Employing someone who has travelled to Sweden as your prospective employee
A prospective employee from a non-EU country who has travelled to Sweden to meet with you for example for an employment interview, may in certain cases apply for a work permit while in Sweden. The prospective employee must apply for and have been granted a work permit before starting work in Sweden.
For the prospective employee to obtain a work permit you, as an employer, must
- advertise the position in Sweden and within EU/EES and Switzerland for a minimum of ten days
- have agreed with the employee on terms of employment that are at least on par with those set by Swedish collective agreements or which are customary within the occupation or industry
- have agreed with the employee on a salary that is at least on par with that set by Swedish collective agreements or which is customary within the occupation or industry
- intend to provide insurance covering health, life, employment and pension insurance when the employee begins to work
- have agreed with the employee on employment that makes it possible to achieve a good income. In order to meet the requirement for a good income, the employee must have a monthly salary that amounts to at least 80 percent of the median salary published by Statistics Sweden (SCB) and which was valid at the time of application. Read about current maintenance requirements here
- have signed a employment contract and allowed the relevant trade union to provide a statement of opinion regarding the terms of employment.
For a citizen of a non-EU country to obtain a work permit while they are in Sweden
- there must be a great demand for labour within the specific occupation. Please see the list of occupations that are experiencing labour shortages
Pdf, 104 kB, opens in new window. - you must, as an employer, have a critical need for this person's skills, which means that the business cannot be run properly if the prospective employee has to travel to their country of origin to apply for a permit
- the application must be submitted during the visa exemption or validity period
- the reason for the person's visit in Sweden must be to meet with you as an employer.
If the requirements stated above are not fulfilled, the prospective employee must submit a work permit application from the country of origin or from the country where he or she has permission to live.
You must provide insurances
In order for an employee to receive a work permit, the employer must provide health insurance, life insurance, industrial injury insurance and occupational pension insurance for the employee when they begin working.
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance that provides financial support if the insured becomes ill or injured. A health insurance should not be confused with a healthcare insurance, which helps the insured to get faster access to care.
Life insurance
Life insurance provides financial security if the insured dies. The money that is then paid out can for example ensure that the family can afford to stay in the house or cooperative home.
Occupational injury insurance
Occupational injury insurance means that the insuranceholder can receive compensation in the event of unemployment or sick leave for a longer period. The insurance provides compensation if the insuranceholder is injured at work or on the way to or on the way home from the workplace.
Occupational pension insurance
Occupational pension insurance is an insurance solution to secure an occupational pension. It can be signed by the employer for the benefit of the employee, or signed by the employee, but then paid by the employer. When occupational pension insurance is taken out can vary between different collective agreements.
In order for an employee to extend their work permit, they must have been provided with health insurance, life insurance, industrial injury insurance and occupational pension insurance for the entire period in which they have had a work permit in Sweden. To show that the insurance has been valid throughout the employment period, the document must state the start date of the policies and their terms and conditions.
Someone who has been in Sweden for less than one year does not have the same rights to social benefits as someone who is a resident of Sweden. For this reason, it is important that the person in question has been provided with insurance to cover any costs that may arise in the event of illness or an accident.
1
Advertising
You must advertise the position so that all residents in Sweden, the EU/EEA and Switzerland can apply for the job. You can do this by advertising for at least ten days in the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) job bank. Advertisements in Arbetsförmedlingen's job bank are also visible in the European job bank EURES.
If you choose to advertise in any other way, you must show that this advertising corresponds to EURES and has been accessible to everyone in all EU/EEA countries and Switzerland. Advertising solely on, for example, LinkedIn or in other channels that are aimed at a limited circle of recipients therefore in most cases does not meet the requirement.
The advertising requirement only applies when recruiting new employees. You do not need to advertise the position if the person was employed by you while they had a residence permit for studies.
The Swedish Public Employment Service's website
External link, opens in new window.
2
Provide information about the employment
Log in using e-identification to provide information about the employment. When you have begun the e-service, you can at any time log out for later, log in to continue.
In the e-service you provide information about the company, the position and the person you intend to employ. You will need the name, date of birth, citizenship, education and email address for the person who will be working for you, as well as the Swedish Standard Classification of Occupations (SSYK) code (according to SSYK2012) for the relevant profession or occupation. You can find the SSYK codes on the Statistics Sweden (SCB) website. External link, opens in new window.
It is important that you provide a valid email address for your intended employee as this will be the address through which he or she will later apply for a work permit.
For a company with a subsidiary branch in Sweden, the branch is responsible for documenting the applicable terms of employment in the information about the employment, as well as providing further information to the Swedish Migration Agency where necessary.
Read more about e-identification External link, opens in new window.
3
Send the information about the employment to the relevant trade union
Once you have provide information about the employment in the e-service, select the trade union that is relevant to the work that the employee will perform. You submit the information for a statement via the e-service. The trade union reviews the terms of employment and sends its statement to you via the e-service.
