Apply for an extension of a seasonal work permit

You have a seasonal work permit and want to extend it.

If you want to continue working in Sweden, you can apply for an extension of your seasonal work permit.

If you have worked in Sweden with a permit for work for at least four years, you can also choose to apply for a permanent residence permit at the same time. You apply for your permanent residence permit when you apply for an extension of your current permit.

Requirements to get an extended work permit

You must have a valid passport

You must have a work permit to work as a seasonal worker in Sweden

You must have been paid a certain amount of salary/wages, in order to be able to support yourself financially
Your salary/wages must not have been less than SEK 13,000 per month, regardless of the extent to which you have worked.

You must have been offered fixed-term employment as a seasonal worker
Your employer must be established in Sweden. This means that the employer must have its registered office here and conduct its actual business in Sweden.

You must have access to an appropriate standard of housing

You must have, or have applied for, a comprehensive health insurance policy
The comprehensive health insurance must be valid for the entire time you will be in Sweden and cover the cost of urgent and other medical care, hospitalisation, and emergency dental care. It must also cover the cost of medical repatriation, if you need to return to your country of origin for health reasons.

You must be able to prove your qualifications to practise the profession in Sweden
Applies if the work relates to a regulated profession.

Requirements to get a permanent residence permit

You must have had a permit for work for at least four years
You must have had, and met the conditions for, a permit for work, and have worked in Sweden for four of the past seven years.

You must be able to support yourself financially

Read more about the financial maintenance requirement

To get a permanent residence permit, you must be able to support yourself through income from employment or your own company, or a combination of the two. You may add together income from one or more part-time jobs, provided that all the positions meet the below requirements and the total income is sufficient to be able to support yourself financially.

Your ability to support yourself must be sustainable

You must be able to show that you can support yourself financially for a long time to come. If you do not have a permanent position, we always make an individual assessment of whether your income is reliable.

Your employment must be serious. For example, the Swedish Migration Agency can check that your employer is able to pay you the wages/salary you specified in your application.

People who support themselves financially through self-employment must demonstrate that their company has realistic business plans and stable finances, so that you can be expected to be able to support yourself through your profits for a considerable period of time.

Only the income you actually have when we consider your application counts. You cannot get a permanent residence permit based on your chances of getting another job or higher income sometime in the future.

What income counts?

You may only count taxed income from legal employment. This means that you must have permission to work or be exempt from the requirement to have a work permit. You may not count undeclared income, nor income from a profession that you are not licensed to practise.

You may count 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 12 months.

To count income from your business, you must show that you own at least half of the company and that you have decisive responsibility for its operations. It is also required that you run the company professionally, independently and for profit.

If you wait too long to apply for a permanent residence permit (after your current permit has expired), you will not have the right to work while you wait for a decision and therefore will not meet the maintenance requirement.

Amount of income

Your income after tax must be high enough so that after you pay your monthly housing costs, you still have a certain amount of money left over that can cover the costs of food, clothing, hygiene, telephone, electricity, and insuring yourself, among other things. In 2024, that amount is SEK 6,090 per month for a single adult. If you have a child with whom you do not live and you pay maintenance to the child’s other parent, your wages/salary must also be sufficient to cover their maintenance allowance.

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 water and heating in this calculation, if the latter are 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 housing costs.

You only need to be able to support yourself, not your family members. If you live alone or with underage children, you must include your entire actual housing costs in your calculation. However, if you live with one or more other adults, you should divide your actual housing costs by the number of adults in the household and only include your share in the calculation, no matter how much each person actually pays for your housing.

What income does not count?

You may not count income from

a family member
wealth or returns from capital
unemployment insurance or activity compensation
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 wages)

Pensions do not count as income either, but people who receive a pension may be exempt from the requirement that they must be able support themselves financially.

Exemptions from the maintenance requirement

Exemptions from the maintenance requirement can be made if

you are under the age of 18 when the Swedish Migration Agency makes a decision
you are entitled to a pension
you are unable to support yourself financially on other special grounds.

