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WORK PERMITS

Sweden doubles some fees for extending your work permit

If you are applying to renew your work permit with your employer, you may now have to pay twice as much as last year.

Sweden doubles some fees for extending your work permit
Some work permit renewal fees are set to double next year. Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT

Fees for workers, students, visa applicants and long-term residents are rising by either 250 kronor, 500 kronor or 1,000 kronor ($27-$106) depending on factors such as the type of permit and the age of the applicant.

The changes are based on a decision by the Swedish government and apply as of January 1st.

Those who have already submitted their permit application, or submitted it before the turn of the year, are not affected by the new fees.

The biggest change comes for work permit holders renewing their permit, who will now have to pay 2,000 kronor to apply for a renewal within the same job or industry – double the cost of the current 1,000 kronor.

Students aged over 18 will also see their application fees rise from 1,000 kronor to 1,500 kronor, and adults who are moving to someone in Sweden will have to pay 2,000 kronor next year, up from 1,500 kronor.

A couple of new permit categories have also been added to the list.

A spokesperson for the Migration Agency told The Local it was the first time in ten years the work and residence permit application fees had been reviewed and changed.

Anyone currently exempt from paying application fees, for example Japanese work permit applicants, will continue to be exempt.

EDITOR'S PICKS:

Here's a list of the new fees from January 1st, 2020 (source: Migration Agency)

Long-term resident in another EU country

Adults: 1,500 kronor (previously 1,000 kronor)
Children: 750 kronor (previously 500 kronor)

Long-term resident in Sweden

Adults: 1,000 kronor (unchanged)
Children: 500 kronor (unchanged)

Moving to join a family member in Sweden

Adults: 2,000 kronor (previously 1,500 kronor)
Children: 1,000 kronor (previously 750 kronor)

Working in Sweden

First-time work permit application: 2,000 kronor (unchanged)
Work permit renewal (same employer/industry): 2,000 kronor (previously 1,000 kronor)
Work permit renewal (different employer/industry): 2,000 kronor (unchanged)

Special fees for certain professions

Self-employed: 2,000 kronor (unchanged)
Performer: 1,500 kronor (previously 1,000 kronor)
Au pair: 1,500 kronor (previously 1,000 kronor)
Athlete or coach: 1,500 kronor (previously 1,000 kronor)
Working holiday visa for young people: 1,500 kronor (previously 1,000 kronor)
Visiting researcher: 1,500 kronor (previously 1,000 kronor)
Volunteer: 1,500 kronor (new)
Job-seeking after completed studies: 1,500 kronor (new)

Family members of work permit holders or applicants

Adults: 1,500 kronor (previously 1,000 kronor)
Children: 750 kronor (previously 500 kronor)

Visitor's permits

Adults: 1,500 kronor (previously 1,000 kronor)
Children: 750 kronor (previously 500 kronor)

Studying in Sweden

Adults: 1,500 kronor (previously 1,000 kronor)
Children: 750 kronor (previously 500 kronor)

New fees from February 2nd, 2020

Entry visa: 80 euros (previously 60 euros)

Member comments

  1. Really, who writes this English??? Not very pleasantly written article. C’mon LOCAL, I expect better than this, obviously un-proofread article.

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For members

WORKING IN SWEDEN

Swedish Migration Agency launches new system for handling work permits

The Migration Agency will roll out a new processing model for work permits on January 29th, which should, among other things, speed up waiting times for international talent.

Swedish Migration Agency launches new system for handling work permits

“The new way of working aims to make it easier for companies to quickly obtain the labour they need,” Maria Mindhammar, director-general of the Swedish Migration Agency, wrote in a statement.

“To succeed, we need to concentrate our efforts and focus our service offerings where they are needed most – early in the process and in a way that is highly responsive to employers’ individual needs.”

From January 29th, the agency will prioritise service to employers recruiting highly qualified workers. It will do this by introducing a new way of sorting applications for permits, filtering by occupation and industry and sorting out applications which are ready for a decision, which, it claims, will also make it possible to cut processing times drastically.

IN NUMBERS:

It will do this by dividing work permit applications into four categories, ranked from A-D, of which only the first, Category A, will be handled by the new international recruitment units, with a new maximum processing time of just 30 days.

Category A applications will be those already classified as “highly qualified” under the Standard for Swedish Classification of Occupations (SSYK), and will include leadership roles, roles requiring higher university education, and roles requiring university education or equivalent.

In addition to this, the agency will offer a new service to employers handling highly-qualified workers, through help via phone, email, and potentially also in-person meetings, as well as extra support to major projects with large recruitment needs, like battery companies and new steel plants in Norrland which often require labour from third countries.

EXPLAINED:

“We will continue to engage with industry and employer organisations to meet their information needs. The goal is to increase the proportion of complete applications”, Mindhammar said.

Why are they doing this?

“We want Sweden to be competitive and to be able to attract talented people. That means making it simple to apply for work permits and for the process to go quickly,” Sweden’s Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said at a press conference in May 2023 announcing the system. 

“We’ve unfortunately been dragged down by long processing times which have sometimes affected companies’ ability to compete.” 

The so-called certified process, brought in back in 2011 by the Moderate-led Alliance government to reduce the then 12-month wait for work permits for big companies, had also stopped working, they said.

When it started only 20 companies were certified, most of them big employers like Volvo or Ericsson, now there are 640 companies, with many others accessing the process through agents such as EY. 

In an interview with The Local’s Sweden in Focus podcast, Mindhammar’s predecessor, Mikael Ribbenvik, said that he had lobbied the government behind the scenes to task him with this, as it would allow him to carry out root and branch reform. 

“I said to the government, ‘if this is what you want, be clear and task us with promoting that [highly skilled] segment’, and they did, and I’m very happy about that,” he said.

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