Work permits
Information and practical advice about work permits across Europe.
Swedish police asked to speed up deportation of 'intelligent and articulate' software engineer
Sweden's border police requested that a former work permit holder be deported as soon as possible because he was too intelligent and was posing legal problems for the authorities, in an email seen by The Local.
Swedish parliament votes through new work permit salary threshold
Sweden's parliament has voted to bring in a new minimum salary for work permits set at 90 percent of Sweden's median wage, with the new requirement in force from June 1st.
'I chose my mental health': Indian entrepreneur leaves Sweden after visa rejection
Abhijith Nag Balasubramanya's circular-system hydroponics startup was already providing locally-grown produce to a major grocery store in Skellefteå, northern Sweden, when his business visa was denied by the Swedish Migration Agency. He has now left Sweden.
Does Sweden need an 'integration amnesty' to stop deportations?
Few positions are more central on Sweden’s political right than the one Fredrik Kopsch holds as chief economist at Timbro. But as he launches a new book on deportations, Utvisad, which calls for an amnesty for integrated foreigners, he says his liberal views feel increasingly at out of place.
What the mobility deal between the EU and India will mean for skilled workers
As part of the landmark trade agreement announced on January 27th, the EU and India adopted a ‘mobility framework’ that aims to make it easier for Indian students, researchers and young professionals to move to the EU.
How does Sweden's 'track change' repeal affect work permit holders?
Sweden is revoking the so-called track changes ('spårbyte') immigration path, which means that thousands of foreign workers may have to leave the country. The Local has looked into the nitty-gritty of who is affected and what their chances of staying are.
EXPLAINED: How the EU's new Talent Pool for non-EU jobseekers will work
The launch of the ‘EU Talent Pool’ has moved a step closer. It will be the first digital platform that will match vacancies in shortage occupations in EU countries with non-EU jobseekers.
What we know about Sweden's delayed plans for tougher work permit rules
The year-long disagreement among the government parties on whether to raise the minimum salary for a work permit to the Swedish median has broken out into the open. What is the controversial policy and why has it been delayed?
Swedish Migration Agency rates just two jobs as 'high risk' for work permits
The Swedish Migration Agency has rated two job titles – cooks and pantry chefs, and cleaners – as high risk for work permits, saying it doesn't have enough data to include other professions that are also known as being at risk of abuse.
Swedish Migration Agency to publish work permit salary limit exemptions
Sweden's Migration Agency is this week set to publish a list of the jobs which could potentially be exempted from a new salary threshold for work permits, but it stresses that there's little chance of these exemptions coming into force any time soon.
Why are there no exceptions for work permit holders in Sweden's citizenship reforms?
The Swedish government has pledged to attract international talent, while radically limiting asylum and low-skilled immigration. So why do work permit holders so often get the short end of the stick?
KEY POINTS: The changes Denmark is making to work permit rules
Denmark’s government has announced reforms to the Pay Limit Scheme, a pathway through which non-EU nationals can be granted work permits. What exactly is changing?
Is it worth submitting a request to conclude to the Swedish Migration Agency?
In the past year or so, the Migration Agency has rejected a whopping 99 percent of all requests to fast-track citizenship or permit decisions. But could submitting a so-called 'request to conclude' still help move your application to the top of the pile?
Swedish Migration Minister: 'Sweden can't wait for international talent'
Sweden’s Migration Minister Johan Forssell has highlighted nine ways the country is trying to improve the situation for foreign talent in an opinion piece in Dagens industri, co-authored with representatives from major Swedish companies.
Sweden set to raise work permit salary threshold this week
Sweden’s yearly median wage is set to be released on Tuesday, which means the salary threshold for work permit holders is also expected to rise with immediate effect.
How Sweden wants to make it easier to change employers on a work permit
Sweden is set to scrap the rule which requires work permit holders to apply for an entirely new permit if they change employer within the first two years.
Sweden set to double three-month deadline for (some) laid-off work permit holders
Sweden has put forward a proposal to extend the three-month deadline for work permit holders who lose their jobs to six months, bringing Swedish work permit rules in line with a new EU directive.
'It's a brain drain': Doctor ordered to leave Sweden over mix-up with Migration Agency
Sasan Kazemian, originally from Iran, has been in Sweden since 2021, speaks fluent Swedish, and currently works as a medical resident at Karolinska University Hospital after passing a test 90 percent of applicants fail. He’s also been issued with an order to leave the country.
Danish Conservatives want stricter work permit rules for Muslim countries
Denmark’s Conservative party says it wants work permit rules to be changed to make it harder for people from Muslim countries to come to Denmark to work.
Why does Germany issue by far the most EU Blue Cards to skilled workers?
The EU Blue Card is a work and residence permit for highly skilled people from outside the EU. Why does Germany issue by far the most compared to other EU states?
Swedish Migration Minister: 'No formal decision' made on future work permit salary threshold
In an interview with The Local, Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell indicates that the government has not yet decided whether it will go ahead with plans to raise the work permit salary threshold.
'Enormous potential': How Sweden's migration minister wants to attract international talent
In an interview with The Local, Sweden’s Migration Minister Johan Forssell shares how he wants to attract international talent to Sweden, and how a recent trip to Finland could inspire Swedish migration policy in the future.
'We didn't do anything wrong': Foreign workers blindsided by Sweden's 'spårbyte' repeal
Sweden's decision to abolish 'track changes' ('spårbyte') – a permit path which allowed rejected asylum seekers to switch to a work permit without having to leave the country – means thousands of people who have lived in Sweden for years risk deportation.