If you can submit a decision from the Swedish Pensions Agency that shows that you are entitled to an income-based retirement pension, guarantee pension, or financial support for the elderly, then you are exempt from the requirement to be able to support yourself financially. It is the right to a pension that is crucial, not whether you actually take out a pension or the size of your pension. Both guarantee pensions and financial support for the elderly can be paid out no sooner than the month you turn 66. Income-based old-age pensions can be paid out no sooner than the month you turn 63. If you have reached the age of 63 but not 66, you must show that you have retired and started to take out your income-based old-age pension. It is your age on the date of the decision that matters.

Exemptions from the maintenance requirement may also be made if other special grounds exist which are not temporary. For example, you may be unable to meet the maintenance requirement on the grounds of permanently impaired working capacity, for example due to illness or disability. This can also apply if you are unemployed and so close to retirement age that it is difficult to get a new job. Exemptions can also be granted if it is not reasonable to request that you be able to support yourself financially. For example, such exemptions are granted for monks and nuns.

If you believe that you have special grounds for exemption from the maintenance requirement, please attach documents showing that you have, for example, a permanently impaired ability to work. Such proof may take the form of an investigation by the Swedish Public Employment Service, a decision on entitlement to sickness benefits, sickness benefits or activity compensation from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, or a medical certificate.

You must live a well-behaved life

Prepare this before you apply

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
If your passport is about to expire, you should extend it, because you cannot get a permit for longer than your passport is valid.
Read more about what the passport copies must show

Your employment contract

Documentation of comprehensive health insurance
It must state the insurance company with which you have taken out comprehensive insurance and the period during which the insurance is valid. The insurance must cover treatment in Sweden.

Income information from the Swedish Tax Agency
You must submit a summary of your PAYE tax return from the Swedish Tax Agency for all years that you have worked in Sweden, which shows both your total income and who has paid your salary/wages or other sources of income.

Pay slips
Pay slips for the current year.

Certificate of employment
From all employers you have had in Sweden. If you have changed employer or profession during the permit period, you must submit documents that apply to all employment that you have had.

Certificate showing any absence from your work
For example, payment statements from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency.

Rental agreement or certificate of an impending agreement
Rental agreement or certificate of an impending agreement from the landlord, property owner, or housing agency. If you sublet your housing, you must also submit documents showing that this arrangement has been approved by your landlord, tenant-owner association, or local rent tribunal.

The rental agreement or certificate of approved subletting arrangement should contain

address of the housing
rent
living area (in square meters)
number of rooms and kitchen/toilet
period of validity and notice period of the rental agreement
contact details for the landlord and the tenant
signatures of the landlord and the tenant
information about the number of people who will be sharing the housing
information about the type of housing (e.g. freestanding house, flat, or dormitory) that you are being offered

Documents proving that you are qualified to practise the profession
If your application relates to a regulated profession.

Power of attorney – if someone else will be applying for you

A representative can apply for you, if you grant them power of attorney. To do this, 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

When can I apply for an extension?

You can apply for an extension no more than two months before your current permit will expire. You must apply before your current permit expires.

If you apply too late, you will not be allowed to work during the processing time.

If you apply for a permanent residence permit at the same time

The Swedish Migration Agency recommends that you submit your application no more than 30 days before your current work permit expires. This is because we can only make a decision regarding your application for a permanent residence permit after your current permit has expired.

If you rent housing from your employer

Your employer can rent housing to you. Your employer can also help you to find housing.

If your employer rents you housing or helps you find housing, special requirements apply:

The rent must not be unreasonably high in relation to the standard of the housing or to your salary/wages. The Swedish Migration Agency therefore compares your rent with the rent for similar housing in the place where you will be working.
As a general rule, the rent may not be deducted directly from your salary/wages.
Your employer must provide you with a document stating the terms and conditions of your tenancy.
The housing must comply with general health and safety regulations.

Can the rent be deducted directly from my salary/wages?

