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LIVING IN SWEDEN

UPDATED: How Americans can move to Sweden

Whether you want to move to Sweden for love, work or simply adventure, there are some hurdles to overcome first. Here's a look at the different ways you can move here as a US citizen.

Published: 3 November 2020 17:08 CET
Updated: 27 June 2022 13:34 CEST
UPDATED: How Americans can move to Sweden
Are you moving for love, work, or just the adventure? Photo: Per Pixel Petersson/imagebank.sweden.se

The descriptions below outline the processes for people without EU citizenship, since EU citizens have the option to move to Sweden without a permit or visa.

Although this article specifically outlines the rules for Americans wishing to move to Sweden, the same rules apply for most other non-EU, non-Nordic citizens wishing to move to the country.

For any permit application, you will need to prove your identity, usually with your passport. You will also, as a general rule, need to apply for your work permit or visa from your home country – meaning you can’t move to Sweden until your application has been approved.

Moving to a partner or family member

You can get a residence permit to move to a family member in Sweden, which most commonly means a partner or spouse or a child aged under 18, but in exceptional circumstances may include other family members. 

You will need documents proving your relationship, which depend based on what kind of relationship it is. For couples, it might include a marriage certificate or copies of rental contracts proving you have previously lived together. If you haven’t previously lived together but plan to do so in Sweden, you must also attend an interview.

The person you are moving to also needs to prove that they can support you, by having suitable accommodation and a large enough salary to support you both. This is the case regardless of any income or assets you as the permit applicant have.

You also pay a fee of 2,000 kronor (1,000 kronor for children under 18) which is refunded if your application is refused. Find out more about permits for moving to a family member here.

How long will it take? As of March 2023, 75 percent of applicants moving to a partner received a decision within 15 months. Factors such as which family member you are moving to, how well you can prove your relationship (including documents showing you have lived together), which country you are from and what your family member’s residence status in Sweden is may all affect the processing time.

Photo: Lina Roos/imagebank.sweden.se

Moving for work

If you are moving to Sweden for work, the crucial thing is that you need a signed job contract before you arrive in Sweden; non-EU citizens cannot move in order to look for work, unless they apply for a three month talent visa, officially known as a “resi­dence permit for highly quali­fied persons to look for work or start a busi­ness”.

More on that visa and how to apply is available here.

Certain jobs are exempt from the work permit requirement, typically shorter, fixed-term work such as au pairs, researchers, and seasonal workers. 

A job contract must offer a salary and conditions that both allow you to support yourself (defined as at least 13,000 kronor per month as of March 2023, although this will almost certainly go up within the next year as a raise to the salary limit has been approved in parliament), as well as being on par with the industry standard. You must also be able to financially support any family members who will be moving to Sweden with you.

Your employer must also commit to providing several kinds of insurance from the day you start working. Make sure your employment meets all the conditions, otherwise you may run into problems when you try to renew your work permit further down the line

For work permits, it is your employer who starts the permit application process, and you should be contacted by the Swedish Migration Agency after this is done. Then, you submit your documents such as a passport, and the passports of any family members who will be joining you in Sweden, and pay the fee, which varies slightly depending on your profession but is roughly 2,000 kronor.

Family members will also get permits to live and work in Sweden for the same length of time as you, if you can prove that you will be able to support them financially while you are in Sweden. Find out more about moving to Sweden for work here.

How long will it take? As of March 2023, 75 percent of employees who applied online received a response on their application within 13 months. Factors such as which industry you will be working in, whether or not the employer is certified with the Migration Agency, and whether or not the application included all the necessary information all affect the processing time.

Moving for studies

If you want to study in Sweden for longer than 90 days, you need a student permit.

To do this, you will need a place on a course of study in Sweden, which means you need to apply and be accepted. Be aware that there are earlier deadlines for international students than for those in Sweden, in order to give you time to get your paperwork sorted.

As well as proof of your place to study, you need to have paid the tuition fees, and have proof that you can support yourself during your studies, as well as proof of health insurance.

You can also apply for permits for any family members who will join you in Sweden while you study, as long as you can provide proof of their identity and that you have sufficient funds to support yourselves. Find out more about moving to Sweden for studies here.

Originally published in November 2020. Updated in March 2023.

Member comments

  1. Americans who consider moving to Sweden should know that anti-Americanism is tolerated and green-lighted, even by the government. It is ironic, given that Sweden is easily the most Americanized country in Europe. It is not pervasive, but it can be pernicious. It is marbled through all sectors of Swedish society and is most prevalent among the over 50s— the people who hold power. In the course of 20 years, I have seen Americans (even those with Swedish citizenship) get attacked physically and verbally; be denied salary and healthcare; have their property sabotaged and even confiscated; and of course suffer the chronic, daily burden of being framed an “ugly American”— because of Trump or BLM or guns or Hollywood or climate politics or capitalism or . . .

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READER INSIGHTS

How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who’ve been there, done that

The Swedish job market poses unique challenges for newcomers. The Local's readers share their best tips for cracking the career code.

Published: 10 April 2024 11:32 CEST
Updated: 13 April 2024 15:50 CEST
How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who've been there, done that

Network, network, network!

A statistic that often gets tossed around is that seven out of ten jobs in Sweden are obtained through personal connections, and there’s no doubt that a good network is crucial to your job hunt, making the labour market extra challenging for newcomers to the country.

In fact, networking was the main tip mentioned by The Local’s readers.

