Moving to Sweden from the Philippines: Work Permit, Biometrics and Arrival (2026)

Filipino citizens can work in Sweden on a Swedish work permit, but the Embassy of Sweden in Manila does not handle work or residence permits. Those cases go to the Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok. You also have Philippine exit rules to follow before you fly, so start both processes early.

1. The permit conditions

• A monthly salary of at least SEK 34,470 (from June 2026), and in line with the collective agreement or what is normal in the job.
• Assistant nurses, childcare and ambulance care assistants and care assistants (SSYK 5321 to 5326 and 5330) are among the exempted occupations with a lower level of SEK 28,725.
• Nurses with foreign qualifications who are working towards a Swedish licence are one of the exempted groups. Ask the employer how your licence will be handled.
• If the employment lasts one year or less, you need health insurance.

Rules in detail: Sweden's June 2026 rules.

2. Biometrics and the passport check: Bangkok, not Manila

Filipino citizens need a visa for short visits to Sweden, so biometrics are taken before travel. The Embassy in Manila refers residence and work permit applicants to the Embassy in Bangkok. Bangkok handles applicants living in the Philippines, Thailand and several other countries in the region.

• At the embassy you give your fingerprints and photo (biometrics) for the residence permit card.
• When Migrationsverket asks you to visit, you book by email with the Bangkok embassy's migration section, giving your details and case number. Phone bookings are not possible.
• If you can't communicate in English, Swedish or Thai, an interpreter must be present. Say which language when you book.
• Migrationsverket also offers a digital passport check in the Freja app for some passports, and Philippine passports were on the list when we checked. It replaces the passport visit only: as a visa national you still give biometrics at an embassy before you travel.

For short-stay Schengen visas, Manila refers to the Bangkok embassy through VFS Global in Manila. That is a separate process.

3. Collecting the residence permit card

• When the card arrives in Bangkok you get an automatic email, and you collect it during the migration section's opening hours with your passport.
• Someone else can collect it with an original signed power of attorney in English or Swedish and a copy of their passport or ID.
• The embassy does not send cards by courier to home addresses.
• Don't book your flight to Sweden until you have the card.

4. Philippine exit rules: OEC and direct hire

The Philippines has its own rules for people leaving to work abroad, run by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).

• Workers need exit clearance, the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC). Since October 2025 returning workers rehired by the same employer, for the same job in the same country, can use the digital OFW Pass in the eGovPH app instead.
• Philippine rules generally ban direct hiring by foreign employers, with some exemptions. One exemption covers professional and skilled workers, with a limit on how many first-time workers an employer can hire this way, and the hire must be registered with the Philippine authorities.
• The Swedish permit and the Philippine clearance are separate. Having one doesn't give you the other. Check the current requirements with DMW before you resign or book travel.

5. Social security: the Sweden–Philippines convention

Sweden has a social security convention with the Philippines. A worker posted by a Philippine employer can stay in the Philippine system for up to 24 months. It covers retirement and survivor pensions, sickness and activity compensation, and occupational injury insurance. People hired by a Swedish employer are in the Swedish system from the start.

6. Tax

Sweden and the Philippines have a double taxation agreement, signed in 1998. Skatteverket counts a stay of six months in a row in Sweden as living here, and residents are taxed in Sweden on their salary. Ask a tax adviser how money you send home, or income you still earn in the Philippines, is treated.

7. After you arrive

1. Register at Skatteverket for your personnummer (how).
2. Get your ID card, bank account and BankID (how).
3. Driving: a Philippine licence can't be exchanged. It can be used for up to one year after you are registered. After that you need a Swedish driving licence.

Bringing family? Read moving to Sweden with your family.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do Filipino applicants give biometrics for a Swedish work permit?

At the Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok. The embassy in Manila does not handle residence or work permits and refers applicants to Bangkok, which handles applications from people living in the Philippines.

Do I need an OEC to work in Sweden?

Filipino workers leaving to work abroad generally need exit clearance from the Department of Migrant Workers, the OEC or, for some returning workers, the digital OFW Pass. Check the current DMW rules before you travel.

Is there a social security agreement between Sweden and the Philippines?

Yes. It lets posted workers stay in the Philippine system for up to 24 months and covers pensions, sickness and activity compensation and occupational injury. People hired locally in Sweden are in the Swedish system.

Can my Swedish residence permit card be sent to the Philippines?

No. The Bangkok embassy does not courier cards to home addresses. You collect it in Bangkok with your passport, or someone else collects it for you with a signed power of attorney.

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

15 official sources

• Lagen.nu: Act (2019:205) on the social security agreement between Sweden and the Philippines, articles 2 and 7
• Government Offices of Sweden: List of third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when entering Sweden
• Embassy of Sweden, Manila: About us (visas and permits referred to Bangkok)
• Embassy of Sweden, Bangkok: Frequently asked questions
• Embassy of Sweden, Bangkok: Interviews and biometrics
• Migrationsverket: Digital passport check
• Migrationsverket: Work permits for employees
• Department of Migrant Workers: Roll-out of the OFW Pass system
• Department of Migrant Workers: Advisory on direct hiring of professional and skilled workers
• Migrationsverket: Salary requirements for a work permit
• Migrationsverket: Your application has been approved
• Skatteverket: New in Sweden and will be employed here
• Skatteverket: Countries with social security agreements
• Riksdagen: Sweden–Philippines double taxation agreement (SFS 1999:638)
• Transportstyrelsen: Foreign driving licences