The rent may only be deducted directly from your salary/wages if you have given your employer written consent to do so in advance.

About the requirement for an appropriate standard of housing

When you come to Sweden for seasonal work, you must be able to live in housing of an appropriate standard.

What does an appropriate standard of housing mean?

Housing of an appropriate standard has

continuous heating
continuous access to hot and cold water for housework and personal hygiene
wastewater sewerage
access to a toilet and washbasin, as well as a bath or shower
electricity for household consumption
a stove, sink, refrigerator, storage areas, and food preparation areas
access to storage areas within the property
the possibility of washing clothes, either inside the property or within a reasonable distance from it.

The housing must not have deficiencies in terms of the solidity of the building, fire safety, or sanitary conditions.

Can I live with someone instead of having my own housing?

No, in order to be granted a seasonal work permit, you cannot live in someone else's home. This means that you cannot live at a relative's home during the time you are going to work in Sweden. To meet the requirement, you must rent your housing as the primary leaseholder, sublet it, or own it.

If you are going move to different housing

If you have or have applied for a seasonal work permit, you must notify the Swedish Migration Agency if you move to different housing.

If you do not report that you have moved to different housing, this may lead to

rejection of your application for a permit or extended permit
revocation of your permit
in the worst case, punishment in the form of a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of six months.

You can notify us that you have moved to different housing by filling in and submitting the form Report change of address (266511). You must clearly state your name and your case number. You must also attach a new rental agreement.

Send the form and rental agreement to

The Swedish Migration Agency
Box 3100
903 03 Umeå

If you are representing a worker

The Swedish Migration Agency assesses applications on an individual basis, and the conditions for granting an application must be met in each individual case. As a representative, it is therefore important that you submit an application for each person who is applying for a seasonal work permit and attach all the documents required for each individual.

For how long can I be granted a permit?

You can be granted a seasonal work permit for a maximum of six months in a twelve-month period. You may be granted one long or several consecutive short permits during this period.
You can never be granted a permit for longer than your passport is valid.

The permit can be extended.

What does it cost to apply?

Fee: SEK 2,000.

How long must I wait for a decision?

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:7 months

Incomplete applications

75% of applications receive a decision within:6 months

Illustration av en pil som går runt i en cirkel.

You want to continue working in Sweden

If you have a seasonal work permit and want to continue working after it expires, you need to apply to extend your permit. You must apply for an extension before your current permit expires.

Illustration av en kvinna som sitter vid en dator.

The employer starts the application

It is the employer who starts the extension application in the e-service.

The trade union is given the opportunity to comment

The employer sends information about the employment to the relevant trade union for the industry to which the employment relates. The trade union is given the opportunity to comment on the terms and conditions of employment.

Illustration av en ung kvinna som gör en ansökan på datorn.

You fill in your part of the application

Once the employer has completed their part, you will receive an email with a link to the e-service, where you must fill in your part of the application. You fill in the application and attach the necessary documents.

If you are a representative and apply for several employees at the same time, it is important that you fill in the application with the correct information about each individual employee.

Illustration som visar hur en person lämnar sina fingeravtryck.

You need to be photographed and fingerprinted

To get a new residence permit card, you need to be photographed and fingerprinted. If you did not do this when you submitted your application, you must book an appointment to do so at one of the Swedish Migration Agency’s service centres.

Book an appointment for a visit

Illustration av en man som jobbar som handläggare på Migrationsverket.

The Swedish Migration Agency processes the application

The Swedish Migration Agency will review all the information about your application and determine whether you can be granted an extended permit. We will contact you if we need more information. In some cases, we will contact your employer for further information.

Waiting time while we process your application

Now you must wait.

Log in to My Page

By logging in to My Page, you can access information about your application and use our services.

My Page

You may need to present your passport

You may need to present your passport before we can make a decision. You only need to do this if we have not already checked it on a previous visit, or if you have received a new passport since you last presented it.

Certain applicants will be offered the option of presenting their passport in a digital passport check conducted via an app.

If you need to present your passport, we will contact you with information about how and when you can do so.

