EU Blue Card

An EU Blue Card that has been issued in Sweden gives you the right to live and work in Sweden. When you have had an EU Blue Card in Sweden or other countries in EU for five years, you can apply for the status of long-term resident in the country where you are living, on condition that you have been living in that country for the last two years. The status of long-term resident means you have some of the rights that an EU citizen has and you have greater opportunities to work, study or start up your own business in another EU country.

Read more about status as long-term resident in Sweden

Salary thres­hold

Each year, the Swedish Migration Agency establishes the salary threshold that needs to be exceeded in order to obtain an EU Blue Card. The salary threshold is the equivalent of one and a half times the average gross salary and the amounts are determined in consultation with the Swedish National Mediation Office which is the authority responsible for the official statistics on wages and salaries in Sweden.

From 28 August 2023, the salary threshold is SEK 57,450 per month.

If you have a valid EU Blue Card that you have been granted in another EU country, you may in some cases be able to submit your application in Sweden. In order to apply in Sweden, you must have resided in another EU country for at least 18 months with an EU Blue Card. The application must be made within one month after entering Sweden.

You must show your passport

The Swedish Migration Agency must check your passport before a decision can be made. You may therefore need to show your passport at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general if you are outside Sweden, or one of the Migration Agency's service centres if you are in Sweden.

Find out which embassy or consulate-general you should contact on the page Embassies responsible for migration matters

In some cases, you will not be required to show your passport, for example, if we have already checked your passport during a previous visit.

If you need to show your passport, we will contact you with information on how and when to do so.

If you need an entry visa or residence permit card to travel to Sweden, you will in most cases have your fingerprints taken and be photographed when you show your passport at an embassy or consulate-general.

If your family also applies for a residence permit, the Swedish Migration Agency must check their passports as well. The requirement to show your passport in person does not apply to children under the age of five, it is sufficient that the parent brings the child's passport to the visit. However, if the child needs a residence permit card, they must come along to be photographed for it.

Resi­dence permit card

If your application is granted, you will be given a residence permit card which says EU Blue Card. The card is proof that you have permission to be in Sweden and contains, among other things, your fingerprints and photograph.

If you need an entry visa to travel to Sweden and you were not photographed and had your fingerprints taken in connection with showing your passport, you must visit the embassy or consulate-general to do this as soon as possible. You need to do this even if you have previously had a residence permit card, as the information is not saved.

If you do not need a visa, you must book an appointment to have your fingerprints and photograph taken as soon as possible after arriving in Sweden.

Swedish embassies and consulates-general External link, opens in new window.

Read more about residence permit cards

Follow your case in My page

If you have made your application in the e-service, you can log in to My page to follow your case and see if you have received a decision.

My page

An EU Blue Card decision is always taken within 90 days. The decision will be sent to the embassy or consulate-general you stated in your application. You must take your passport with you when you go to get your decision. You can get a permit for the period of time you are being offered work but for no longer than your passport is valid.

Once the residence permit card is completed, the embassy or consulate-general will issue or send it to you. Please note that it may take up to four weeks to manufacture and deliver the card to the embassy or consulate-general after you have received your decision. When you enter Sweden, you must present the residence permit card along with a valid passport.

If you can travel to Sweden without a visa, you should be able to present a copy of the decision when you enter the country. You must book an appointment to have your fingerprints and photograph taken as soon as possible after you come to Sweden. Once your residence permit card is ready, it will be sent to your address in Sweden.

Limitation

The first time you are given an EU Blue Card, it is valid for minimum one year and maximum two years. The card gives you the right to work in Sweden with the employer and within the profession you have specified in the application. The card is valid for the period stated in the decision. During the first 24 months, the EU Blue Card is valid only for the employer and the profession stated in your decision. When you have worked for 24 months and extended your card, you can change your employer without submitting a new application as long as you work in the same profession. If you want to change profession or work for longer than you have been given a permit for, you have to submit an application for an extension.

Information for people with a residence permit who have just moved to Sweden

Book an appointment at the Swedish Migration Agency to have your fingerprints and photograph taken if you can travel to Sweden without a visa

If you have or have applied for an EU Blue Card, you must notify the Swedish Migration Agency if the employment ceases or if your salary no longer reaches the salary threshold.

If you do not report that your employment has ceased or your salary no longer reaches the salary threshold, this may lead to your application for a permit or extension of a permit being rejected, or the permit being withdrawn.

Inform the Swedish Migration Agency about any changes by sending a letter explaining what has changed. You must clearly state your name and the reference number of your case.

Send the letter to the Swedish Migration Agency, Box 3100, 903 03 Umeå.

Your family members can get a residence permit for the same period as you.

The following count as family members

• your partner (cohabitant, spouse or registered partner)
• your or your partner's unmarried children under the age of 18 years.

How family members apply

If you apply together, you include your family members in your own online application.

If they are going to apply after you, they can make their own application online.

