Work permit salary rule: last day 1 December 2026

The salary you need for a Swedish arbetstillstånd (work permit) went up on 1 June 2026. As a main rule you must earn at least 90 percent of the median wage (the middle salary in Sweden). That is 34 470 kronor a month.

Two dates sit close together here, and they mean different things. The rule changed on 1 June 2026. The amount changed on 16 June 2026, when Statistiska centralbyrån (SCB, Statistics Sweden) updated the median wage to 38 300 kronor.

The new requirement applies to you if Migrationsverket (the Swedish Migration Agency) decides your case on or after 1 June 2026. That holds even if you sent your application in before that date.

A lower salary requirement for some jobs

Some jobs have a lower requirement. In those jobs, the salary must be at least 75 percent of the median wage, which is 28 725 kronor a month.

This is the government's list of exempted occupations, set out in utlänningsförordningen (the government's rules that add detail to utlänningslagen, the Aliens Act). The list changes, so the one that counts is the list in force when Migrationsverket decides your case.

The lower requirement also covers some other groups. Among them are people with protection under massflyktsdirektivet (the EU mass-flight directive), which covers many who fled Ukraine. Foreign-trained doctors, dentists and nurses who are applying for a Swedish legitimation (the licence to practise here) are covered too.

Extending a permit: last day 1 December 2026

If your current permit was granted before 1 June 2026, an older and lower requirement can still apply when you extend. It is called god försörjning (that your salary is enough to support you) and it is 80 percent of the median wage.

It is the same figure for everyone, not a sum worked out for your case. Migrationsverket states 30 640 kronor a month for extension applications registered from 16 June 2026 onwards. What counts is the median wage when you apply, not the one in force when you first got your permit.

This date is the one to get right. Your extension application must be registered with Migrationsverket no later than 1 December 2026, under the transitional provision in proposition 2025/26:87 (the government's bill to the Riksdag). The day after, on 2 December 2026, the 90 percent requirement applies to extensions as well.

What counts is the day your application is registered, not when it is decided and not when your permit runs out. Migrationsverket registers the application only once you have submitted your own part. An employer starting the application is not enough.

What to do now

Check which requirement applies to you.

• 34 470 kronor a month as the main rule.
• 28 725 kronor a month if your occupation is on the exemption list, or if you belong to one of the other exempted groups.
• 30 640 kronor a month for extending a permit you were granted before 1 June 2026, if the application is registered no later than 1 December 2026.

All three amounts are worked out from the median wage, and that figure can change. So check the current amount on Migrationsverket's page before you apply.

This article describes the rules. Migrationsverket decides on work permits and states which amounts apply. If you have questions about your own permit, read Migrationsverket's current page or ask them directly.