You are waiting for a decision – You have applied for an extension

Illustration av en ung kvinna som håller i ett beslut.

You receive our decision

As soon as we have made a decision, you will receive an email or letter stating whether you have been granted a work permit or if your application has been rejected. When you receive the decision, you can find out the reasons on which we based it. If you are granted a residence permit, you have the right to live and work in Sweden as long as the permit is valid. If your application is rejected and you are currently in Sweden, you must prepare to leave the country.

You have received a decision – Work

Have you assembled all documents?

Before you start your part of the application, you must have assembled the documents you will need to attach.

See which documents you must attach under the Important to know tab

Your employer starts your application

Your employer in Sweden will start your application by submitting information about your employment to the Swedish Migration Agency. To do this, your employer needs information about your name, date of birth, citizenship and email address. Once your employer has completed their part of the application, you will receive a link via email, which you should use to continue with your part of the application. Only once you have completed and submitted your part of the application will it be registered with the Swedish Migration Agency.

You complete your application

Once you have received the email with the link, log in to the e-service and fill in the information about yourself. You must also check that the information about your terms and conditions of employment corresponds to what you and your employer have agreed. Once you have completed your part of the application and have submitted it, it will be registered with the Swedish Migration Agency.

Keep in mind that your application must be registered with the Swedish Migration Agency before your current permit has expired. It is not enough for your employer to have filled in their part.

Requirements for applying in the e-service

To apply in the e-service, you must

be 18 years or older
have a valid email address
be able to pay the application fee with a payment card issued by Visa or Mastercard
be able to scan or photograph the documents you need to attach.

What does it cost to apply?

Fee: SEK 2,000.

If you cannot apply in the e-service

If you are unable to apply in the e-service, your employer must fill in form Information about the employment (232511) Pdf, 818.4 kB., and send it to you. You must then submit it together with your application.

You fill in the form:

Application for a seasonal work permit in Sweden (262011) Pdf, 854.5 kB.

If you are going to live in housing rented to you by your employer, you must also fill in the form:

Accommodation details – Appendix for seasonal work permit application (264011) Pdf, 710.1 kB.

Submit or send in the application

You can either submit the application and the attached documents at one of the Swedish Migration Agency’s service centres or send them to:

Migrationsverket
Box 3100
903 03 Umeå

Pay the application fee

If you submit your application at one of the Swedish Migration Agency’s service centres, you will pay the fee there.

If you are sending in the application by mail, you pay the fee to bankgiro number 5223-7005. The IBAN for the account is SE6912000000012810106908 and the BIC/SWIFT code is DABASESX (Danske Bank).

In the box for messages to the recipient, you write the name and surname of the person the application fee is for, as well as their personal identity number and/or case number. If you are paying the fees of several people at the same time, write the personal identity number and/or case number for each of them. Also write on the application form when and how you paid the fee.

News

2025-03-06

Changes for those residing in Cyprus who wish to apply for residence and work permit

From 17 March 2025 the Swedish embassy in Nicosia will no longer handle migration matters. If you are a citizen of Cyprus, you should instead contact the Swedish embassy in Athens, Greece. The same applies for non-Cypriot legal residents of Cyprus.

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.

2025-02-07

Changes for residents of Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania or Moldova that wish to apply for residence and work permits or visas

Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania are now part of the Schengen area. Legal residents of these countries shall, from 24 February 2025 turn to one of the five Schengen hubs for migration related matters.

2025-02-07

Changes for those residing in Bosnia and Herzegovina who previously applied for residence and work permit in Sarajevo

As from 10 March, 2025, the embassy in Sarajevo will no longer handle migration related matters. Instead, you should turn to the Swedish embassy in Skopje, North Macedonia.

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.

2024-12-20

Change for people residing in Serbia and Montenegro and want to apply for residence and work permit

As of 3 February 2025, residents of Serbia and Montenegro should contact the Embassy of Sweden in Skopje, North Macedonia for applications for residence and work permits.

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