Construction Workers in Sweden: Permits and ID06 (2026)

On this page · 12 sections

Which permit?
Salary rules: which trades are exempt?
Collective agreements: Byggavtalet
Extra requirements for construction employers
Site rules: staff registers and ID06
Posted workers from a foreign company
Inspections on sites
Common reasons for refusal or delay
Document checklist
Frequently Asked Questions
How Settio helps employers and agencies
Sources

A construction worker from outside the EU who is employed by a Swedish company needs a Swedish work permit with a salary of at least SEK 34,470 a month. Some trades, such as welders, need only SEK 28,725. On top of the permit, construction has its own rules: electronic staff registers on sites, ID06 cards where main contractors use them and, for foreign companies, a posting notification to Arbetsmiljöverket.

This guide covers direct hires by Swedish employers and the extra steps when workers are posted by a foreign subcontractor.

Which permit?

For a worker employed by a Swedish company, a standard work permit. Engineers and project managers with high salaries may fit the EU Blue Card (SEK 53,625 a month). Workers sent by a foreign employer to a project in Sweden are posted workers, which brings separate reporting rules, covered below. Posted workers who are not EU citizens may also need a Swedish work permit, so check Migrationsverket's rules before the job starts.

Salary rules: which trades are exempt?

Most construction trades need 90% of the median. The exemption list in the Aliens Ordinance includes some metal and electrical trades:

Trade	Salary floor
Welders and gas cutters (SSYK 7212)	75% (SEK 28,725)
Structural steel erectors and heavy sheet metal workers (SSYK 7215)	75% (SEK 28,725)
Electrical distribution technicians (SSYK 7413)	75% (SEK 28,725)
Maintenance mechanics and machine repairers (SSYK 7233)	75% (SEK 28,725)
Carpenters, concrete workers, bricklayers, painters, plumbers, installation electricians	90% (SEK 34,470)
Construction labourers	90% (SEK 34,470)

Check the exact SSYK code for each trade against Migrationsverket's list before you file. The code must match the real tasks. A worker filed as a welder who mainly does general building work risks a refusal or a problem at extension. Use the salary threshold tool to check a figure.

Collective agreements: Byggavtalet

The main agreement for building workers is Byggavtalet, between the employers' organisation Byggföretagen and the union Byggnads. The current agreement runs from 1 May 2025 to 30 April 2027. Other trades can be covered by other agreements. If pay is set by the hour or by piece rate, state a monthly salary in the offer that reaches the floor.

The employer gives the relevant union, usually Byggnads for building workers, the opportunity to comment on the terms of employment. If the union does not comment, Migrationsverket itself decides whether the terms match collective agreements or what is customary. See collective agreements and work permits.

Extra requirements for construction employers

Migrationsverket lists construction (SNI 41200, 421, 42990 and 43) as an industry with higher requirements. The employer must be able to prove it can pay the salary for at least three months, for example with accounts, bank statements and signed contracts for upcoming projects.

Site rules: staff registers and ID06

Personalliggare (staff register)

Skatteverket requires an electronic personalliggare for construction work: a record of everyone working on the site and when each shift starts and ends. The byggherre (the client who commissions the work) must register the site with Skatteverket before work starts and provide equipment for the register. Skatteverket can visit sites to check the register. Control fees are SEK 12,500 plus SEK 2,500 for each person working who is not recorded, SEK 25,000 if the client did not register the site, and SEK 12,500 if the client did not provide equipment.

ID06

ID06 is the construction industry's own ID card and attendance system, not a legal requirement. Ask each main contractor whether its sites require ID06 cards, and plan card renewals in line with the work permit.

Posted workers from a foreign company

If a foreign company sends its own staff to work in Sweden, it must report the posting to Arbetsmiljöverket no later than when the posted worker starts work, and appoint a contact person in Sweden by the same time. By then it must also give the Swedish recipient of the services documentation showing the posting was reported. A recipient that has not received it must tell Arbetsmiljöverket no later than three days after the work began. Missing these steps can cost a sanction fee of SEK 20,000.

Posted workers keep their home employer, but Swedish laws on the work environment and working hours apply while they work here. See working in Sweden without a work permit for short assignments.

Inspections on sites

Arbetsmiljöverket, the Police, Migrationsverket, Skatteverket and other agencies make unannounced joint checks at workplaces where there is a risk of work-related crime. They check the right to work, staff registers, postings and the work environment. Expect your subcontractors' workers to be checked too, and ask for proof of permits before they start. Employing someone without the right to stay or work costs a special fee of two price base amounts per person, four if it lasted more than three months. In some subcontracting chains, the company that hired the subcontractor can also have to pay.

Common reasons for refusal or delay

Hourly pay that does not add up to the monthly floor, or a contract that depends on overtime to reach it.
Weak finances or no visible project pipeline to fund three months of salary.
Wrong trade code, especially using an exempt code for general building work.
Terms below the agreement on pay, allowances or deductions.
Earlier breaches. Since 1 June 2026 a permit can be refused if the employer has been charged a special fee or is convicted of, or reasonably suspected of, certain crimes.

More on what happens next in what to do after a refusal.

Document checklist

Passport copy
Offer of employment with trade, SSYK code and monthly salary
Union opinion (usually Byggnads, or the union for the trade), or proof the union was given the opportunity to comment
The ten-day advertisement
Proof of insurances
Financial evidence for at least three months of salary, and project contracts
Trade certificates, for example welding certificates
After arrival: ID06 card where required, entry in each site's staff register, Skatteverket notification (SKV 1160)
For posted workers: Arbetsmiljöverket posting report and contact person

The full HR list is in the document checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are welders exempt from Sweden's 90% salary requirement?

Yes. Welders and gas cutters (SSYK 7212) are on the exemption list and need at least 75% of the median, SEK 28,725 a month. Structural steel erectors and heavy sheet metal workers, maintenance mechanics and electrical distribution technicians are also exempt.

Is an ID06 card required by law in Sweden?

No. ID06 is an industry system, not a legal requirement. The legal requirement is the electronic staff register that Skatteverket checks on construction sites.

When must a foreign company report posted construction workers?

No later than when the posted worker starts work in Sweden, to Arbetsmiljöverket, together with a contact person in Sweden. Missing the report can cost a sanction fee of SEK 20,000.

Can a construction company with few employees hire from outside the EU?

Yes, but construction is an industry with higher requirements. The company must be able to prove that it can pay the salary for at least three months.

How Settio helps employers and agencies

Settio helps employers and immigration agencies run every work permit and relocation case in one place, from the first step to the renewal:

Before the move: a plan for every hire, with each step, owner and deadline counted back from the start date, and documents that check themselves as they come in.
After arrival: the employee portal shows the new hire their next steps on their phone, in their language, with no account or password.
For the renewal: permit and salary monitoring tracks every expiry date and flags the extension in good time.

Your first hire is free, and agencies can try a real case for free. See plans and start.

Sources

14 official sources

More in our guide toImmigration to Sweden

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Construction Workers in Sweden: Work Permits, Posting Rules and ID06 (2026)