Working in Sweden – jobs, unions, a-kassa and getting your qualifications recognised
Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →
Sweden has no statutory minimum wage, a new unemployment insurance since October 2025 and, from 1 June 2026, a higher salary threshold for work permits. Here is how working life fits together – and what to sort out in your first weeks.
Start with the news. Since 1 June 2026, a new work permit requires a salary of at least 90 per cent of the Swedish median salary, according to Migrationsverket (the Swedish Migration Agency). With the median at 38,300 kronor – the figure SCB (Statistics Sweden) published on 16 June 2026 – that means at least 34,470 kronor a month. The old requirement was 80 per cent. Since the same date, exploiting foreign workers and trading in work permits are criminal offences in their own right.
Who can work – and what you need before day one
EU/EEA and Swiss citizens need no permit to work in Sweden, although a Swiss citizen staying longer than three months must apply for a residence permit. As an EU/EEA citizen you can stay six months to look for work, according to Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency), but you normally cannot be registered in the population register as a job seeker unless you can show a real chance of a job. Everyone else needs a work permit, and the employer must inform Skatteverket when it hires them. No personnummer or samordningsnummer is needed to start working.
| Your situation | What applies in 2026 |
|---|---|
| EU/EEA citizen | No work permit; six months in Sweden to look for work |
| New work permit, from 1 June 2026 | At least 90 per cent of the median salary: 34,470 kronor a month |
| Lower threshold, for example assistant nurses, some technicians and engineers, farming and forestry | At least 75 per cent: 28,725 kronor a month |
| Extending an old-rules permit, applying 1 June–1 December 2026 | The old 80 per cent: 30,640 kronor a month |
| Staying six months or less | You can apply for SINK, a flat 22.5 per cent tax in 2026 |
Source: Migrationsverket and Skatteverket, read 22 September 2026.
Work permits in detail are in part 2 of this series; tax, including SINK, is in part 7.
Finding work
Arbetsförmedlingen, the state employment agency, runs Platsbanken, its own job site where employers advertise vacancies. Its line for job seekers is 0771-416 416, weekdays 8–16; identify yourself with BankID to be connected faster. In the Gothenburg region, International House Gothenburg, run by Business Region Göteborg, gives free advice to internationally recruited professionals and their families.
Swedish opens doors at work. Sfi (Swedish for immigrants) is free, but since 1 January 2026 the right to take part is limited to three years from when you are first admitted. Part 11 explains how to make the most of it.
No minimum wage – the collective agreement sets the level
Sweden has no statutory minimum wage. Pay is set in kollektivavtal (collective agreements) between employers and trade unions. The government confirmed this in November 2025, when it welcomed the EU Court of Justice’s ruling annulling parts of Article 5 of the EU minimum wage directive: in Sweden, it said, the social partners agree on pay through their agreements. So ask any employer whether it has a collective agreement – it is there, not in a law, that pay levels are set.
For comparison, SCB’s figures for 2025 put the median monthly salary at 38,300 kronor: 36,800 for women and 39,900 for men. The laws that apply to everyone set out the basic framework.
| Rule | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Provanställning (probationary employment) | At most six months; if neither side ends it, it becomes permanent employment (Employment Protection Act, LAS) |
| Holiday | 25 days a year; if you start after 31 August, only five days in that holiday year (Annual Leave Act) |
| Working hours | Ordinary working time at most 40 hours a week, in some cases as an average over four weeks (Working Hours Act) |
| On-call time | At most 48 hours per four weeks, or 50 hours per calendar month |
| Minimum wage | None by law – set by collective agreements |
| Median salary, 2025 | 38,300 kronor a month |
Source: Sveriges riksdag, the Government Offices and SCB, read 22 September 2026.
Unions and a-kassa – two different memberships
Two memberships are easy to mix up. A fackförbund (trade union) negotiates on the employees’ side; an a-kassa (unemployment insurance fund) pays benefit if you lose your job. They are legally separate: you do not need to join a union to join an a-kassa, or the other way round, although many people belong to both, according to Sveriges a-kassor, the funds’ joint organisation. Membership of an a-kassa is voluntary.
