Students admitted to doctoral studies in Sweden to earn their PhD here

PhD students on a residence permit for doctoral studies are not affected by the work permit salary requirement (currently a minimum of 80 percent of Sweden’s median salary), but they do have to prove that they have enough money to support themselves.

As of January 1st, 2024, this means they must have at least 10,314 kronor a month for a single adult plus 4,297.50 kronor a month for an accompanying spouse and 2,578.50 kronor a month for each child. 

• Sweden raises work permit salary threshold by over a thousand kronor

This can be covered by savings, salary or a stipend.

There are discounts if your employer offers you free food or housing: a discount of 2,865 kronor per month if food is provided or 4,584 per month if housing is provided.

You can find more information about the requirements on the Migration Agency’s website.

What about researchers?

A researcher permit is different from a PhD permit, but researchers aren’t directly affected by the work permit salary requirement either.

According to the Migration Agency, a researcher is a person who has a PhD or is qualified to begin doctoral studies and has been invited by a research funding body that is approved by the Swedish Research Council to conduct research in Sweden. A research funding body can be a Swedish university, institution or a company.

Researchers are exempt from the work permit salary requirement, but they still need to show they have sufficient funds in order to be granted a permit. They must have enough money for the duration of their stay in Sweden as well as enough funds to pay for their travel home – defined as at least 9,700 kronor per month.

More information on the requirements for researchers is available in English on the Migration Agency’s website.

What about when I apply for permanent residency?

PhD students who qualify for permanent residency must, among other things, be able to support themselves financially through either employment or self-employment. This is defined as having at least 6,090 kronor a month left over after paying housing costs.

If you don’t have a permanent contract, it’s possible to qualify with a fixed-term contract, as long as it’s of sufficient length (there is no specific limit here, but usually this means a contract of at least a year from the point of application). This contract doesn’t need to meet the work permit salary threshold, it just needs to cover housing costs plus at least 6,090 kronor a month.

What if I graduate and switch from a PhD permit to a work permit?

Unfortunately for graduates, if they don’t have a permanent residence permit by the time their PhD is complete, they will need to swap to a different type of permit in order to stay in Sweden.

If they swap to a residence permit to live with someone in Sweden (sometimes referred to as a ‘sambo’ permit), then they do not need to meet the work permit salary requirement, although they will need to prove that they can support themselves once they apply for a permanent residence permit.

If they swap to a work permit, then they will need to meet the new salary threshold in order for their application to be granted. There are plans to exempt newly-qualified PhD students or other graduates from this requirement, but it looks like they won’t come into force until June 1st, 2025 at the earliest.

An earlier version of this article said that PhD students applying for permanent residency need to meet the work permit salary threshold in order to qualify. This is incorrect – they only need to meet the threshold if switching to a work permit after graduation. This has now been corrected.