Sweden

Sweden is a country of 10.6 million people with an employment rate well above the EU average: 81.8% of people aged 20–64 have a job (EU: 76.1%).

At the same time, unemployment is high and has gone up every year – from 7.5% in 2022 to 8.8% in 2025, above the EU average of 6.0%. Young people find it especially hard: youth unemployment (15–24) was 24.3%, compared with 15.2% in the EU.

As an EU/EEA citizen you do not need a work permit. You can stay for up to 3 months with a valid ID card or passport, and longer if you work, look for a job with a genuine chance of getting one, or study. In most workplaces you need to read and understand Swedish – the main exceptions are IT, engineering, tourism and seasonal work.

Arbetsförmedlingen, the Swedish Public Employment Service, regularly assesses where employers struggle to recruit. In its report “Var finns jobben?” (June 2025) the clearest shortages are in:

• health care (hälso- och sjukvård) – in its 2026 analysis Arbetsförmedlingen expects the largest gaps up to 2035 among nursing assistants, carers and personal assistants and among registered nurses,
• IT (data/it),
• education (pedagogiskt arbete),
• installation, operation and maintenance (installation, drift och underhåll).

Shortages are more concentrated in the counties of northern Sweden. EURES also lists health professionals, health associate professionals and building trades workers (except electricians) as the groups with the most frequent shortages.

Competition for jobs is tougher in sales, purchasing and marketing, transport, social work, and culture, media and design. Looking further ahead, Arbetsförmedlingen estimates that Sweden will need 200,000–300,000 more workers by 2035, depending on its assumptions.

For graduates, the best chances are in health care, IT and technical jobs. In IT and engineering English is sometimes enough – elsewhere, Swedish makes a big difference.

Most people in Sweden look for jobs online, and it pays to be proactive. The public employment service Arbetsförmedlingen runs the country’s main job bank. Start here:

• Platsbanken – the Arbetsförmedlingen job bank (in Swedish), searchable by place and occupation, with the employer’s contact details; its vacancies are also copied to the EURES portal,
• EURES – the EU job portal, plus EURES advisers in your home country and in Sweden,
• Arbetsförmedlingen in English – help for people from the EU/EEA and Switzerland who want to work in Sweden, and information on rights, obligations and wages.

Many employers also recruit through staffing and recruitment agencies, their own websites and social media such as LinkedIn and Facebook. Do not just wait for ads – contact employers yourself and use your network.

For step-by-step advice on job search, CVs and interviews in any EU country, see our How to find a job abroad – 10 practical guides.

A Swedish application is short and to the point:

• a personal letter (personligt brev) – very short, no more than one A4 page, saying clearly which job you are applying for,
• a CV of 1–2 pages, most recent first: personal details, education, work experience, positions of responsibility, language and computer skills, driving licence and interests; you can use the Europass CV,
• certificates and references – only if the ad asks for them; otherwise write that references are available on request.

Read the ad carefully and adapt your application to it. Job ads are usually in Swedish, and employers expect an application in Swedish unless the ad says otherwise.

The interview: learn about the company, prepare your own questions and bring copies of your certificates and references. Expect questions about your education, work, interests, strengths and weaknesses. You may meet a panel – for example an HR officer, a union representative and a future colleague – and there may be several rounds or tests.

Diplomas: the Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR) evaluates foreign qualifications – you can download a statement to send to employers – and is Sweden’s ENIC-NARIC office, with information on regulated professions.

• No statutory minimum wage. Many collective agreements (kollektivavtal) set minimum pay, often as hourly rates. Individual pay negotiation is common – new employees usually negotiate their starting salary, and pay is normally reviewed once a year. Trade unions help their members; about 70% of employees belong to one.
• Working time: normally at most 40 hours a week. Overtime is limited to 48 hours over 4 weeks or 50 hours in a month, and to 200 hours in a year.
• Holidays: at least 25 days of paid leave a year, including at least 4 weeks in a row in June–August. Some collective agreements give more.
• Payslip: your employer must give you a written statement showing your salary and deductions.
• Contract: it can be oral or written, but your employer must give you written information on the main terms – job, pay, working hours, overtime, holidays, notice periods and the collective agreement, if there is one. A probationary period can last up to 6 months.
• Notice: if you resign, the notice period is at least 1 month; an employer needs objective grounds to dismiss you.

