Moving to Sweden for Work? Here Is What You Need to Know

Key takeaways

EU and EEA citizens can move to Sweden to work without a work permit; most people from outside the EU/EEA need one before they start.
Your employer starts the work permit application in the Migration Agency's e-service, and you complete your part through a link.
Since 1 June 2026 the salary must be at least 90% of the median salary, and insurance must be in place from your first day.
Your partner and children under 21 can apply with you, but your income must cover everyone's housing and living costs.
If you plan to live in Sweden for a year or more, you register with Skatteverket after you arrive and get a personal identity number.

On this page · 10 sections

First: do you need a work permit?
How the work permit works
What your job offer has to meet
Bringing your family
Your first weeks in Sweden
Once you are working
A short checklist before you move
Frequently Asked Questions
Moving for work? How Settio helps
Sources

A job offer from a Swedish employer is the start of the move, not the end of the paperwork. What you need next depends mostly on one thing, your citizenship, and then on the terms of the job, your family and how long you plan to stay. This guide walks through each step in order, from the permit to your first weeks in Sweden, using the Swedish Migration Agency's and Skatteverket's own pages.

First: do you need a work permit?

EU and EEA citizens can move to Sweden to work without a work permit. Citizens of Switzerland follow their own rules.
Citizens of other countries need a permit to work in Sweden in most cases, and a first permit is applied for from outside Sweden, before you move.

The rest of this section is for people who need a permit. If you are an EU or EEA citizen, skip to your first weeks in Sweden.

How the work permit works

Sign the employment contract. You need a signed contract before the application is made.
Your employer starts the application in the Migration Agency's e-service. You then receive an email with a link and complete your own part. The application is registered only once you have submitted it.
Pay the fee: SEK 2,200 for you, by Visa or Mastercard when you submit. It is not refunded if the application is rejected.
Prove your identity. Most applicants get an email to check their passport digitally in an app. If the Migration Agency asks you to visit an embassy or consulate instead, you give your fingerprints and are photographed there for your residence permit card.
Wait for the decision. A work permit is granted for at most two years, never longer than your employment contract or your passport's validity, and it can be extended.

How long the decision takes changes month by month: see the Migration Agency's current figures in our decision wait times tool.

What your job offer has to meet

The Migration Agency checks the job, not only you. Before you sign, it helps to know what it looks for:

The salary: since 1 June 2026, at least 90% of the median salary in Sweden, currently SEK 34,470 a month before tax. Some listed occupations need 75% of the median (SEK 28,725). Check an offer with the free Permit Salary Check.
The terms: salary and conditions at least on par with Swedish collective agreements or what is common in the occupation.
Insurance: medical, life, occupational injury and occupational pension insurance from your first day of work. Since 1 June 2026, if you stay up to one year you must also have, or have applied for, comprehensive health insurance.
The advert: the employer must have advertised the job in Sweden, the EU/EEA and Switzerland for at least ten days, and the contract is signed after the advert has closed.

Highly qualified? An EU Blue Card is an alternative for a highly qualified job of at least six months, if you have higher education equivalent to 180 credits or five years of professional experience. It has its own, higher salary threshold. Read EU Blue Card or work permit to compare the two.

Bringing your family

Who can come: your spouse, registered partner or cohabiting partner, and children under 21. They can apply at the same time as you, or later in their own application.
The fees: SEK 1,500 for each adult and SEK 750 for each child, and everyone needs a valid passport.
The income: your income must cover housing and living costs for everyone. From 1 October 2026 this is checked again when you extend, not only at the first application. A family member's income may count, but not income from subsidised employment or unemployment benefits.
Work: adult family members can work in Sweden once their permits are granted.

More detail: moving to Sweden with your family on a work permit.

Your first weeks in Sweden

If you plan to live in Sweden for one year or more, you register in the Swedish Population Register (folkbokföring) with Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency. If you will be employed for less than a year, you get a coordination number instead.

Notify Skatteverket through its Moving to Sweden e-service, at the earliest 14 days before you move. You log in with an eID or the Freja app. Each person moving, children included, needs their own notification.
Upload your documents: copies of every page of your passport with information on it, your residence permit card if you have one, and your exact address in Sweden, apartment number included.
Visit a state service centre in person after you arrive, with your original passport and residence permit card, so your identity can be checked. Book an appointment first.
Wait for the letter. The decision comes by post, and you get your personal identity number (personnummer) when you are first registered. When we checked in October 2026, Skatteverket said a case took about five weeks to be assigned to an administrator.

Once you are registered, you may also be taxed in Sweden on income from abroad, so tell Skatteverket if you have any. For everything else in the first month (bank, ID card, healthcare, housing), use our free First 30 Days in Sweden planner, and read start your Swedish registration before you move.

Once you are working

Your permit is tied to your job. It applies to the employer and the occupation in the decision; some permits are limited to the occupation only. Your decision and your residence permit card show which.
Changing jobs: a new employer or a new occupation means a new work permit. You may start in the new job once you have applied, as long as you applied before your current permit expired.
If the job ends: you may stay for three months to look for a new job, as long as your permit is valid for that time.
Extending: your employer starts the extension, at the earliest two months before your permit ends and before it expires. If you have had a work permit for at least six months and applied in time, you may keep working while you wait. The terms of your job must have been met for the whole permit.

A short checklist before you move

A signed contract whose salary, terms and insurance meet the requirements above.
A passport valid long enough for the permit you want.
Your family's applications and fees, and proof your income covers everyone.
An address in Sweden, so you can notify Skatteverket up to 14 days before you move.
A note of your permit's end date: the extension window opens two months before it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a work permit to move to Sweden for work?

Not if you are an EU or EEA citizen: you can move to Sweden to work without one. Citizens of most other countries need a work permit before they start, applied for from outside Sweden.

Who applies for a Swedish work permit, me or my employer?

Both. Your employer starts the application in the Migration Agency's e-service, and you complete and submit your part through the link you receive by email. The application is registered once you have submitted it.

What salary do I need for a Swedish work permit in 2026?

At least 90% of the median salary, SEK 34,470 a month for applications from 16 June 2026, or 75% (SEK 28,725) in some listed occupations. The terms must also be on par with Swedish collective agreements or common practice.

How long is a Swedish work permit valid?

At most two years, never longer than your employment contract or your passport, and it can be extended before it expires.

Can my family move to Sweden with me?

Yes. Your spouse or partner and children under 21 can apply with you or later. Your income must cover housing and living costs for everyone, and from 1 October 2026 that is checked again at extension.

When do I get a personal identity number?

When Skatteverket first registers you in the Population Register, which is for people planning to live in Sweden for a year or more. You notify Skatteverket through its Moving to Sweden e-service and visit a service centre after you arrive.

Moving for work? How Settio helps

Settio helps employers and immigration and relocation agencies run the whole move in one place, so the person moving can focus on settling in:

Before the move: one plan for the permit and the move, with every step and deadline. A partner and children get their own steps in the same household.
After arrival: the employee portal shows the newcomer their next steps on their phone, in their language, from registering after arrival to help for settling in.
When the permit runs out: permit monitoring flags the extension in good time.

HR teams and agencies can start for free. Moving yourself? Try our free tools for life in Sweden.

Sources

9 official sources

More in our guide toRelocating to Sweden

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