Sweden work permit in 2026: salary requirement, exempt occupations and how to apply

🇸🇪 SE · permits · 2026-10-11

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To get a Swedish work permit you first need a job offer from an employer in Sweden, and that one job has to meet every requirement on its own, including a monthly salary of at least SEK 34,470. That figure is 90 per cent of the median salary of SEK 38,300 published as of 16 June 2026. A list of exempt occupations only needs 75 per cent of the median. If this is your first work permit, you apply from outside Sweden. There is no general visa that lets you come to Sweden to look for a job unless you have finished higher education or research.

What a Swedish work permit requires

The Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) states that "your employment must meet all the requirements" and that "you cannot combine two or more jobs in order to meet the requirements". The requirements on its employees page are:

a valid passport;
an employment contract signed by both you and your employer;
a salary and other 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;
comprehensive health insurance of your own if the job lasts a maximum of one year;
the salary requirement described below.

Some jobs cannot lead to a work permit at all. Since 1 June 2026 the agency does not grant work permits for forest berry pickers or personal assistants. Stricter good conduct (vandel) checks also apply from 13 July 2026.

A work permit is granted for a maximum of two years, never longer than the employment contract or your passport, and it can be extended. It is tied to the employer and the profession: if you change employer or profession, you need a new permit. If the job is as a doctor and you trained outside the EU and EEA, you also need a Swedish medical licence (legitimation); the work permit does not replace it.

The salary requirement: SEK 34,470 a month

The salary requirement replaced the older maintenance requirement. It applies to people applying for a work permit for the first time who receive a decision on or after 1 June 2026. The rule is that the monthly salary must be at least 90 per cent of the median salary published by Statistics Sweden (SCB) that was current when you applied.

On the agency's salary requirements page the current numbers are:

| Valid for applications received | Median salary | 90 per cent | 75 per cent | |---|---|---|---| | from 16 June 2026 | SEK 38,300 | SEK 34,470 | SEK 28,725 | | 17 June 2025 to 15 June 2026 | SEK 37,100 | SEK 33,390 | SEK 27,825 |

SEK 34,470 is a floor, not a target. The agency adds that your salary "must also be in line with collective agreements or with common practice in your profession or industry", which means it "may need to be higher than 90 percent of the median salary". If the collective agreement for the job pays more, the higher figure is what counts.

Exempt occupations: 75 per cent of the median

Some occupations and groups are exempt from the 90 per cent rule. For them, the salary must be at least 75 per cent of the median salary at the time of the application, which is SEK 28,725 for applications from 16 June 2026. The list of exempt occupations is in the Aliens Ordinance, and Migrationsverket reproduces it. Examples from that list:

assistant nurses in home care, home healthcare and elderly care homes, and assistant nurses in other care settings;
childcare assistants, care assistants and ambulance care assistants;
IT operations technicians, IT support technicians, systems administrators, and network and systems technicians;
welders and gas cutters, structural steel erectors, maintenance mechanics and machine repairers, electrical distribution technicians;
forestry workers, farm animal caretakers and drivers of agricultural and forestry machinery.

The exemption lasts for the duration of the permit. When you apply to extend, you have to check that the occupation is still on the list; if it is not, the full salary requirement applies.

Some groups are also exempt, among them people who hold a student or researcher residence permit in Sweden when they apply for their first work permit.

How to apply for the first time

For a first work permit, the agency is direct: "you must do so from outside Sweden, otherwise your application may be rejected."

The process starts with the employer. Your employer needs your name, date of birth, citizenship and email address, and uses them to start the application. You then complete your part and attach:

correctly made copies of your passport;
the employment contract signed by both of you;
proof of comprehensive health insurance if the job lasts a maximum of one year.

Documents should be in Swedish or English. You may need to show your passport or be interviewed at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general.

The fee for employees is SEK 2,200, for adult family members SEK 1,500 and for children SEK 750. Citizens of Japan do not pay a fee. The fee is not refunded if the application is rejected.

Waiting times vary. The agency's statistics for the last 12 months show that 75 per cent of complete applications for "other employments" were decided within 4 months, and incomplete ones within 10 months.

Is there a visa to come and look for work?

Not for most people. Migrationsverket's "Look for work" page lists three routes, and all of them depend on finished higher education or research:

you have completed studies equivalent to a second-cycle qualification and want to come to Sweden to look for work or explore starting a business;
you have completed research;
you have completed higher education studies in Sweden. See the job seeker permit after studies.

If you do not fit one of these, you need the job offer first and the permit second.

Country specifics: what this means for a young applicant

The requirements listed on the employees page do not include a minimum age or a minimum amount of work experience. What decides the case is the job offer: one contract, at least SEK 34,470 a month (or SEK 28,725 in an exempt occupation), and pay in line with the collective agreement. For someone early in their working life, the question is whether an employer will offer a contract at that level. The exempt list matters here, because it includes occupations such as care assistant and childcare assistant where the 75 per cent level applies.

Two related points from the same agency page. A student with a residence permit for first or second cycle studies does not need a separate work permit to work in Sweden, and a person with a residence permit to live with someone in Sweden already has the right to work. If you live with a partner in Sweden, the requirements for a permit as a cohabiting partner (sambo) are set out by Migrationsverket on its own pages; check them there. See the family immigration rules from 1 October 2026.

FAQ

What is the minimum salary for a Swedish work permit in 2026?

SEK 34,470 a month for applications received from 16 June 2026. That is 90 per cent of the median salary of SEK 38,300. The collective agreement can require more.

Which occupations are exempt from the salary requirement?

Those on the list in the Aliens Ordinance, for example assistant nurses in elderly care, childcare assistants and IT support technicians. They need at least 75 per cent of the median, SEK 28,725.

Can I combine two part-time jobs to reach the salary?

No. One employment has to meet all the requirements.

Can I apply for a work permit while I am visiting Sweden?

Not for a first work permit. It must be made from outside Sweden, otherwise it may be rejected.

How much does a Swedish work permit application cost?

SEK 2,200 for the employee, SEK 1,500 for each adult family member and SEK 750 for each child.

Is there a job seeker visa for Sweden?

Only for people who have completed a second-cycle qualification, research, or higher education in Sweden.

How Jobsy fits

We build Jobsy, a service that searches for employers and recruitment and staffing agencies for you, including in Sweden, from a base of more than 2.6 million employers and agencies. It does not handle work permits or Migrationsverket applications; the job offer and the permit paperwork stay between you, the employer and the agency. The first result is free, and Jobsy Active, which keeps the search going, costs €6.70 a month.

Sources

Sources: Swedish Migration Agency: Work permit for employees · Swedish Migration Agency: Salary requirements for a work permit · Swedish Migration Agency: Look for work