Employers Artists

You have an employed artist with a work permit in Sweden who wants to extend their permit.

  • Important to know
  • How it works
  • Apply

If you want to see the information aimed at the employee, you can check out the page You want to extend – Artists

If the artist wants to continue working longer than their permit is valid, they can apply to extend the permit. An artist can be granted a work permit for a maximum of two years at a time for a total of four years.

If the artist has worked in Sweden with a work permit for at least four years during the past seven years, they can choose to apply for a permanent residence permit at the same time.

The employer starts the application

For an employer, the process of applying for an extended work permit is the same as a first-time application. You start the application by providing information about the employment in the e-service. When you are done, the employee receives a link to the e-service, where they fill in their information and submit the application, thus completing the process. Only then is the application registered with the Swedish Migration Agency.

In addition to the requirements imposed on the employee, as an employer you must meet the following requirements in order for the employee to be able to get an extended work permit:

The terms of employment must have been met throughout the period during which the employee has had a work permit
The employee’s salary/wages, insurance and other terms of employment must have been at least on par with collective agreements or common practice in their occupation or industry. These terms must have been met throughout the period that they have had a work permit in Sweden.

The terms of employment must continue to be met
The employee’s salary/wages, insurance and other terms of employment must remain at least on par with collective agreements or common practice in their occupation or industry.

The employee must have a valid employment agreement or contract

The employment’s salary/wages must provide a good living
The employment must enable the employee to make a good living. This means that the employee must have a monthly salary/wages amounting to at least 80 per cent of the median salary published by Statistics Sweden (SCB) that was current at the time of application.

To make a good living, the employee must receive a monthly salary/wages of at least SEK 28,480. This corresponds to 80 per cent of the current median salary published by Statistics Sweden (SCB) in June of each year.

Read about the current median salary on SCB’s website (in Swedish) External link.

The salary/wages must also be on par with collective agreements or common practice in the relevant occupation or industry. This means that the employee’s salary/wages may need to be higher than 80 per cent of the median salary.

Read more on the page A good living – maintenance requirements for work permits

You must give the relevant trade union organisation the opportunity to comment on the terms of employment

  • Employment agreement or contract

Make sure that the employee has a valid employment agreement or contract signed by both parties. The employee will later be asked to attach a copy of the agreement in their part of the application.

In order for the Swedish Migration Agency to assess whether the employment meets the required conditions for a work permit, in addition to name and contact details, an employment agreement or contract for artists should include the following:

  • any tour plan, pay, time and place of engagement
  • the employee’s name and address
  • the employer’s name and address
  • information about where the workplace is located
  • title and brief description of work responsibilities
  • form of employment (permanent, fixed-term or probationary)
  • the employment’s start date or start time
  • notice period, length of probationary period, or end date of employment
  • salary/wages, other salary/wage benefits, and how often the salary/wages will be paid
  • working hours
  • rules regarding overtime or additional hours work and compensation for such work
  • holiday days or holiday allowance
  • which collective agreement applies, if the employer has signed a collective agreement.
  • Collect important information

Make sure you have access to the information about the employee, company and employment that you will need to provide in the e-service.

Information about the employee
Name, date of birth, citizenship, education and email address. Please note that it is through this email address that your employee will log into the e-service to continue their work permit application, so double check it carefully.

Information about the company
Company registration number, contact details, date the business was established, and location of the workplace. Employers in industries with higher requirements, start-ups and representatives also need to attach supporting documents.

Information about the employment
Occupation, SSYK code for the occupation in question, work responsibilities, form of employment, start date, scope, salary/wages, date of any collective agreement, and insurance company/companies.

  • Insurance for the employee

In order for the employee to be granted a permit, the employer must have taken out medical insurance, life insurance, occupational injury insurance and occupational pension insurance for the employee by the time they start their employment.

If the employee later wants to apply for an extension of their permit, they must have been covered by medical insurance, life insurance, occupational injury insurance and occupational pension insurance for the entire period that they have had a permit in Sweden. It is therefore important that the documentation shows the date on which the insurance began to apply, as well as the terms and conditions of the policy.

People who are in Sweden for less than one year do not have the same right to social welfare benefits as those who reside here. It is therefore very important that the employee has their own private insurance that can cover any costs that might arise if they fall ill or have an accident.

Medical insurance provides financial support if the insured person falls ill or is injured. Medical insurance should not be confused with healthcare insurance, which helps the insured person to gain faster access to care.

A life insurance policy provides financial security if the insured person dies. For example, the money that is then paid out can help their surviving family be able to afford to stay in their home.

