Photo courtesy of stockholmbusinessregion.com / Photographer: Henrik Trygg

As an HR Manager in Sweden searching for talent, there is a good chance that you are looking to fill specific skills gaps in your company. You may be interviewing for talent in India, China, Russia, and other Eastern countries. In recent years, Swedish companies have become skilled at identifying and validating candidates from different parts of the world using today’s tech tools like Skype calls with webcams and remote skills testing to reduce the need to travel for interviews. Knowing how to find the right candidate is important; however, equally as crucial is getting their work permit pushed through the Swedish Migration Agency swiftly and effectively. You don’t want to lose a top candidate to another firm because of delays. Here’s how to get a head start.

A timely work permit approval is crucial to the success of your new hire’s transfer to Sweden.

Time is of the essence. Your team probably needs the skilled employee to fill their needs to get projects completed accurately and swiftly. The candidate you are eyeing for the position is probably interviewing for more than one job and will probably take the first, and best offer they receive. You will want to keep your offer front and center so that you don’t lose them to another firm.

It can take quite a bit of time to prepare for a work permit application; however, with planning some tasks can be completed before your candidate has even been identified. These steps will give you a head start.

5 Things to do first when working on a Swedish Work Permit

If you follow the checklist below you will have made the necessary preparations for a successful work permit application.

1. The position must be announced on Eures, a website powered by the employment agency to allow anyone within the European Union to apply for the job before it’s offered to someone outside the EU.
2. Talk to your insurance provider or bank about the mandatory insurances. In order to be considered for a work permit the employer must commit to setting up four insurances; life, occupational injury, pension and loss of income insurance. Make sure not to confuse sick insurance with health insurance — they cover different things and have been a common cause for evictions during 2016 and 2017.
3. Once you have put together an offer letter, it’s time to make sure that the salary level is acceptable to the union. The offer should undergo a labor market test.
4. Check the applicant’s passport expiration date so you can get an appropriate length of time for the permit. If the passport expires sooner than the intended stay you can consider whether it’s best to renew the passport before the application goes in, or whether a shorter term is acceptable and a renewal is made while the employee is already in Sweden. Don’t forget that you need to have a permit for at least 365 days in order to qualify for social security and receive a Swedish Personal Number. Without it, you will put a strain on the company’s administrative system for salary payments and it also creates some extra provisions. Setting up international insurance coverage for the employee without a Personal Number is considerably more complex and much more expensive. That being said, renewing a passport can take a lot of time in many countries so do consider that before you make a decision.
5. If you want to work with an immigration expert firm then a due diligence review of your company will be required before you can apply to be activated on a fast track. This guarantees faster turn around for the application to be processed by the Migration Agency. Currently, an application outside the fast track takes 4-6 months while the fast track can be expected to take 10-15 working days.

Here is the list of required documents:

Required Documents For All Family Members:

• Passport Copy – scanned & showing all 4 corners. Photos often don’t have the quality needed and this will cause delay.
• Permits in Other Countries – If there is a valid residence permit in a country other than their home country, provide the country and the time period.
• Permits in Sweden – If there is a permit in Sweden, provide a scanned copy of the decision letter from the Migration Agency.

KEEP TRACK OF ALL FAMILY MEMBERS RECENT TRAVEL

• Schengen* Visits – State the visits including the countries and time periods during the past 12 months.

* The 26 Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

New Hire’s Required Documents:

(In addition to what is listed above as needed for all family members)

• Resume / CV – With all relevant dates. Thus, please ensure the resume is updated to include all start and end dates.
• Home Address – current home address including the postal code (zip code).
• Marital status – single, married or cohabiting – proof of marriage or cohabitation

New Hire’s Spouse: Required Documents:

• Marriage Certificate (If married) – If the original language is not in Swedish or English, please include a certified translation.
• Proof of Cohabitation (If not married) – Provide evidence proving that new hire and spouse have been living together for at least 6 consecutive months. Credible evidence includes a copy of a joint lease, evidence of a joint bank account, bills addressed to you individually – but to the same address. If the original language is not in Swedish or English, please include a certified translation.

New Hire’s Children: Required Documents:

Passport Copy – Make sure the copy is scanned (not a photograph) and is clear. All four corners of the open booklet must be visible. Please include copies of any entry and exit stamps from Schengen.

• Power of Attorney – Please note that both parents or legal guardians must sign the power of attorney.
• Birth Certificate – If the original language is not in Swedish or English, please include a certified translation.
• Permits in Other Countries – If the child has a valid residence permit in a country other than their home country, please provide the country and time period.
• Permits in Sweden – If the child has had a permit in Sweden, please provide a scanned copy of the decision letter from the Migration Agency.
• Schengen Visits – Please state the visits including the countries and time periods during the past 12 months.

Follow our guidelines above and you will be off to a good start for an efficient transfer of your employee to Sweden.

If you would like to learn more about these topics you might be interested in this Immigration Guide on our website with more detail on the subject. You can also download our handy checklist for bringing new hires to Sweden.

Feel free to download our Required Documents for Work Permit to Sweden Checklist here: