How to check you earn enough for Sweden's new work permit threshold

How does the salary threshold work?

The new law due which came into force on November 1st does not set the specific figure for the work permit threshold, rather it sets the limit at 80 percent of the median salary in Sweden. On June 20th, 2023, the median salary was 34,200 kronor a month, giving a threshold of 27,360 kronor a month.

The median salary is announced by Statistics Sweden’s yearly updates, so it will change every year. The most recently published median salary at the time of your application will determine how much you need to earn in order to be eligible for a work permit.

On this website, you should choose medianlön under tabellinnehåll, samtliga sektorer under sektor, samtliga yrken under yrkesgrupper and totalt under kön to see the overall median salary for Sweden. You can use a percentage calculator to work out 80 percent of that figure.

READER QUESTIONS:

• Can I meet Sweden's new work permit threshold by working multiple jobs?
• Will my Swedish work permit be invalid after November 1st?

For people who applied before June 20th but who haven’t yet received a decision, the salary threshold is based on the median salary at that time, giving a slightly lower figure of 26,560 kronor.

This also means that the salary threshold will most likely rise over time – over the last five years, Sweden’s median salary has risen each year by roughly 1,000 kronor, and it looks unlikely that it will start to fall in the future.

Statistics Sweden has median salaries for different sectors, professions and genders. Which one should I be looking at?

The median salary which governs the salary threshold is Statistics Sweden’s overall median, for all sectors, all professions, and for both men and women.

That means that, despite the median salary for a cleaner being just 25,100 kronor in 2022, if you're a cleaner you will still need to earn more than this for your work permit application to be approved.

Is there anything else I should check?

Yes – your salary also needs to be in line with industry standards or collective bargaining agreements, so 27,360 kronor is just the minimum.

This doesn’t mean you will only get a work permit if you have a collective bargaining agreement, but it does mean that if you don’t have one, your working conditions and salary should be roughly the same as they would be if you did.

Note that the following advice should just be seen as a guideline and not a hard guarantee that your job will make you eligible for a work permit. The Migration Agency will look at each case individually and make a decision based on a range of factors, not just limited to salaries but also things like employment conditions and insurances.

The best way to check what a standard salary is for your industry is to check your union’s website.

Sweden’s largest union, Unionen, has a list of collective bargaining agreements for different industries (you can look for your industry in the välj bransch drop-down box, or look for it under visa alla kollektivavtal i en lista).

If you work in the public sector, the largest public sector union is Kommunal. It doesn’t publish a list of its collective bargaining agreements, but you can try calling them on 010-442 70 00, or contact your local office for more information on the relevant agreement for your role.

There's no minimum wage in Sweden, but the lägstalön in collective bargaining agreements will tell you the minimum salary a workplace should offer for a particular role. This is a good watermark for whether your salary is in line with industry standards or not.

If you can't find the relevant collective bargaining agreement for your industry or role, try googling lägstalön plus your job title (in Swedish), for a rough idea. If that doesn't help, try reaching out to the union for your industry or check Statistics Sweden for average salaries for various professions.