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Work permits for employers

If you want to hire someone from a country outside the EU/EEA, the job advert, the salary and the insurance need to be in place before the work permit (arbetstillstånd) application can start. We go through the employment with you and help you with your part of the application.

An employer and a new employee shaking hands at a desk

Who it is for

For you if you run a business and want to hire someone who is a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA, for example a chef for your restaurant or a driver for your taxi company. It may be the person's first work permit in Sweden, an extension, or someone who currently has a permit with another employer.

If you are applying for a permit yourself, see work permits for employees.

How we help you

Most things are decided before you make an offer. The job must have been advertised for at least ten days so that everyone living in Sweden, the EU/EEA and Switzerland can apply for it, for example on Platsbanken, the job bank of the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen). The salary must meet the salary requirement, and the salary, insurance and other terms must be at the level of the collective agreement or what is usual in the occupation or industry.

Health insurance, life insurance, occupational injury insurance and occupational pension insurance must be in place when the employment starts. If the person will be here for one year at most, they also need to have, or have applied for, comprehensive health insurance. If you run a restaurant, or another business in an industry where the Migration Agency sets stricter requirements, you must be able to show that the company can pay the salary for at least three months. This also applies if the business is less than one year old.

When the advertising period has ended, you sign the employment contract, and you both sign it. Then you start the application in the Migration Agency's e-service, give the relevant trade union the opportunity to comment on the terms, and send a link to the person you want to hire. The application is only registered once they have filled in and submitted their part. We go through your part with you, or fill it in as your representative if you give us a power of attorney.

After the decision, you have your own obligations as an employer, and the Migration Agency can check afterwards that the person received the salary and insurance that the application was based on.

You start an extension in the same way in the e-service. It can be applied for no earlier than two months before the permit expires and must be registered before it expires. The requirements must have been met for the whole permit period, so you need to be able to show when the insurance started. The salary requirement was raised on 1 June 2026. A person who got their permit under the older rules is not covered by the new requirement if the extension is registered by 1 December 2026 at the latest. A new occupation, new terms, a new company registration number (organisationsnummer) or new owners require a new application.

You can hand in copies of passports and residence permit cards at the office or send them by post. Meetings and advice can be handled online.

When the person starts working

Check the permit.Before the employment starts, you must check the document showing that the person has permission to stay and work here.
Keep a copy.Keep a copy or an extract of the document for the whole employment and for at least twelve months after it has ended.
Notify the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket).Send form SKV 1160 no later than the third month after the calendar month in which the employment started.
Report if they do not start.If the person has not started working within four months of the first day the permit is valid, you must report this to the Migration Agency.

What is included

6 items
  • A review of salary, terms and insurance against the requirements
  • A check of the job advert and the employment contract
  • Help with the employer's part in the e-service
  • Representative (ombud) with the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket), if you give us a power of attorney (fullmakt)
  • Your obligations once the person has started
  • Extensions, new terms and change of employer

What is not included

3 items
  • The employment contract itselfWe write this as a separate service, see employment contract.
  • Payroll and employer tax returnsThis is handled by Ekonomico, which runs Juridico.
  • Applications for asylum or protection

What you need to have ready

6 items
  • Company registration number and SNI code (industry classification code)
  • Occupation, duties, salary and working hours
  • Advert ID from Platsbanken
  • Insurance company and any collective agreement
  • The person's name, date of birth, citizenship and email
  • Current permit, if you are extending

Good to know

The Migration Agency makes the decision, and we cannot promise that the person will get a permit. If the salary, the terms or the advertising are not enough, we tell you before the application is started. If the person gets a refusal (avslag) and the decision needs to be appealed (överklagande), we assess in each case whether we can act as representative or whether you need an advokat (a member of the Swedish Bar Association), and we tell you before you pay anything.

How it works

  1. 1Send an enquiry. Tell us in the form who you want to hire and whether it is a new application or an extension.
  2. 2Get a quote. We usually get back to you within one working day and tell you what is included and what it costs.
  3. 3We go through the requirements. Once you have accepted the quote, we compare the advert, salary and insurance with the requirements and tell you what needs to be corrected.
  4. 4The application is started. You fill in your part in the e-service with our help, or we do it as your representative.

Frequently asked questions

How high is the salary requirement for a work permit?
According to the Migration Agency, at least SEK 34,470 a month, which is 90 percent of the median salary from June 2026. The salary must also be at the level of the collective agreement or what is usual in the industry, so it may need to be higher.
Is it enough to advertise on LinkedIn?
Usually not. For at least ten days, the advert must have reached everyone living in Sweden, the EU/EEA and Switzerland, and adverts on the Public Employment Service's Platsbanken are also shown on EURES. The requirement applies when you recruit someone new.
What happens if we hire someone without a work permit?
Anyone who employs a person who does not have a work permit or the right to stay in Sweden can be sentenced to a fine or imprisonment. The employer must also pay a special charge.
Can we hire someone who has a permit with another employer?
Yes, but if the person has had a permit for less than two years, a new application is needed. After two years, a new application is only needed if the job is in a different occupation.
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Send an enquiry

Tell us briefly about your matter and we will normally get back to you within one working day with a quote before we start.

  • The enquiry and quote are free
  • You only pay once you have accepted the quote
  • Meetings at the office or online

About: Work permits for employers

Private or business?

Do not write personal identity numbers, passport numbers or other sensitive details here. If we need such documents, you hand them in at the office or send copies by post.

Sources (10)

  1. Aliens Act (utlänningslagen, 2005:716), as amended up to and including SFS 2026:1752, Chapter 6, Section 2 (salary requirement, terms at the level of collective agreements or practice, comprehensive health insurance for stays of one year at most, recruitment compatible with EU commitments), Section 2 a (two years at most, tied to employer and occupation for the first two years) and Section 4 a (extension)
  2. Aliens Act (2005:716), transitional provisions to SFS 2026:295, points 1 and 2 (in force 1 June 2026; older salary requirement for extensions of permits granted before entry into force if the application is registered by 1 December 2026 at the latest)
  3. Aliens Act (2005:716), Chapter 20, Section 5 (penalty for employing a foreign national without the right to stay here or without a work permit) and Section 12 (special charge)
  4. Aliens Ordinance (utlänningsförordningen, 2006:97), as amended up to and including SFS 2026:1746, Chapter 6, Section 13 a (check before the employment, copy during the employment and for at least twelve months afterwards) and Chapter 7, Section 1 b (notification to the Swedish Tax Agency no later than the third month after the calendar month in which the employment started)
  5. Aliens Ordinance (2006:97), as amended up to and including SFS 2026:1746, Chapter 6, Sections 6 a, 6 b and 6 f (the Migration Agency's checks during the permit period, information about the terms, report if the work has not started within four months)
  6. Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket): Hiring a person who is a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA (advertising for at least ten days, contract after the advertising period, salary requirement SEK 34,470, insurance, trade union, stricter requirements for hotels and restaurants among others, newly started businesses, representatives, change of employer and new terms)
  7. Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket): The employee has been granted their application (copies for 12 months after the employment ends, notification to the Swedish Tax Agency on SKV 1160, follow-up checks, report if the employment has not started within four months)
  8. Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket): Extending a work permit (the employer starts the application, no earlier than two months before, requirements during the whole permit period, transitional period 1 June to 1 December 2026)
  9. Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket): Salary requirement for work permits (SEK 34,470 for applications from 16 June 2026, transitional rule for extensions)
  10. Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket): Employing third-country nationals (form SKV 1160, no later than the end of the third month after the calendar month in which the employment started, copy for 12 months)

The information was checked against the sources on 29 October 2026.