You want to apply Look for work or start a business

You have completed studies equivalent to a second-cycle qualification and want to come to Sweden to look for work or explore the possibilities for starting your own business here.

  • Important to know
  • How it works
  • Apply

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA, you will in most cases need a permit to work in Sweden.

If you have completed second-cycle studies and want to come to Sweden to look for work or explore the possibilities for starting your own business here, you must meet certain requirements.

These requirements must be met in order for you to be granted a residence permit:

You must have a valid passport

You must have completed studies corresponding to a second-cycle qualification
For a degree to count as a second-cycle qualification, it must correspond to either a 60-credit Master’s degree, a 120-credit Master’s degree, a professional degree worth 60–330 credits, or a postgraduate/PhD-level degree.

You must be planning to look for work or investigate the possibilities for starting your own business

You must be able to support yourself financially
You must be able to support yourself during the period for which you are applying for a permit. This means that you must demonstrate that you have bank assets equivalent to at least SEK 13,000 for each month for which you are applying for a residence permit. In addition to this, you should also have money to cover the cost of your return journey.

You must have comprehensive health insurance valid for care in Sweden
The comprehensive health insurance must be valid for the entire time you will be in Sweden and cover the cost of urgent and other medical care, hospitalisation, and emergency dental care. It must also cover the cost of medical repatriation, if you need to return to your country of origin for health reasons.

You must currently be located outside of Sweden

Translate documents
All submitted documents should be in Swedish or English. If you have translated your documents, the translation should be certified. You must also include a copy of the document in its original language

Plan which embassy to visit to present your passport
You may need to present your passport at an embassy before you can receive a decision. In the application, you must therefore state which embassy you want to visit.

Not all Swedish embassies and consulates-general handle migration cases, so it is important to check which one you should contact:

You must attach copies of these documents to your application

Make sure that the information on your submitted documents is clearly visible.

Correctly made copies of your passport

You can never be granted a permit for longer than your passport is valid.

Read more about what the passport copies must show

Digital copy of your degree certificate

List of subjects
Digital copies of the list of subjects showing which courses were included in your education.

Documents showing that you can support yourself financially
Digital copies of bank statements or other documents showing that you have sufficient funds to support yourself during the period for which you are applying for a residence permit. If permission from a central bank or the equivalent is required to take out the money from your country, you must also include such a permit.

Documents showing that you have comprehensive health insurance
Digital copies of documents showing that you have comprehensive health insurance that is valid for care in Sweden.

Power of attorney for verifying your study documents
Digital copy of a signed power of attorney giving the Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR) the right to contact higher education institutions in your country of origin to verify your study documents.

Letter of consent for the Swedish Council for Higher Education to contact the country of education (265611) Pdf, 1.3 MB.

Other rules apply if you are a citizen of the EU/EEA or Switzerland, or if you have long-term resident status in another EU country.

EU/EEA citizens with right of residence

If you are an EU/EEA citizen, you have the right to live in another EU/EEA country if you fulfil the requirements for right of residence through work, your own company, your studies, or by having sufficient funds to support yourself. If you have right of residence, you do not need to apply for a residence permit to live in Sweden.

EU/EEA citizens

Swiss citizens

If you are a citizen of Switzerland, you can move to Sweden to work, study, start your own business, or live on your own funds. If you want to remain in Sweden for longer than three months, you must apply for a residence permit for Swiss citizens.

You want to apply – Swiss citizens

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country, you can move to Sweden to work, study or live on your own funds. If you plan to stay longer than three months, you need to apply for a residence permit for long-term residents.

You want to apply – Long-term residents in another EU country

You can be granted a residence permit for a maximum of nine months, but never for longer than your passport is valid.

Fee: SEK 2,200.

It is not possible to say exactly how long you will need to wait for a decision. There are many things that affect the waiting time, for example whether your application is complete to begin with or whether we need to request more information, or whether we need to check with other authorities when investigating your case.

Here we show statistics on how long it has taken for people who have applied for the same permit as you. The statistics are based on cases decided in the last 12 months.

Complete applications

75% of recently decided cases have been decided within:12 months

Incomplete applications

75% of recently decided cases have been decided within:11 months

If you are applying for a residence permit for the first time, you must do so from outside Sweden, otherwise your application may be rejected.

If you get a job in Sweden during the permit period, you can apply for a work permit from within the country. You are not allowed to start working before you have applied for the new permit.

Once you have applied for a work permit, you will be able to work while the Swedish Migration Agency processes your new application. You are only allowed to work for the employer and within the profession for which you have applied for a permit.

You want to apply – Employees

If you decide to start a business in Sweden, you can apply for a residence permit as a self-employed person in Sweden and run your business while the Swedish Migration Agency processes your application.

You want to apply – Self-employed people

News

2025-05-20

What counts as a salary?

One of the requirements for being granted a work permit is that the salary must enable you to make a good living. A new ruling from the Migration Court of Appeal clarifies what counts as a salary.

2025-04-01

From 1 April, the possibility of changing tracks will end

On 1 April, the Swedish Parliament’s decision to remove the possibility of changing tracks will come into force. This affects those who have been granted, or applied for, a work permit after an asylum application has been rejected. Your co-applicant family members will also be affected.

The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for considering applications from people who want to live in Sweden, seek protection or become Swedish citizens. Our work is based on Swedish laws and international conventions, with a focus on legal certainty and effective reception and return.

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