The insurance changed on 1 October 2025 and is now more closely tied to your income. The main rule is a total income of at least 120,000 kronor during the qualifying period, with at least 11,000 kronor a month in at least four of those months. The highest income the benefit is based on is 34,000 kronor a month. You must also be at least 20, registered with Arbetsförmedlingen, actively looking for work and able to take a job you are offered.
| Months with at least 11,000 kronor in income | Days of benefit |
|---|---|
| 11–12 | 300 |
| 8–10 | 200 |
| 4–7 | 100 |
| Alternative rule: four months in a row | 66 |
Source: Inspektionen för arbetslöshetsförsäkringen (IAF), the unemployment insurance inspectorate, read 22 September 2026.
How long you have been a member decides how much you get: up to 50 per cent of your salary with up to five months of membership, up to 60 per cent with 6–11 months and up to 80 per cent with 11–12 months, according to Sveriges a-kassor. For a newcomer, the conclusion is simple. Join an a-kassa when you start working, because the clock starts with membership, not with unemployment.
If you do lose your job, register with Arbetsförmedlingen on your first day without work, through its digital service, open daily 07–24. The a-kassa assesses your right to benefit from that day, and registering on day one also protects your sjukpenninggrundande inkomst, SGI (the income your sickness benefit is based on), with Försäkringskassan (the Swedish Social Insurance Agency). No e-ID yet? At a service office run by Statens servicecenter you can borrow a computer and log in with a one-time code.
Getting your qualifications recognised
UHR (the Swedish Council for Higher Education) is Sweden’s ENIC-NARIC office. It assesses completed foreign upper-secondary education, post-secondary vocational education and higher education, and can issue a statement of what yours corresponds to in Sweden. It also tells you where to turn if you want to work in a regulated profession. In health care, Socialstyrelsen (the National Board of Health and Welfare) issues the legitimation (licence to practise) for professions including doctors, nurses, dentists, midwives, psychologists and physiotherapists.
| Your situation | Where to go | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| What does your foreign education correspond to? | UHR, assessment of foreign education | 010-470 03 00, option 2, weekdays 9–16 |
| A regulated profession | UHR tells you which authority is responsible | 010-470 03 00 |
| Doctor, nurse, dentist, midwife, psychologist or physiotherapist | Socialstyrelsen, licence to practise | 075-247 30 00, Tuesdays and Thursdays 9.00–11.00 |
| Looking for a job | Arbetsförmedlingen and Platsbanken | 0771-416 416, weekdays 8–16 |
| Recruited to the Gothenburg region | International House Gothenburg | 031-367 61 00 |
Source: UHR, Socialstyrelsen, Arbetsförmedlingen and Business Region Göteborg, read 22 September 2026.
What to do now
| Step | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | If you need a work permit, check that the salary meets the 2026 threshold | Before you accept an offer |
| 2 | Ask whether the employer has a collective agreement | Before you sign |
| 3 | Join an a-kassa, and decide whether to join a union as well | In your first weeks in work |
| 4 | Ask UHR to assess your education, or Socialstyrelsen about a licence | Before you apply for jobs that require it |
| 5 | Start sfi or other Swedish lessons | Soon after you are registered |
| 6 | If you lose your job, register with Arbetsförmedlingen | On your first day without work |
Source: Migrationsverket, Sveriges a-kassor, IAF, UHR and Arbetsförmedlingen, read 22 September 2026.
Official sources
The official pages this guide is based on, read 22 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.
- Skatteverket – Du ska arbeta i Sverige (medborgare i EU/EES) · skatteverket.se
- Regeringen.se – Arbetsmarknadsminister Johan Britz kommenterar EU-domstolens dom om minimilönedirektivet · regeringen.se
- Sveriges riksdag – Lag (1982:80) om anställningsskydd, 6 § · riksdagen.se
- Sveriges riksdag – Semesterlag (1977:480), 4 § · riksdagen.se
- Sveriges riksdag – Arbetstidslag (1982:673), 5 § · riksdagen.se
- SCB – Medianlöner i Sverige · scb.se
- IAF (Inspektionen för arbetslöshetsförsäkringen) – Ny arbetslöshetsförsäkring från 1 oktober 2025 · iaf.se
- a-kassa.se – Är a-kassan obligatorisk? · a-kassa.se
- Arbetsförmedlingen – Arbetslös, vad händer nu? · arbetsformedlingen.se
- UHR – Bedömning av utländsk utbildning · uhr.se
- Socialstyrelsen – Legitimation · legitimation.socialstyrelsen.se
- Arbetsförmedlingen – Sök jobb i Platsbanken · arbetsformedlingen.se
- a-kassa.se – Hur hänger a-kassan och facket ihop? · a-kassa.se
Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.