In our recent immigration webinar, Crown World Mobility Presents: Sweden Immigration, on November 19, we had an opportunity to reflect on the changes the Migration Agency had implemented for 2024 and share information about upcoming Sweden immigration changes set to take place in 2025.
The webinar presenters, Tove Frankel, Fortune Mugororoka, and Ema Catovic Pesare from our in-house Immigration Team, shared some interesting insights into the changing landscape.
Why are these changes happening?
These changes aim to make it easier for employers to attract global talent to relocate to Sweden. Sweden competes with other countries to attract international talent, which is good for the economy and future growth.
Processing time changes
The introduction of the various categories has certainly made it more accessible, and the process of applying for work permits is more efficient and effective. For highly qualified talent, this means that the processing time is reduced to a maximum of 30 days, a significant improvement that should reassure employers. This is a vast improvement from previous years when it could have taken several months. A crucial part of this is the accuracy of the application, which is where the Crown World Mobility Immigration Team plays a vital role due to stricter assessments from the Migration Agency. Mistakes or missing documents may extend the handling time to four Months.
Salary level changes
However, there are also requirements that will have a financial impact on employers—the minimum salary level was raised to 80% of the median salary in November 2023, with further increases again on June 24. While this has led to an 8% increase in rejected applications from the Migration Agency, it also signifies a potential increase in the quality of talent being attracted.
When we asked our guests how these recent changes had affected their businesses and how they recruit new talent, a third thought it had made it easier, 16% thought it had become more complicated, and 50% were not sure.
Permanent residency status changes
There are stricter regulations for applying for permanent residency in Sweden, such as an increased maintenance requirement to support oneself and dependents, a requirement for spouses to have permanent employment, and the removal of automatic extensions for accompanying children over 18 years old.
Future predictions
Looking ahead to mid-year 2025, we can expect further changes. These include stricter reporting requirements to the Migration Agency, increased salary requirements, and a complete removal for changing the types of permits, for example, from Asylum to Work permits. These changes will impact the employer and make it more difficult for an employer to attract talent for entry-level positions.
EU Blue Cards versus standard work permits
The closing gap between a standard work permit and the EU Blue Card is interesting. There will be a substantially lowered salary threshold and an easier transition from another type of permit to the EU Blue Card. An EU Blue Card means an employee is no longer tied to one employer. There will be no requirement to apply for a new work permit when changing employer of job, only a reporting requirement. On the other hand, this could potentially mean that an employer may lose the talent they have invested in.
In summary, we are seeing vast changes in Sweden’s immigration policy and expect that to continue into the new year. These include:
- Easier application process and shorter handling times
- Increased salary thresholds for Work Permits
- Increased difficulty for dependents
- Closing the gap between Work Permits and EU Blue Cards – lower salary threshold for EU Blue Cards
- Tighter processes and reporting requirements
- Sweden already has an increased focus on bringing in highly skilled labour and retaining talent, a testament to the integral role employers and HR professionals play in shaping Sweden’s future.
Thank you to all our guests who attended. We loved hosting this session and appreciate everyone’s participation.
