You want to apply Students who have found work

You have a residence permit to study at a university or university college in Sweden, have gotten a job, and now want to apply for a work permit in Sweden. Your family can apply at the same time as you. You can also apply for this permit if you currently have a permit to look for work after completing your studies in Sweden.

  • Important to know
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If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA, you will in most cases need a permit to work in Sweden.

If you have a residence permit to study or to look for work after completing your studies in Sweden, and now want to apply for a work permit without leaving the country, you must meet certain requirements.

If you have found work in Sweden but are currently in another country, you must apply for a work permit.

You want to apply – Employees

If you have completed studies corresponding to a second-cycle qualification and are currently outside of Sweden, you can apply for a residence permit to come to Sweden to look for work or explore the possibilities for starting your own business here.

You want to apply – Look for work or start a business

In order for you to be granted a work permit, your employment must meet all the requirements. You cannot combine two or more jobs in order to meet the requirements.

The following requirements must be met in order for you to be able to apply for a work permit as a former student in Sweden from within the country:

You must have a valid passport

You must have a residence permit for studies at a university or university college, or a residence permit to look for work after completing studies in Sweden

You must have completed at least 30 higher education credits or one semester of doctoral education in Sweden

You must apply for a work permit before your current residence permit expires

You must have an employment contract
The employment contract must be signed by both you and your employer.

You must have the right terms and conditions of employment
Your salary/wages and other working conditions must be at least on par with Swedish collective agreements or common practice in your profession or industry.

Your employer must have taken out insurance for you
By the time you start your job, your employer must have taken out health insurance, life insurance, industrial injuries insurance, and occupational pension insurance for you.

Your employment must enable you to make a good living
This means that you must have a monthly salary or wages totalling at least 80 percent of the median salary published by Statistics Sweden (SCB) that applied when you submitted your application.

To be considered to be making a good living, you must have a monthly salary/wages of at least SEK 28,480. This corresponds to 80 percent of the current median salary that Statistics Sweden publishes in June of each year.

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

Your monthly salary/wages must also be in line with collective agreements or with common practice in your profession or industry. This means that your salary/wages may need to be higher than 80 percent of the median salary.

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

Make sure that your employer has the correct information about you

Your employer needs information about your name, date of birth, citizenship and email address. They will use this information when they start your application for a work permit.

It is important that you have access to the email address that you give to your employer until you have received a decision about your application. The Swedish Migration Agency will use this email address when we contact you.


Translate documents
All submitted documents should be in Swedish or English. If you have translated your documents, the translation should be certified. You must also include a copy of the document in its original language.

You must attach copies of these documents to your application

Make sure that the information on your submitted documents is clearly visible.

Correctly made copies of your passport

You can never be granted a permit for longer than your passport is valid.

Read more about what the passport copies must show

Study certificate
Certificate of completion of at least 30 higher education credits or one semester of doctoral education in Sweden.

Employment contract
It must be signed by both you and your employer.

A representative can apply for you, if you grant them power of attorney. In that case, the person who applies for you must attach a copy of the power of attorney to your application.

Power of attorney (107011) Pdf, 1.1 MB.

More about power of attorney

Documents to attach if your family is applying with you

Correctly made copies of each family member’s passport

Your family member can never be granted a residence permit for longer than their passport is valid.

Read more about what the passport copies must show

Documents showing your relationship

If you are married: marriage certificate, marriage record, or similar document.

If you are cohabiting partners: documents showing that you have lived together, such as population registration certificates, a joint rental contract, or proof of the joint purchase of a home.

Documents showing that you meet the maintenance requirement

You can act as a representative for your family members over the age of 18 and apply on their behalf. To do this, you must have a power of attorney and attach it to the application.

Power of attorney (107011) Pdf, 1.1 MB.

More about power of attorney

Documents to attach if you have accompanying children

Birth record or birth certificate stating the names of the child’s parents

Consent that the child may move to Sweden
If a child has two parents/legal guardians and their other parent/legal guardian is not applying for a permit together with the child, you must attach a statement of consent from the other parent/legal guardian to the application. You must also attach a copy of the other parent or legal guardian’s passport or other identity document.

Consent for a child to settle in Sweden (217011) Pdf, 1.1 MB.

Sole custody decision
If you have sole custody of your child, you must attach a court decision to this effect. If the other parent is deceased, you must submit a death certificate.

Adoption documents, if your child is adopted

Documentation showing that a child over age 21 is dependent on you or their other parent for their financial maintenance

Other rules apply if you are a citizen of the EU/EEA or Switzerland, or if you have long-term resident status in another EU country.

