Work permits and residence permits in Sweden

Arbejdstilladelse og opholdstilladelse i Sverige
Here you can read about work permits and residence permits in Sweden. You can find out about the regulations that apply if you want to live and work in Sweden as a Nordic citizen, as a citizen of a country in the EU/EEA, or as a citizen of country outside the EU/EEA.

The common Nordic labour market is a cornerstone of the Nordic co-operation. In 1954, the Nordic countries signed an agreement on a common Nordic labour market, which gives Nordic citizens the right to freely take jobs and live in another Nordic country.

There are other rules for citizens from countries outside the Nordic region. Here you can read about what applies in your situation.

Nordic citizens in Sweden

If you are a citizen of a Nordic country, you can travel freely to Sweden to live and work. You do not need a visa, work permit or residence permit.

You can stay in Sweden for up to one year. If you are planning to stay in Sweden for more than 12 months, you must register in the Swedish Population Register. Read more about this on the page about registration in the Swedish Population Register.

EU/EEA citizens in Sweden

If you are a citizen of an EU/EEA country and you are employed, self-employed, studying or have sufficient funds to support yourself, you have the right of residence in Sweden. This means that EU/EEA citizens can stay in Sweden for more than three months without a residence permit. If you satisfy the conditions for the right of residence, you automatically have the right of residence in Sweden, and do not need to contact the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket).

However, when you enter Sweden you must have a passport or an identity card that shows your citizenship.

If you have family members who are citizens of a country outside the EU, you must apply for a residence card (uppehållskort). In order for your family to be granted residence cards, you must be able to prove that you satisfy the requirements for the right of residence in Sweden through work or studies or because you have sufficient funds to support yourself and your family.

If you are a citizen of Switzerland, you must apply for a residence permit.

Contact the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) to register in the Swedish Population Register.

If you are a citizen of an EU/EEA country and work in Sweden, but live in another EU/EEA country that you return to at least once a week, you do not need to register in Sweden.

Non-EU/EEA citizens living in the EU

If you have lived in a country in the EU, but are not an EU citizen, under certain circumstances you may attain the status of long-term resident (varaktigt bosatta) in the country. You will then have the same rights as EU citizens.

Citizens from countries outside the EU/EEA

If you are not a citizen of an EU or EEA country, you must apply for a residence permit in order to live in Sweden. You can find information about applying for residence permits on the website of the Swedish Migration Agency.

When do you have to apply for a residence and work permit in Sweden?

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU or EEA, you must apply for a Swedish residence permit to live and work in Sweden.

When you have a residence and/or work permit in a Nordic country, it only applies in the country in which it was issued – not in the other Nordic countries. Consequently, if you have a Swedish permanent residence permit (permanent uppehållstillstånd, PUT), it only applies in Sweden.

If you have a residence permit in one of the other Nordic countries and want to work in Sweden or move to Sweden, you must apply for a permit in Sweden. Contact the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) for information about how you apply for a work and/or residence permit in Sweden.

If you are a citizen of a country outside the Nordic region, the EU or the EEA, and wish to live in another Nordic country or an EU/EEA country while you work in Sweden, you must apply for a work permit as a cross-border worker. In order to get a permit, you must satisfy the same conditions as if you were applying for a work and residence permit in Sweden.

You should contact the immigration authorities in the country in which you live to ensure that you can commute across the border to work in Sweden without this having consequences for your residence permit there.

Do you need to apply for a permit to visit Sweden?

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU, and wish to visit Sweden for a maximum of 90 days, you may have to apply for a visa. A visa is valid for a stay in a Schengen country for up to 90 days within a period of 180 days.

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU, and wish to visit Sweden for longer than 90 days, you must apply for a visitor’s permit. If you are in Sweden and wish to extend your visit so that it becomes longer 90 days in total, you must also apply for a visitor’s permit.

Must you contact the migration authority in your home country before you apply for a Swedish work and/or residence permit?

Yes, you must contact the migration authority in the country in which you already hold a residence and/or work permit before you contact the Swedish migration authority. You must do this to find out whether a Swedish residence and/or work permit will affect the permit you already hold in the country in which you live and/or work.

Ask Info Norden

Please fill in our contact form if you have any questions or if you have encountered an obstacle in another Nordic country.

NB! If you have questions regarding the processing of a specific case or application, or other personal matters, please contact the relevant authority directly.

Info Norden is the information service of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Here you can find info and tips if you wish to move, work, study, seek support or start a business in the Nordic region.