Work permit salary requirement 2026: at least SEK 34,470 a month

On 1 June 2026 Sweden brought in new rules for work permits. The old requirement of “god försörjning” (being able to support yourself) was replaced by a higher salary requirement: your pay must now be at least 90 percent of the median wage in Sweden. Here is what that means in kronor, who it applies to, and what it means if you already have a work permit and will soon extend it.

Migrationsverket (the Swedish Migration Agency) always assesses your application and decides. We checked the figures below on Migrationsverket’s own pages on 10 October 2026.

How much do you need to earn?

Your pay must be at least 90 percent of the median wage published by Statistics Sweden (SCB) that applied when you submitted your application. From 16 June 2026 the median wage is SEK 38,300. That means the salary requirement for new applications is at least SEK 34,470 a month.

The median wage is updated every June, so the requirement changes once a year. What counts is the median wage on the day you apply:

The salary requirement is a floor. Your pay must also match Swedish collective agreements or what is customary in the occupation or industry. In many jobs that means your pay needs to be higher than SEK 34,470.

You also cannot add two jobs together. One and the same job must meet all the requirements.

Who does the new requirement apply to?

• People applying for a work permit for the first time who get a decision on or after 1 June 2026. This applies even if you applied before 1 June.
• People extending a permit they were granted after 1 June 2026.

Already have a work permit? There is a transition rule

If you got your work permit under the old rules, and you apply to extend it between 1 June and 1 December 2026, the earlier requirement applies: at least 80 percent of the median wage, which is SEK 30,640 a month.

All extension applications registered with Migrationsverket from 2 December 2026 must meet the new salary requirement of SEK 34,470.

There is a catch. You can apply to extend at the earliest two months before your permit expires. So only people whose permit ends around 1 February 2027 or earlier can apply before 2 December. If your permit ends later, your pay needs to meet the new requirement.

Want to know exactly from which day you can apply? Enter the last day of your permit in our Permit timeline tool. It works out the date and can add a reminder to your calendar. See also when to apply to extend your permit.

Exemptions: 75 percent of the median wage

Some occupations and groups have a lower requirement, at least 75 percent of the median wage. For applications from 16 June 2026 that is SEK 28,725 a month.

• Occupations on the government’s list in the Aliens Ordinance (utlänningsförordningen), for example assistant nurses, paediatric nursing assistants (barnsköterskor), care assistants, some IT technicians, welders, forestry workers and butchers. The list that applies is the one in force when Migrationsverket makes its decision. If you are extending, check that your occupation is still on it.
• People who have studied or done research in Sweden and hold a student or researcher permit when they first apply for a work permit.
• People with a residence permit under the EU Temporary Protection Directive (massflyktsdirektivet).
• Doctors, dentists and nurses with a foreign degree who are becoming licensed in Sweden.
• Employees of certain tech or life science companies that are still being built up, are less than five years old and have fewer than a hundred employees.

For students, researchers and people with temporary protection, the exemption lasts two years, or until the permit expires if that is later.

EU Blue Cards, intra-corporate transfer (ICT) permits and seasonal work have their own rules.

More than pay: insurance and terms

Pay is not the only thing Migrationsverket checks. When you start work, your employer must have taken out health insurance, life insurance, industrial injury insurance and occupational pension insurance for you. Pay, insurance and other terms must be at least at the level of collective agreements or practice in the occupation.

The terms must also have been met for the whole time you have had your work permit. When you extend, you therefore send payslips and a summary of your income details from Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency) for every year you have worked in Sweden. Migrationsverket can also check afterwards that you received the pay and insurance your permit was based on. If the terms were not met, the permit can be revoked.

A tip: keep your employment contract and payslips, and check in Skatteverket’s e-service that your pay shows up there. Our Work tool goes through your terms, unemployment insurance (a-kassa) and warning signs step by step.

Summary

• Since 1 June 2026 your pay must be at least 90 percent of the median wage: SEK 34,470 a month for applications from 16 June 2026.
• Your pay must also match collective agreements or practice, so it may need to be higher.
• If you have a permit under the old rules and apply to extend between 1 June and 1 December 2026, SEK 30,640 is enough.
• From 2 December 2026 the new requirement applies to all extensions.
• Some occupations and groups have a lower requirement: SEK 28,725.

Sources

• Migrationsverket: Lönekrav för arbetstillstånd (in Swedish)
• Migrationsverket: Ny medianlön påverkar lönekravet för arbetstillstånd, 16 June 2026 (in Swedish)
• Migrationsverket: Nya regler för dig som ska rekrytera från länder utanför EU/EES, 17 April 2026 (in Swedish)
• Migrationsverket: Ansök om arbetstillstånd som anställd (in Swedish)
• Migrationsverket: Förlängning av arbetstillstånd som anställd (in Swedish)