Old criminal case and a Swedish work permit: how the good conduct (vandel) check works

🇸🇪 SE · permits · 2026-10-12

Translating to Norwegian. Showing the English original for now.

If you apply for a Swedish work permit after 13 July 2026, the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) will look at your conduct, and an old criminal case is part of what it can see. The agency says it always checks whether an applicant for a residence permit has committed any offences, and that from 13 July stricter good conduct (vandel) requirements apply to applications based on employment. The same announcement says that isolated, minor incidents will normally not be grounds for rejecting a permit, that repeated behaviour may be relevant, and that misconduct is weighed against how strong your grounds for a permit are. The announcement does not name a time limit after which an old case stops counting. This is general information, not legal advice.

What Migrationsverket checks from 13 July 2026

The agency's news item of 13 July 2026 says the stricter requirements apply to those applying for a residence permit in Sweden, "for example on the grounds of employment or to live with someone". A work permit based on employment is therefore covered. For family-based permits, see the rules in force from 1 October 2026.

According to the same announcement, the check has several parts:

Offences. The agency always checks whether an applicant has committed any offences. This was already the case before July 2026.
Law-abiding and honest. The agency will also assess whether you follow the rules, support yourself honestly and do not pose a threat to public order.
Debts and benefits. It will check whether you have paid any debts and whether you have provided accurate information as the basis for social insurance, social assistance or other benefits.
Networks. It will check whether there is any information indicating contact with criminal networks, terrorist organisations or extremist organisations.

The announcement does not list which documents or registers are used for each part of the check, and it does not say how foreign court records are read.

How an old case is weighed

Three sentences in the announcement matter most for someone with a single incident many years ago.

First: "Isolated, minor incidents will normally not be grounds for rejecting a residence permit or for revoking one." A single event that did not repeat is the kind of case this sentence describes. The agency does not define "minor", so whether a particular incident counts as minor is part of the individual assessment.

Second: "However, repeated behaviour may be relevant to the assessment." A pattern weighs more than a one-off. If there have been no further incidents since the old case, that is a fact you can document.

Third: the agency weighs misconduct against the grounds for the permit. "The stronger the grounds for granting a residence permit, the more serious the misconduct must be for the person not to be granted the permit." The assessment is a balance, and a job offer that meets every work permit requirement is your ground for the permit.

What the announcement does not say:

It does not give a number of years after which an old case is ignored.
It does not say whether a case that ended without a conviction is treated differently from a conviction.
It does not say how a case closed by reconciliation between the parties, or by any other non-conviction outcome abroad, is assessed.

A comparison that is often quoted: citizenship qualifying periods

People sometimes point to the citizenship rules, which are a different procedure. On its page about citizenship for adults, the agency explains that "If you have committed a crime, you must wait for a period of time before you can become a Swedish citizen", and that "How long you must wait depends on the sentence you received." The page has a table of guideline qualifying periods by sentence, from day fines to prison. It also says that offences "for which you have been convicted in another country" can lead to a waiting period, and that the offence must be regarded as a criminal offence under Swedish law to affect the assessment.

That table is keyed to sentences. It is not a rule for work permits, and the work permit announcement does not refer to it.

What to prepare and how to answer

Nothing in the agency's announcement suggests that leaving things out helps, and one part of the new check is whether you have provided accurate information. A sensible approach is to make the old case easy to understand:

Answer the question that is asked. A question about convictions is not the same as a question about criminal proceedings or investigations. Answer exactly what is asked, completely and truthfully.
Keep the official court decision. If a court ended the case, the decision that says how and why it ended is the clearest document you have.
Translate it properly. The agency's work permit page says that all submitted documents "should be in Swedish or English", that a translation should be certified, and that you must also include a copy of the document in its original language.
Keep any explanation short and factual. Dates, what the case was about, how it ended, and that nothing similar has happened since. Do not add anything you cannot support with a document.

For a case with injuries, reconciliation and a court decision in another country, many people choose to have a Swedish immigration lawyer read the documents before they apply. The agency's public pages do not cover such outcomes in detail.

The work permit itself still has to meet every requirement

Good conduct is one part of the decision; the job has to qualify on its own. The agency's page for employees says that your employment must meet all the requirements and that "You cannot combine two or more jobs in order to meet the requirements." The listed requirements include:

a valid passport;
an employment contract signed by both you and your employer;
salary and working conditions at least on par with Swedish collective agreements or common practice in your profession or industry;
health, life, industrial injuries and occupational pension insurance taken out by your employer by the time you start;
a monthly salary of at least SEK 34,470, which the page says is 90 percent of the current median salary, unless your occupation or situation is exempt.

The page also says that if you apply for a work permit for the first time, "you must do so from outside Sweden", and that the employer starts the application in the e-service. If you studied in Sweden, see the job seeker permit after studies. The fee for an employee is SEK 2,200, and it is not refunded if the application is rejected. On waiting times, the agency says "It is not possible to say exactly how long you will need to wait for a decision."

For more detail on the salary rules and exempt occupations, see our separate guide to the Swedish work permit salary requirement.

FAQ

Does Migrationsverket check criminal records for work permits?

Yes. The agency always checks for offences, and since 13 July 2026 it also assesses wider good conduct.

Is there a time limit after which an old case no longer matters?

The agency's good conduct announcement does not state one. It says isolated, minor incidents will normally not be grounds for rejection and that repeated behaviour may be relevant.

Does a case that ended without a conviction count?

The announcement does not say how non-conviction outcomes are treated. Keep the court decision that shows how the case ended and answer the application questions exactly as asked.

Do the citizenship qualifying periods apply to work permits?

No. They are guidelines for Swedish citizenship, a separate procedure, and they are keyed to the sentence received.

What else does the new good conduct check cover?

Whether you follow the rules and support yourself honestly, unpaid debts, accurate information given for benefits, and any information about contact with criminal networks, terrorist organisations or extremist organisations.

Do my foreign court documents need to be translated?

The agency says documents should be in Swedish or English, translations should be certified, and a copy in the original language must be included.

How Jobsy fits

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Sources

Sources: Swedish Migration Agency: New requirements regarding good conduct (vandel) for residence permits · Swedish Migration Agency: Work permit for employees · Swedish Migration Agency: Citizenship for adults