Once you have provided information about the employment via the e-service, an email with a link will be sent to the person you wish to hire. The employee then submits an application for a work permit via the link.
As an employer, you can track the case by logging in to the e-service.
If you do not use the e-service, send the form Information about the employment and the union statement form to the trade union organisation that is relevant to the work that the employee is to perform. They will then send their statement back to you.
LO trade unions External link, opens in new window.
SACO trade unions External link, opens in new window.
TCO trade unions External link, opens in new window.
Find trade unions based on occupation (in Swedish) External link, opens in new window.
4
Enclose documents
When you receive the trade union statement, scan or photograph it. Then log back in and upload the statement.
Industries with higher demands
If your company operates in an industry where higher demands apply you must also include documents showing that you have the means to pay salaries for at least three months for the persons you intend to employ. Ways of doing this include for example:
- documents showing liquid assets or cheque credits
- balance sheets and income statements for previous and current year.
If you have previously employed persons who have been granted work permits by working for you, you must also include the company's tax account statements for the last three months. The tax account statement shall show paid social security contributions. You should also include documents showing that the previous employees had health insurance, life insurance, industrial injury insurance and occupational pension insurance throughout the period in which they had work permits in Sweden.
When employees later apply for a work permit they will only be able to see the information about the employment and the trade union statement. Other uploaded documents will not be visible to the employee.
Industries where higher demands applies
Newly founded businesses
If you are running a newly founded business (one which has been operating for less than a year) you must include documents showing that you have the means to pay salaries for at least three months for the persons you intend to employ. Ways of doing this include for example:
- documents showing liquid assets or cheque credits
- balance sheets and income statements for the current year
- agreements entered regarding ongoing or forthcoming assignments.
If you have previously employed persons who have been granted work permits by working for you, you must also include the company's tax account statements for the last three months. The tax account statement shall show paid social security contributions. You should also include documents showing that the previous employees had health insurance, life insurance, industrial injury insurance and occupational pension insurance throughout the period in which they had work permits in Sweden.
When employees later apply for a work permit they will only be able to see the information about the employment and the trade union statement. Other uploaded documents will not be visible to the employee.
As agent for the employer
If you are the employer's agent you should include a power of attorney from the employer stating that you are authorised to represent the employer.
Power of Attorney, form number 107011 Pdf, 1.1 MB, opens in new window.
5
Complete the employer's part of the application
When you have enclosed all documents your part of the application is completed. The person who is to work for you will receive an email with instructions on how to fill in their part of the application. When you are logged in to the e-service, you can see if the employee has started his or her application and when it has been submitted.
6
The Migration Agency processes the application
You and the intended employee will receive an email once the employee's application is received by the Swedish Migration Agency. The Migration Agency will contact you or the employee if it needs more information.
For the Swedish Migration Agency to make a decision about your application, all the details need to be filled in and all necessary documents enclosed. This means that the processing time will be shorter if all the necessary information is included from the start than if information is added afterwards. Note that the Migration Agency may in some cases need to further examine the application even if you have included all the required information and documents.
The Swedish Migration Agency may need to check the employee’s passport before a decision can be made. They may therefore need to show their passport at one of the Migration Agency's service centres.
In some cases, the employee will not be required to show their passport, for example, if we have already checked the passport during a previous visit.
If the employee needs to show their passport, we will contact them with information on how and when to do so.
If the employee's family also applies for a residence permit, the Swedish Migration Agency may need to check their passports as well.
Please, keep in mind the following
A person departing Sweden without a valid residence and work permit may find re-entering the country difficult before a decision has been made. Therefore, the Swedish Migration Agency would like to recommend that the employee stay in the country until he or she has received a decision concerning his och hers work permit. This also applies to those persons that are allowed to travel to Sweden without a visa and that have stayed in the country for a period longer than 90 days.
7
Decision
As the employer you are notified by mail once a decision is made. If you want to know the reasons for the decision, you will need a power of attorney from the employee. If the employee is in Sweden, the decision will be sent by mail to the address they have stated.
8
Notify the Swedish Tax Agency
When you employ someone from a non-EU country, you must notify the Swedish Tax Agency. This is done by completing the form “Notification – Employment of a foreigner SKV 1160” with the name, address and employment period of the person who will be working for you. The form can be found on the Swedish Tax Agency's website.
You must keep copies of any documents proving that the person has the right to stay and work in Sweden. These documents must be kept on file during the entire employment period and for 12 months after the employment has ended.
Form for notifying the Swedish Tax Agency External link, opens in new window.
Read more about the rules that apply once a person has received their decision
If you cannot provide information about the employment in the e-service
If you cannot provide information about the employment in the e-service, you will have to use the form Information about the employment, number 232511. If the offer concerns several persons with the same work duties and terms of employment, you should also use the List of names form, number 234011 and attach it. Send the form(s) to the employee, who is to submit it together with their application for a residence permit.
Information about the employment, form number 232511 Pdf, 818.4 kB, opens in new window.
Name List, form number 234011 (in Swedish) Pdf, 1.2 MB, opens in new window.