Read more about how family members make their own online application

If you want to continue working in Sweden, you must extend your EU Blue Card. You must also submit a new application if you have an EU Blue Card but want to change your profession or work duties. If you have worked for less than two years and are going to change jobs, you must apply for a new EU Blue Card. The application must be submitted before the current permit expires.

How to apply

You can apply to extend your EU Blue Card online.

In most cases, you will pay a fee.

Application fees for EU Blue Card

If you have family members living with you in Sweden who also need to extend their permits, apply for them in the same online application.

You must attach

• copies of the pages in your passport that show your personal data, photo, signature, passport number, issuing country, validity period and if you have permission to live in countries other than your home country
• a summary of your PAYE tax return showing your income from the previous year if you worked in Sweden then
• payslips for this year if you are working in Sweden now
• certificates of employment from employers stating the periods you have worked in Sweden (if you have had a work permit in Sweden for almost four years)
• information about the employment and a trade union statement regarding the conditions of employment you are being offered
• certificates of employment from your previous employers.

Perma­nent resi­dence permit

When you have had an EU Blue Card in Sweden for 48 months, you can be granted a permanent residence permit. You may not include any time spent in another EU Member State, even if you had an EU Blue Card there.

You apply for a permanent residence permit in connection with applying for an extension of your EU Blue Card. To be granted a permanent residence permit, you must meet the requirements for an extended EU Blue Card, and you must also

• have had an EU Blue Card or a work permit and have worked in Sweden for four years over the past seven years
• be able to support yourself financially
• be living an orderly life.

There are additional new requirements if your family applies to extend their permits at the same time as you apply for a permanent residence permit.

Read more about what applies when you have or you intend to apply for a permanent residence permit and your family applies at the same time as you do

Once we have received your appli­ca­tion for exten­sion

You have the right to continue to work while waiting for a decision if you submitted your application before your earlier permit/EU Blue Card expired.

If you are granted a permit, you will receive a residence permit card. The card is proof that you have permission to be in Sweden and contains, among other things, your fingerprints and photograph. You must therefore book an appointment to have your photograph and fingerprints taken as soon as possible. You will need to do this even if you have had a residence permit card before because your photo and fingerprints cannot be saved.

Check that your application has been registered or if you have received a decision

Book an appointment at the Swedish Migration Agency for a residence permit card

Read more about residence permit cards

Deci­sion

The decision will be sent to your home address in Sweden. Once the residence permit card is ready, it will be sent to your home within about one week.

Appe­aling a deci­sion about a work permit

If the Swedish Migration Agency rejects your application for an extended work permit, you can appeal against the decision within three weeks of the date on which you were notified of the decision. Your decision will contain information about how to do this.

If the Swedish Migration Agency rejects your application for a permanent residence permit on the grounds that you do not meet the maintenance requirement or orderliness requirement, you can appeal within three weeks of the date on which you were notified of the decision.

If you cannot apply online, fill in the form Application for an EU Blue Card for work in Sweden, 181011, and submit it to a Swedish embassy or consulate-general in the country where you live. The application form shows which documents you must enclose. Information about procedures at the embassy or consulate-general in question can be found at swedenabroad.com.

Application for an EU Blue Card for work in Sweden, form 181011 Pdf, 869 kB, opens in new window.

Application for a permit for family members of workers, researchers, athletes or coaches and self-employed persons, form 133011 Pdf, 847.4 kB, opens in new window.

Swedish embassies and consulates-general External link, opens in new window.

If it is not possible for you to apply in your home country, you must apply to the embassy or consulate-general that is closest to the country where you live. Information about procedures at the embassy or consulate-general in question can be found at swedenabroad.com.

If you apply at an embassy or consulate-general, you pay the fee when you submit your application. For information about the fee, please contact the embassy or consulate in question since they do not follow the same fee regulations as the Swedish Migration Agency.

EU Blue Card from another EU country

If you have a valid EU Blue Card that you have been granted in another EU country, and you cannot apply online, fill in the form called Application for an EU Blue Card for work in Sweden, 181011. The application form states which documents you must enclose.

Send the application to Migrationsverket, Box 3100, 903 03 Umeå.

Application for an EU Blue Card for work in Sweden, form 181011 Pdf, 869 kB, opens in new window.

Application for a permit for family members of workers, researchers, athletes or coaches and self-employed persons, form 133011 Pdf, 847.4 kB, opens in new window.

Exten­ding an EU Blue Card or chan­ging profes­sion or work tasks

If you do not apply online, fill in the form called Application for an EU Blue Card for work in Sweden, 181011. The application form states which documents you must enclose.

Send the application to Migrationsverket, Box 3100, 903 03 Umeå.

Application for an EU Blue Card for work in Sweden, form 181011 Pdf, 869 kB, opens in new window.

Application for a permit for family members of workers, researchers, athletes or coaches and self-employed persons, form 133011 Pdf, 847.4 kB, opens in new window.

In most cases, you will pay a fee.

Application fees for EU Blue Card