit lets citizens of Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea aged 18–30 stay for up to a year and work, as long as work is not the main purpose of the trip. You need at least SEK 15,000 on arrival and, except Australians, comprehensive health insurance. Seasonal work permits now run for up to nine months in any twelve, and Migrationsverket also has routes for intra-company transfers (ICT permits) and self-employed people.

A work permit applies to the employer and profession in the decision. A new employer, a new profession or completely new duties means a new application, and so does an employer changing its company registration number. You may start the new job as soon as you have applied, provided your old permit hasn’t expired. The new employer must have advertised the position in Sweden and across the EU/EEA and Switzerland before you start.

If your job ends, you may stay to look for a new one for three months after your last working day, as long as your permit is still valid. Check your decision and residence permit card: some permits are limited to occupation and employer, others to occupation only. With an occupation-only permit, a new job in the same profession needs no new application. If you don’t find work within three months and have no other right to stay, you must leave.

Your spouse, registered or cohabiting partner and children under 21 can apply at the same time as you, or join you later. On a Blue Card, children must be under 18. Adult family members, and children who turn 16 during the year, may work in Sweden. The fees are SEK 1,500 per adult and SEK 750 per child. When family applies, you must also show income that covers housing plus a set monthly amount. In 2026 that is SEK 6,243 for a single adult and SEK 10,314 for spouses or cohabiting partners, with extra for each child. For your partner’s own job search, see the accompanying partners guide.

The rules are moving. Migrationsverket’s extension page still describes a permanent residence permit after four years with a work permit within the last seven, applied for together with an extension. But from 12 July 2026, permanent residence permits are as a general rule no longer granted in several situations, and long-term resident status, available after five years of continuous legal residence, now comes with a five-year permit instead of a permanent one. Anyone granted that status cannot later get a permanent permit on any grounds. If long-term settlement matters to you, check the agency’s current pages before each extension and ask Migrationsverket directly.