Sweden Visas
Sweden Visas, Work Permits and Migration
Most people travelling abroad for a holiday, to work, to visit friends or for cultural reasons require documentation to enter a country. Nations strictly protect their borders and compliance with their rules and regulations is paramount. Each applicant is responsible for their own paperwork before entering, and this includes Sweden.
For companies committed to international expansion, experts are available to help. Bureaucracy can prove the undoing of many companies when it comes to work permits, visas, and immigration law. Moving potential employees or existing staff across the world would need a dedicated HR team, whereas specialists are already up and running and ready to assist.
Bradford Jacobs is a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) and Employer of Record with networks for recruiting, payroll, and immigration documentation. We have operated in this field globally for more than 20 years, including in Sweden. We can have your employees settled with the correct paperwork within days rather than the months it may take – all red-tape unraveled!
What Types of Work Visas, and Permits for Sweden are there?
First it is important to determine what paperwork is required. Some countries’ nationals are visa-exempt for business purposes, holidays, or visits.
European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) nationals and those from the Nordic countries do not require a visa or work permit to enter Sweden, live and work there. These nationalities have ‘the right of residence’. They do not need to register with the Swedish Migration Agency. However, they are required to be on the Swedish Population Register to receive a Personal Identity Number (PIN) and register for tax with the Swedish Tax Agency.
Other foreigners from outside the EU, Third Country Nationals (TCNs), may require an Entry Visa unless on an exempt list which allows 90 days in a 180-day period without a visa. Those not travelling visa-free will have to apply for the Schengen visa (three months in any six-month period). Circumstances, this may be extended with a Visitor Visa.
However, generally TCNs need to apply for a Work Permit if they intend to live and work in Sweden, which can take from one month to a year depending on how smoothly the process goes. They will also be given a Residence Card to be able to enter Sweden, which can take around four weeks. Those visa-exempt persons can enter the country and apply for their Residence Card at the Swedish Migration Agency when they have received approval for their Work Permit.
Requirements to live and work in Sweden
- Work Permit – permission to work.
- Residence Permit Card – which gives right of residence for duration of permit and can also serve as an entry visa when produced with passport.
Main Work Permits
- General Work Permit for those applying outside Sweden who have a qualifying job offer
- EU Card for highly qualified workers – combined permit and residence
- Intra Company Transfer (ICT) permit for foreigners outside of the EU to work at a branch of their corporate group within Sweden
Requirements for Work Permit with a confirmed job offer from an employer in Sweden
- A Labor Market Test has been completed for the job position e.g., advertised in the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) and EU/EEA job bank EURES – for up to 10 days previous to the offer, giving priority to those local and EU citizens
- A monthly minimum gross salary offered of SEK 13,000 (€1,270; US$1,433)
- Health insurance to cover employee until the employer arranges life, health, injury insurance and pension for employee
- Have a valid passport from home country
- Approval from relevant trade union
Note: There are a few exceptions (for some nationalities) who do not require a work permit, so it is important to check:
- A ‘working holiday’. This requires a one-year ‘working holiday visa’ instead of work permit
- If employment is for less than 90 days, some nationalities do not require a work permit but may still need an entry visa
- Some employers are exempt from work permit rules