“The job market is quite hot in Sweden, and talent is in short supply. People hiring do not have a lot of time to find the right talent, and tips from friends, colleagues and former colleagues are the way to first, find out organisations are hiring, and secondly, get your CV on the short list,” said Kyle, a Canadian reader who works in innovation management in Gothenburg.

“If you are going for a major employer like Volvo, network gets you in the door, as HR does not have much to do with hiring… the hiring managers do all of it and have no time, due to the insane number of consensus meetings. If you are looking for smaller organisations, they have even less time to find people, and networking is their primary way to find talent,” he added.

NETWORKING IN SWEDEN:

Some of the networking tips readers mentioned were going to job fairs, getting an internship to help you establish connections in your preferred field, joining clubs (this could be anything from your local gardening association to meetups for coders, but focus on clubs that may be popular among people working in your chosen field), and drawing on your organic network of friends, neighbours and others.

Don’t neglect the groundwork

The saying “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” is getting worn out (and people may look at you funny if you turn up to interviews in a Batman suit), but there’s truth to the notion of making sure you know what you want – and preparing for it.

In other words, don’t wait for a job ad to appear before you start to customise your CV and figure out what skill set you need. Create your CV now so that you’re ready to tweak it to your dream job – you could even have a general look at job ads in your field to see what requirements are needed. And don’t forget to spruce up your LinkedIn profile so that it fits with your career goals.

“I believe that several factors contribute to successfully landing a desirable job in Sweden. It’s essential to prepare to meet the requirements beyond just having a university degree. Many individuals realise these requirements only after completing their studies when they start searching for a job, which can be too late,” said Adnan Aslam from Pakistan, who works as a food inspector.

“I recommend identifying the job advertisements for positions you aspire to hold in the future and then preparing for those requirements during your studies. For me, acquiring a basic level of proficiency in the Swedish language and obtaining a Swedish driving licence were crucial. I pursued these goals during my studies and was able to secure a desirable job before graduating,” he added.

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Felipe Cabral even has a GPT assistant trained on his own CVs and old cover letters, and said the set-up only takes ten minutes if you already have your documents. “With that in place, you can give instructions like: Read this job description and create a tailored version of my CV and letter for it. (…) Remember to always review and ask it not to create data aside from your documents.”

Be flexible and ready to adapt

Moving to a new place inevitably means having to learn not just the practicalities such as how to write a CV or which websites to use to look for job openings, but also learning how to navigate a new culture with all its unspoken expectations.

Swedish workplaces are generally less hierarchical than many other countries, but that doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want whenever you want without anyone raising an eyebrow. Swedes are usually direct, but be careful of being too abrasive or boastful: raising your voice, even during a spirited argument, or banging your own drum to show off your skills may not go down well.

“Talk, deliberate, complain like a Swede and you’ll come across like you know what the job entails, so your trustworthiness increases,” said an Indian data analyst who preferred to remain anonymous.

“Office politics are just as strong in Sweden as anywhere else. The flat hierarchy is deceiving as social hierarchy is enforced quite a bit in that lack of formal hierarchy. Take your time in learning these dynamics wherever you work before revealing your talent and capabilities. Expect those internal politics to happen, and they won’t hurt so much when they do,” said Kyle, the Canadian reader in Gothenburg.

This article about Swedish office politics may be useful.

Stay true to yourself

Adapting to your surroundings is one thing. Completely changing who you are is another.

For one thing, your happiness is as important as your career progression, and for another, your foreignness need not be an impediment: it’s also a skill that sets you apart from the rest. It means you have unique experience, and also, in the right setting, provides an opportunity to sometimes violate those social rules we mentioned above, because people assume you will, anyway.

“Trust is key. Build trust in your network, work with integrity. It’s OK to violate jantelagen if you are maintaining integrity. Sometimes your outsider and more honest/open opinion will burn bridges, especially those that may feel threatened by talent. But it will build trust with other colleagues who see it as brave and more trustworthy to work with,” said Kyle from Canada.

Hunker down for the long haul

We don’t want to scare you, because there are plenty of examples of people who quickly find their dream job in Sweden and settle into their new workplace, enjoying perks such as long summer holidays, generous parental leave and the famous work-life balance.

But if you do find it tougher than you expected: know that you’re not alone.

Several readers who responded to the survey said they were still trying to find a job in Sweden.

“I found jobs all over Europe but not here. They say they have a lack of experienced senior engineers but the don’t seem to be doing much to solve this,” said a Brazilian in Gothenburg.

A reader from Bangladesh said she was “at a loss” as to how to make a career change from her current AI role in Stockholm, despite many years of experience as an IT project manager.

“Over the past 18 months, I’ve submitted over 600 applications to various organisations. Unfortunately, despite being overqualified for some positions, I’ve faced rejections at every turn, from both large and small companies. The job market here, especially for foreign-born women, feels overwhelmingly challenging,” she said, adding that the struggle had impacted her mental health.

The Local has on several occasions reported on foreign residents’ struggle to get a foot on the Swedish job ladder, with many facing hurdles such as employers’ unfamiliarity with international degrees, discrimination, or a lack of network that can provide paths into a company.

So during the job hunt, don’t forget to care for yourself. Share your concerns with fellow job-seekers, ask for help and join networking groups – this is good not just for creating new contacts, but also in terms of your social well-being and meeting people who are in a similar situation.

And finally, as one British reader in Stockholm advised, keep looking: “Be open-minded with the opportunities that present themselves. It isn’t an easy market to enter and doesn’t feel inclusive.” But he added, “don’t give up”.

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