With an occupational injury insurance policy, the policyholder can receive compensation in the event of long-term unemployment or sick leave. The insurance provides compensation if the policyholder has been injured on the job or on the way to or from their workplace. This form of insurance is often referred to in Swedish as “Trygghetsförsäkring vid arbetsskada” and abbreviated to the acronym “TFA”.

Occupational pension insurance is an insurance solution to secure an occupational pension. It can be taken out by the employer for the benefit of the employee, or taken out by the employee but then paid by the employer.

  • Select which trade union might want to comment

In the e-service, you can choose which trade union organisation should be given the opportunity to comment on the employment. You choose the trade union that is relevant to the work that the employee is to perform. If the union is connected to the Swedish Migration Agency's digital processing, you will be able to select it directly in the e-service and later receive its statement of opinion directly in the e-service. Otherwise, they may give their statement via a form.

If the trade union refrains from commenting on the terms of employment, the Swedish Migration Agency will decide whether the offered terms of employment correspond to collective agreements or what is customary in the occupation or industry.

  • If your company is subject to higher requirements or is a start-up, you need to prepare supporting documents

Prepare these documents and make sure the information is clearly visible.

If the business is a start-up, you must attach these documents:

  • Documents showing cash or cash equivalents or overdraft facility
  • Balance and performance reports for the current year
  • Agreement(s) on ongoing or upcoming assignments.

If you have previously employed people from outside the EU and those people have been granted a work permit to work for you, you must also attach:

  • the company’s tax account statement for the last three months. The tax account statement must show paid employer contributions
  • documents showing that the former employees were covered by medical insurance, life insurance, occupational injury insurance and occupational pension insurance for the entire period that they had a work permit in Sweden.

A copy of their power of attorney to act as a representative.

Power of attorney (107011) Pdf, 1.1 MB.

Read more about power of attorney

If your business has existed for less than a year or has been dormant, you need to prove that you are able to pay salary/wages to the people you are hiring for at least three months. If you have previously employed non-EU/EEA citizens, you need to be able to prove that you have paid employer contributions and that these employees have been covered by the right insurance.

If you will be acting as a representative for an employer, you need to arrange a power of attorney.

Please note that if you are a representative with power of attorney, you are the only person who will have access to the case during the entire application period, because you create the e-application using your e-ID. You will thus be the only one who can complete the employer’s part of the application and respond to any requests for supplementation.

Read more about power of attorney

If the employee wishes to apply for a permanent residence permit in connection with their application for an extended permit, they must

  • have had a permit for work and worked in Sweden for at least four years during the past seven years
  • be able to support themselves financially
  • live a well-behaved life.

If the person does not meet the requirements for a permanent residence permit, they may still be granted an extended work permit, if the requirements for it are met.

It is the employee who chooses to apply for a permanent residence permit. As an employer, you do not need to do anything in your part of the application.

The employee can apply for an extension of the work permit no more than four months before the current permit will expire. You must apply before the current permit expires. If you apply too late, the employee will not be able to work during the processing time.

The Swedish Migration Agency recommends that you submit the application no more than 30 days before the current work permit will expire. This is because we cannot make a decision about a permanent residence permit application until the current permit has expired.

The employee has the right to continue working during the waiting time, as long as they have had a work permit for at least six months and they submit their application before the previous permit expires. This applies even if the previous permit expires before they receive a decision about their application for an extension.

An artist can be granted a work permit for a maximum of two years at a time for up to four years, but not for longer than the duration of the employment. They can never be granted a permit for longer than their passport is valid. If any of the employee’s family members are accompanying them to Sweden, they can be granted residence permits for the same period, but never longer than the period of validity of their passports.

If the employee is granted a permanent residence permit, it is valid for as long as they reside in Sweden.

It is not possible to say exactly how long it takes to recieve a decision. There are many things that affect the waiting time, for example whether the application is complete to begin with or whether we need to request more information, or whether we need to check with other authorities when investigating the case.

Here we show statistics on how long it has taken for people who have applied for this permit.

Complete applications

75% of applications receive a decision within:1 months

Incomplete applications

75% of applications receive a decision within:3 months

News

2025-03-05

The Swedish Migration Agency's new website has now been launched

On 5 March, the Swedish Migration Agency launched a completely new version of migrationsverket.se, with a new structure and a more user-friendly navigation. The purpose of the new website is primarily to make it easier for visitors to find the information they need.

2025-01-07

New EU Blue Card rules now apply

As of 1 January, new requirements and rules apply for anyone who wants to apply for an EU Blue Card and existing Blue Card holders.

The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for considering applications from people who want to live in Sweden, seek protection or become Swedish citizens. Our work is based on Swedish laws and international conventions, with a focus on legal certainty and effective reception and return.