Government announces exemptions from new salary requirement
Published
The Government has adopted legislative amendments that will amongst other things exempt certain groups from the salary requirement for labour immigration that was introduced on 1 June.
“Labour immigration should benefit Sweden. For this reason, the Government is now implementing extensive reforms to end abuse and strengthen controls. At the same time, we are transitioning to highly skilled labour immigration, and we want to ensure high capacity in important shortage occupations. With our exemptions from the new salary requirement, we are ensuring the possibility of a good skills supply in the future,” says Minister for Migration Johan Forssell.
“Sweden should be a country that welcomes skilled labour immigration. It is important that exceptions are made for professions in the tech sector and industry, for example. This is how we make Sweden wealthier,” says Minister for Employment Johan Britz.
“Important health care professions are exempt from the new salary requirement. Today’s announcement strengthens the Swedish labour market and our healthcare,” says Liza-Maria Norlin Party Secretary of the Christian Democrats.
The ‘New regulations on labour immigration’ bill proposes legislative amendments to make the requirements imposed on labour immigration more stringent, new criminal provisions to enable more prosecutions and certain improvements in the regulations for highly skilled labour immigrants. The bill also proposes the introduction of a salary requirement of 90 per cent of the median salary in Sweden to be granted a work permit.
The Government is now deciding on amendments to the Aliens Ordinance that supplement the amendments to the Aliens Act in the bill. The amendments mainly involve the following.
- A total of 27 shortage occupations are exempt from the new salary requirement. In addition, employees of tech and life science startups, people who have graduated in certain regulated professions, recent graduates and refugees from Ukraine are exempt. From 1 June this year, all of these groups will be subject to a salary requirement of 75 per cent of the median salary.
- Two professions are excluded from the possibility of being granted a work permit: personal assistants and forest berry pickers.
- A reporting obligation will be introduced for employers if a foreign person who has been granted a work permit has not started work within four months of the first date of validity of the permit.
- The Swedish Migration Agency has access to certain information about employers held in the suspects register and criminal records register.
The majority of the legislative amendments entered into force on 1 June 2026.
