A further 3,199 permits were granted to people moving to Sweden for work, while 2,001 permits were granted for family reunification, which covers moving to Sweden to join a spouse, partner or other close family member already resident in the country, as well as adoption and children who are born to parents with permanent resident permits.
A total of 1,030 residence permits were granted to asylum seekers, and the remaining 554 permits were granted to citizens of countries in the EU/EEA.
Citizens of these countries have the right to live and work in Sweden without a permit, provided they will be studying or can support themselves (through a job or private income), but those who are moving to join a Swedish partner still have the option to apply for a residence permit when they move, even if they do not automatically have right of residence.
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Among those who received work permits, the majority were moving to Sweden to be employees of a Swedish company (1,438 in total).
Just three were granted work permits as entrepreneurs, while 123 guest researchers received work permits, and 535 received their permits linked to an international exchange, internship, or as an athlete. This category also included those who received permits because they had a partner who was granted a work permit, which applied to 1,099 people.
Most people who were granted work permits were coming to Sweden to work in a profession requiring in-depth tertiary education ('specialists'), which applied to 726 people in total. A further 149 permits were granted for work requiring tertiary education ('professionals'), and 132 for work which required short-term training ('technicians and associate professionals').
A total of 127 work permits were granted for people set to work in the construction industry; 101 for the service industry; 38 for machine manufacturing and transport; another 38 for management roles; 32 for agricultural work; and 29 for administrative work or customer services.
As of the end of July 2019, there were 14,965 'open' work permit cases, meaning the application had been submitted but no decision had yet been made.
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