Employers EU Blue Cards

You want to employ highly qualified personnel who are citizens of a non-EU/EEA country and who need to apply for an EU Blue Card for work in Sweden.

  • Important to know
  • How it works
  • Apply

If you want to see the information that is aimed at the employee, you can visit the page You want to apply – EU Blue Cards

The information on this page is aimed at employers who want to employ highly qualified personnel who need to apply for an EU Blue Card for work in Sweden.

An EU Blue Card issued in Sweden gives the employee the right to live and work in Sweden, for the employer and within the occupation specified in the application.

To be able to get an EU Blue Card, the employee must have higher education equivalent to 180 credits or five years of professional experience and a salary corresponding to at least 1.25 times the average gross salary in Sweden.

The employer starts the application

As an employer, you start the application for an EU Blue Card for the person you want to employ. You do this by providing information about the employment to the Swedish Migration Agency via our e-service. When you are finished, the employee receives a link to the e-service, where they fill in their information, submit and thus complete the application. 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 person you want to employ to be able to get an EU Blue Card:

You and the employee must sign an employment agreement for a highly qualified job that lasts at least six months

You must advertise the vacant position for at least 10 days
You must advertise the vacancy in Sweden and within the EU/EEA and Switzerland for at least ten days.

The terms of employment should be at the right level
The terms of employment must be at least on par with Swedish collective agreements or what is customary in the occupation or industry.

The salary/wages must be high enough
The employee must be offered a salary/wages totalling at least 1,25 times the average gross salary in Sweden.

Each year, the Swedish Migration Agency sets the salary threshold that must be met to be able to get an EU Blue Card. The salary threshold corresponds to 1,25 times the average gross salary in Sweden published by the Swedish National Mediation Office.

As of 1 January 2025, the salary threshold is SEK 49,875 per month.

You must arrange insurance for the employee
You must take out medical insurance, life insurance, occupational injury insurance and occupational pension insurance for the employee. The insurance must be taken out by the time the employment begins.

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

  • Advertise the vacant position for at least 10 days

When you are planning to fill a vacancy, you must advertise the position so that all residents of Sweden, the EU/EEA and Switzerland can apply for the job. You can do this by advertising the vacant position for at least ten days via the Swedish Public Employment Service’s job placement portal. Vacancy advertisements in the Swedish Public Employment Service’s job placement portal are also visible in the European job placement portal, EURES.

The vacancy advertisement requirement is due to the fact that the recruitment procedure must be compatible with Sweden’s commitments within the EU. See Chapter 6 a of the Aliens Act.

If you choose to advertise a vacancy in any way other than via the Swedish Public Employment Service, you must show that the vacancy advertisement corresponds to EURES and has been available to everyone in all EU/EEA countries and Switzerland. For example, it is usually not enough to advertise only on LinkedIn or via other such channels.

Please note that you will later need to have access to the relevant ad ID for the ad in the job placement portal, or the reference number for the ad in EURES.

Applies to new recruitment only

The vacancy advertisement requirement applies only to new recruitment. For people who are employed by an employer abroad, and who have been assigned to perform work in Sweden, no advertisement of the vacancy is required, nor is it necessary if an employee is transferred within a group – as long as the position remains based abroad. However, if the position is moved to Sweden, it is considered a new job. In that case, you must advertise the vacant position and the person who will be working for you must apply for a new EU Blue Card.

  • Sign an employment agreement with the employee

The employment agreement must be 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 an EU Blue Card, in addition to name and contact details, an employment agreement should include the following:

  • 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)
  • employment start date or time
  • notice period, length of probationary period, or end date of employment
  • salary/wages, other salary benefits, and how often the salary/wages will be paid
  • working hours
  • what applies to overtime or additional time 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.

You will need this information:

Information about the person you want to employ
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.

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, insurance company/companies and advertisement ID.

  • Insurance for the employee

In order for the employee to be able to get an EU Blue Card, their 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 the EU Blue Card, 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 an EU Blue Card 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 also 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.

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

People with a valid EU Blue Card issued in another EU country can apply for a Swedish EU Blue Card if they have been staying in the other country with an EU Blue Card for at least 12 months. In that case, the person must apply for an EU Blue Card in Sweden within one month of entering Sweden.

You cannot work in Sweden until you have applied for your Swedish EU Blue Card.

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

The first time an EU Blue Card is granted, it is valid for at least nine months and for a maximum of two years. This gives the employee the right to work in Sweden with the employer, in the profession and for the period stated in the decision.

If the employee is employed for less than two years, an additional permit period of three months is added to the EU Blue Card.

The permit can be extended.

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:1 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.