Students from the EU/EEA can work in Sweden without any permit, on the same terms as Swedes.

• Part-time and holiday jobs are normal employment: the same rules on contracts, working time and holidays apply, and your employer deducts preliminary tax from your pay. Tourism and seasonal work are among the jobs where you can sometimes manage without Swedish.
• Seasonal work – in agriculture, forestry and tourism – is covered by the Employment Protection Act and collective agreements.
• Graduate trainee programmes (traineeprogram) – for graduates with up to 2–3 years of work experience; they usually last at least 12 months and are normally full-time jobs. Look for them in Platsbanken, among other places.

Students from outside the EU with a residence permit for higher education granted from 11 June 2026 may work at most 15 hours a week during term time. There is no limit in June, July and August, or for work that is part of the programme, such as an internship. Permits granted earlier follow transitional rules.

Thinking of studying there first? See Studying in Sweden – practical information.

1. Right of residence: as an EU/EEA citizen you do not need a residence permit or a registration certificate – you have a right of residence if you work, look for work with a genuine chance of getting it, study or can support yourself (with comprehensive health insurance).
2. Population register and personal identity number (folkbokföring, personnummer): if you plan to live in Sweden for one year or more, notify the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) via the “Moving to Sweden” e-service and book an identity check at a service office. Bring your passport or national ID card and your employment contract or a certificate from your employer. Once registered, you get a personnummer and can apply for a Swedish ID card.
3. Coordination number (samordningsnummer): if you are not (yet) registered, this number lets you start working.
4. Social insurance and health care: if you work in Sweden you are usually insured there. Report your job to the Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan), which can also issue a certificate of your right to health care in Sweden and the European Health Insurance Card (EU-kort).
5. Tax: your employer deducts preliminary tax from your salary. In 2026 the 20% state income tax only starts above a yearly income of SEK 660,400 (for people under 66) – below that you pay municipal tax only.
6. Bank account: as an EU citizen you can open one easily. A personnummer is required by authorities and many private companies, so getting one makes daily life much easier.

Problems with your rights as an EU worker? Your Europe Advice and SOLVIT help for free.

If you are not an EU/EEA citizen, you need a residence permit and, as a rule, a work permit from the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket). The main routes:

• Graduates of Swedish universities can get a residence permit for up to one year to look for work after completing bachelor’s or master’s studies (at least two semesters, with passing grades); after a doctorate, for one year to 18 months.
• Work permit – with a job offer paying at least 90% of the median salary: for applications from 16 June 2026 that is at least SEK 34,470 a month.
• EU Blue Card – for highly qualified workers with a degree of at least 180 credits (or at least 5 years of professional experience) and a salary of at least 1.25 times the average Swedish gross salary, which Migrationsverket currently sets at SEK 53,625 a month. The first card is valid for 9 months to 4 years.

All the conditions and application steps are explained on migrationsverket.se.

• Eurostat – population on 1 January, unemployment by age, employment rate (data for 2025 and 2026),
• EURES – Living and working conditions: Sweden, Labour market information: Sweden,
• Arbetsförmedlingen – Var finns jobben? (2025), labour shortages and workers from abroad (2026), Platsbanken,
• Swedish Tax Agency – moving to Sweden: you are working, amounts and rates 2026,
• Försäkringskassan – work in Sweden,
• UHR – recognition of foreign qualifications,
• Migrationsverket – salary requirement for work permits 2026, EU Blue Card, looking for work after studies, working while studying,
• Your Europe – working abroad.

Updated: October 2026.