If you’re a citizen of a country outside of the EU and you want to work in Sweden, in most cases you’ll need a work permit. This applies regardless of whether you’re going to work here as an employee or to run a business yourself. Depending on why you’re applying for a work permit, the requirements will vary.

You can also apply for a work permit if you have a degree from higher education, to be able to look for work in Sweden or see what kind of opportunities you have to start a business here. The permit is valid for up to nine months and only applies for yourself. In this case, your family cannot move here with you.

Requirements when applying for a work permit as an employee

As an employee, you have to have:

• a valid employment contract with conditions on the same level as Swedish collective agreements or according to the standard in your industry.
• health insurance, life insurance, occu­pa­tional injury insu­rance and occupational pension insurance through your employment.
• a valid passport.
• a salary that’s at the same level or higher than the maintenance requirement. You can see what the current maintenance requirement is at the Swedish Migration Agencys website.

If you also have family that wants to move to Sweden with you, you have to have an income that’s high enough to be able to pay for all of your accommodation and living expenses here. However, you only need to show that you can support your family the first time they apply for a residence permit. If you’ve been granted a work permit and want to extend it, you don’t need to show that you can support them. In some cases, the Swedish Migration Agency can also make exceptions to this requirement due to special circumstances.

Requirements when you apply for a work permit to run your own business

When wanting to run a business in Sweden you have to:

• have a valid passport.
• prove that the one running the company is you and that you have decisive responsibility over the business.
• show that you have run a business before and that you also have experience with the industry.
• show a basis for a credible budget.
• have created the necessary customer contacts or networks to make it possible to run your business in Sweden.
• speak Swedish or English well enough to run your business in Sweden without the language becoming an obstacle.
• show that you have enough private money to support both yourself and any family members coming to Sweden with you.