Working While Your Swedish Work Permit Extension Is Processed (and What AT-UND Really Means)

The short answer

An employee who has held a Swedish work permit for at least six months and applies to extend it before the current permit expires may keep working while Migrationsverket processes the application, even if the old permit card expires in the meantime. The rule has no special name or card. It comes from the Aliens Ordinance (utlänningsförordningen 2006:97, chapter 5, section 3, second paragraph) and is described on Migrationsverket's pages for people waiting for an extension decision.

This is often mislabelled online as "AT-UND". That is a different thing: AT-UND is the marking for an asylum seeker's exemption from the work-permit requirement (see below).

The conditions

The employee may keep working during processing when all of the following are true:

• The employee has had a work permit for six months or more. Someone who has held a work permit for less than six months may not work while waiting for the decision.
• The extension application was submitted before the current permit expired. Migrationsverket accepts extension applications at the earliest two months before expiry.
• The application is for continued work in Sweden: an extension with the same employer, or, if the employee changes jobs after applying, a new employer. If the employee changes employer after submitting the extension and before the decision, they may start at the new job but must send the new employment contract to Migrationsverket.

If these conditions are met, the right lasts until Migrationsverket decides the application. If the application is refused and an expulsion order is issued, the exemption lasts until the expulsion order becomes final (vinner laga kraft), which includes the time an appeal is being considered.

First-time applicants must wait

The rule only protects people who already hold a Swedish work permit. A first-time applicant applying from outside Sweden has no right to work in Sweden while the application is processed. They must wait for the permit decision (and the residence permit card) before travelling to Sweden to start work.

What breaks the right to keep working

• Late application: if the extension is submitted even one day after the current permit expires, the rule does not apply. The employee must stop working when the permit expires.
• Less than six months on a work permit: an employee who applies early but has held the permit for under six months may not work once the current permit runs out, until a decision is made.
• Withdrawal of the application: if the pending application is withdrawn, the basis for working ends.
• Final refusal: once a refusal (and any expulsion order) becomes final, the employee must stop working.

What proof to keep

There is no card or certificate that shows the right to keep working during processing. If HR, an auditor, a bank or a landlord asks for proof, the evidence is:

• The employee's current or most recent residence permit card, showing the permit was valid on the day the application was submitted
• The earlier permit decision(s), showing the employee has held a work permit for at least six months
• Migrationsverket's application receipt confirming the submission date and the case number
• If the employee has changed employer since applying, proof that the new employment contract was sent to Migrationsverket

HR should keep copies in the employee's case file. Employers must also be able to show that they checked the employee's right to work in Sweden.

What AT-UND actually means

At Migrationsverket, AT-UND is the marking for an asylum seeker's exemption from the work-permit requirement. Someone who has applied for international protection in Sweden and has been granted access to the labour market does not need a work permit (Aliens Ordinance, chapter 5, section 4), and the exemption is shown on the asylum seeker's card. Since 12 June 2026 it appears on the new application card with a QR code; the old LMA cards stopped being valid on 1 October 2026. AT-UND has nothing to do with work permit extensions. For the full explanation, read What is AT-UND in Sweden?

The single most important action: file early

The right to keep working only exists if the extension is filed before the current permit expires. Applications can be submitted from two months before expiry; start collecting documents well before that so nothing delays submission.

Settio surfaces a deadline alert 4 months before every permit expiry date, giving HR time to collect documents and submit without pressure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an employee keep working after the permit card expires?

Yes, if they have held a work permit for at least six months and applied for the extension before the permit expired. They may keep working until Migrationsverket decides.

What if the employee has had the permit for less than six months?

They can still apply for an extension, but they may not work while waiting for the decision once the current permit has expired.

Is AT-UND the right to work during an extension?

No. AT-UND is the asylum seeker's exemption from the work-permit requirement. The right to keep working during an extension has no special name or card.

Can the employee change employer while the extension is pending?

Yes. If they applied before the current permit expired, they can start at the new job, but must send the new employment contract to Migrationsverket.

How Settio keeps permits on track

Most permit problems start with a date or a salary nobody was watching. Settio helps employers and immigration agencies watch both, for every person, before they move, after they arrive and at every renewal:

• Permit and salary monitoring tracks every expiry date and the salary each permit was granted on, and turns a dip or a missing month into a follow-up step with an owner.
• Plans for every case, from the first application to the extension, with each deadline counted for you.
• Your whole international workforce at a glance: import the people already on permits and see their risks in minutes.

Try it with your own people: see plans and start for free.

Sources

7 official sources

• Migrationsverket: You are waiting for a decision about extension
• Migrationsverket: Extending a work permit (employers)
• Migrationsverket: Apply for an extension of a work permit
• Riksdagen: Utlänningsförordning (2006:97), 5 kap. 3 och 4 §§
• Migrationsverket: Guide for employers on who has the right to work in Sweden
• Migrationsverket: Ansökningskort
• Migrationsverket: LMA cards not valid from 1 October (28 July 2026)