EU/EEA citizens with right of residence

If you are an EU/EEA citizen, you have the right to live in another EU/EEA country if you fulfil the requirements for right of residence through work, your own company, your studies, or by having sufficient funds to support yourself. If you have right of residence, you do not need to apply for a residence permit to live in Sweden.

EU/EEA citizens

Swiss citizens

If you are a citizen of Switzerland, you can move to Sweden to work, study, start your own business, or live on your own funds. If you want to remain in Sweden for longer than three months, you must apply for a residence permit for Swiss citizens.

You want to apply – Swiss citizens

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country, you can move to Sweden to work, study or live on your own funds. If you plan to stay longer than three months, you need to apply for a residence permit for long-term residents.

You want to apply – Long-term residents in another EU country

If any of your family members also want to apply for a residence permit, they can do so at the same time as you. “Family members” are considered to include spouses, registered partners, cohabiting partners, and children under the age of 21.

If anyone in your family decides later that they want to move to Sweden to join you, they must submit their own application afterwards.

You want to apply – Family of an employee or self-employed person who apply afterwards

If your family is granted residence permits, your adult family members and children who will turn at least 16 during the current year are permitted to work.

You must be able to financially support your family

If your family applies together with you, you are subject to a maintenance requirement. This means that you must have an income that allows you to financially support yourself and your family.

To meet the maintenance requirement, you must have an income that can cover housing costs and living expenses for yourself and your family members.

In the first instance, the Swedish Migration Agency looks at your income from salary/wages, but if this is insufficient, it is also possible to count income from business activities or personal wealth.

The following types of income count

  • taxed income from the employment for which you are applying or have been granted a permit
  • parental benefits or sickness benefits, provided that you have ongoing employment and your parental leave or sick leave is not assessed to be longer than 18 months
  • income from business activities
  • assets.
Amount of income

Your income after tax must be high enough so that after paying your monthly rent, you still have a certain amount of money left over that can cover the costs of food, clothing, hygiene, telephone, and insuring everyone in your household, among other things.

For 2025, the amount you must have left after paying your rent is:

  • SEK 6,186 for a single adult
  • SEK 10,219 for cohabiting spouses or cohabiting partners
  • SEK 3,306 for children 0–6 years of age
  • SEK 3,967 for children 7–10 years of age
  • SEK 4,629 for children 11–14 years of age
  • SEK 5,290 for children 15 years of age or older.

If you have a child with whom you do not live and you pay maintenance to the child’s other parent, your salary/wages must also be sufficient to cover their maintenance allowance.

Housing costs

The housing costs that your wages must be sufficient to cover each month depend on the type of home in which you live:

  • If you live in a rented flat, you must include both the rent and the cost of heating in this calculation, if the latter is not included in the rent.
  • If you live in a tenant-owner flat, you must include any fees paid to the tenant-owner association and the interest on any home loans in your calculation. You must also include necessary operating costs (such as water and heating), if these are not included in the monthly fee.
  • If you live in a freestanding house, you must include the interest rate for any home loans and necessary operating costs (such as water and heating) in your calculation.

Amortisation of home loans is not included in the cost of housing. You also do not have to include the cost of electricity in your calculation, as this cost is included in the so-called “standard amount”.

You should count your entire actual housing cost. If you and your family are moving to Sweden together, you may not yet have arranged your housing when you apply for a residence permit. The Swedish Migration Agency then assumes a so-called standard cost for housing a family of your size in the town or city where your workplace in Sweden is located.

What income does not count?

You may not count income from

  • a family member
  • unemployment insurance (unemployment benefits) or an activity allowance
  • various forms of grants or scholarships
  • subsidised employment (for example, when the Swedish Social Insurance Agency or the Swedish Public Employment Service pays all or part of the salary/wages)
  • undeclared work or employment without the legal right to work.

You can be granted a work permit for a maximum of two years, but not for longer than the term of your employment contract. You can never be granted a permit for longer than your passport is valid.

The permit can be extended.

If your family is accompanying you to Sweden, they can be granted a permit for the same period as you, but never longer than the period of validity of their passports

Employees: SEK 2,200
Adult family members: SEK 1,500
Children: SEK 750

It is not possible to say exactly how long you will need to wait for a decision. There are many things that affect the waiting time, for example whether your 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 your case.

Here we show statistics on how long it has taken for people who have applied for the same permit as you.

Complete applications

75% of applications receive a decision within:3 months

Incomplete applications

75% of applications receive a decision within:10 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.