Insurance Proof for a Swedish Work Permit: Where to Find It and How to Ask for It

A Swedish work permit rests on four insurances the employer takes out for the employee. The application only asks which company holds them. The proof comes later, at the extension, when Migrationsverket checks that the person was covered for the whole permit period. By then the person who set the insurances up may have left, and HR is asked for "the insurance certificates" without knowing what they are or where they are kept. This guide is for that person: what to look for, who to ask, and a request you can send to your insurer today.

The four insurances

Migrationsverket says the employer must have taken out four insurances for the employee by the time the employment begins (Migrationsverket, Employing a citizen of a non-EU/EEA country):

• Health insurance (sjukförsäkring): financial support if the insured person falls ill or is injured.
• Life insurance (livförsäkring): financial security if the insured person dies.
• Occupational injury insurance (trygghetsförsäkring vid arbetsskada, TFA): compensation for injuries on the job or on the way to or from work.
• Occupational pension insurance (tjänstepensionsförsäkring): taken out by the employer for the employee, or by the employee and paid by the employer.

Health insurance here is not the same as a healthcare insurance that gives faster access to care; Migrationsverket makes that distinction itself. And from 1 June 2026, someone staying a year or less must also have, or have applied for, a comprehensive health insurance for the whole stay. That one is the employee's, not one of the employer's four.

When Migrationsverket asks about them

When	What is asked
The first application	In the e-service the employer enters the insurance company or companies, and the date of any collective agreement. The insurances must be in place by the start date.
The extension	The person must have been covered by all four for the whole time they have had a permit in Sweden. The documentation must show the date each insurance began to apply and its terms.
The employee's part of the extension	Which company the employer has the insurances with, the employee's insurance number and the period the insurances cover.
Start-ups and employers under higher requirements that have employed people from outside the EU/EEA before	Documents showing that those former employees were covered by the four insurances for their whole permit period.

So the document that matters is a confirmation, per insurance and per person, that shows the start date and the terms. The best time to get it is right after the employment starts.

Step 1: find out who holds the insurances

HR rarely keeps insurance papers. Start with whoever handles payroll, insurance or benefits, then finance. Ask them two things for each of the four insurances: which company holds it, and whether the company goes through an insurance broker. If your company has signed a collective agreement, ask whoever administers it which insurances come with it and which companies hold them. Note the answers once: every later hire needs the same four names.

Step 2: ask the insurer or pension provider for a confirmation

Write to each company that holds one of the insurances, or to your broker, and ask for a confirmation in the employee's name. It may be called a certificate or a confirmation; what matters is what it shows. A request like this one is enough:

Subject: Health insurance certificate for [employee's name]

Hello,
We need a confirmation of an insurance we have for one of our employees.
Employee: [name]
Document: Health insurance certificate (sjukförsäkring)
Employed from: [first day]

Please send a document that shows:
- Who is insured
- The date the insurance began to apply
- The terms of the insurance
- The insurance number, if there is one

We need it for the employee's work permit. You can reply to this email with the document attached.
Thank you.

Send one per insurance, or one to a company that holds several of them, listing each. The Swedish version of this guide has the same request in Swedish.

Step 3: check what comes back

• The employee's name is on it.
• It says which insurance it is (health, life, occupational injury or occupational pension).
• It shows the date the insurance began to apply.
• It shows the terms, or the policy or insurance number they belong to.

If one of these is missing, ask for a document that shows it. A general summary of the company's policy that doesn't name the person or the date doesn't answer what the extension asks.

Step 4: keep it for the extension

File the four confirmations with the employee's permit papers as soon as they arrive. At the extension the employee also gives the company, their insurance number and the period the insurances cover, so keep those three facts with them. If the person worked for another employer in Sweden before, the whole permit period counts: ask that employer early for its insurance details.

Tip: Ask in the first month, not the last. Two years after the start date the people who set the insurances up may have moved on, and the extension looks back over the whole permit period.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the first Swedish work permit application need insurance certificates?

The application asks for the insurance company or companies. The insurances must be in place by the start date, and the proof of when each one began to apply and its terms is what the extension checks.

What must the insurance documentation show at the extension?

Migrationsverket says the documentation must show the date each insurance began to apply and the terms of the policy, for the whole time the person has had a permit in Sweden.

Who at a company has the insurance documents?

Usually not HR. Ask whoever handles payroll, insurance or benefits, or finance, which company holds each insurance and whether a broker is involved. The confirmation itself comes from the insurer or pension provider.

Is health insurance the same as private healthcare insurance?

No. Migrationsverket asks for a health (sickness) insurance that gives financial support if the person falls ill or is injured, and says it should not be confused with a healthcare insurance that gives faster access to care.

Who provides the comprehensive health insurance for stays of a year or less?

From 1 June 2026 the employee must have, or have applied for, a comprehensive health insurance valid for the whole stay. It is the employee's, separate from the employer's four insurances.

How Settio helps employers collect insurance proof

Settio asks the employer for the four insurance confirmations a month after the start date, when they are easy to get, and keeps them for the extension:

• What it is, in plain words: under each confirmation, What is it? says what the document is, who at a company usually has it, how to get it and what it must show, with Migrationsverket's page.
• A request ready to send: Ask for it by email writes the request above for that person and that insurance, in English or Swedish. The employer copies it or opens it in their own email.
• Reminders that say whose it is: each reminder names the employee, carries the same request and stops once the file is in. Uploads are read and filed as they arrive, with documents that check themselves.
• The extension in good time: permit monitoring flags it before the permit runs out.

For employers and immigration agencies. See how to start for free.

Sources

4 official sources

• Migrationsverket: Employing a citizen of a non-EU/EEA country
• Migrationsverket: Extending a work permit (employers)
• Migrationsverket: Förlänga arbetstillstånd, anställd (arbetsgivare)
• Migrationsverket: Ansök om förlängning av arbetstillstånd, anställd