2024-10-21 12:24:00
“We have seen a downward trend in work permit applications,” said Eric Ramstedt, director of planning for the Immigration Agency. “The reason is probably the economic situation and the higher salary threshold of the work permit in force since November 1 last year.”
On November 1 last year, the minimum salary that applicants must earn to be eligible for a Swedish work permit was established it was raised to 80% of the average Swedish salary. At the time the average salary was 34,200 crowns per month, with a salary threshold of 27,360 crowns.
But in an update on June 18, 2024, the average salary was increased to 35,600 crowns.
This means that work permit applicants (including both first applications and extensions) who apply on this date or later must earn a total of 28,480 crowns per month to be eligible for a work permit.
The average salary is announced in Annual updates of Swedish statisticsso it changes every year.
Salaries must also be in line with industry standards or collective bargaining agreements to qualify for a work permit.
The new Migration Agency report also states that the effects of salary threshold and economic situation on incoming work permit applications were “probably underestimated”.
“When it comes to highly skilled labor, however, we haven’t seen a decrease this year,” Ramstedt said.
Work permit application figures in 2026 may be slightly higher than in other years covered by the forecast. This is due to the Temporary Protection Directive, which allows Ukrainians fleeing the war in Ukraine to seek protection in Sweden without having to apply for asylum or other permission, such as a work permit.
Announcement
The Temporary Protection Directive is due to be renewed in March 2026 and, if it is not renewed, the Migration Agency believes that the number of first-time work permit applications that year could be higher than usual as Ukrainians already in Sweden switch to other permits to stay.
While the agency expects the number of first-time work permit applications to be lower than expected between now and 2027, it raised its forecast for renewals over the same period, increasing by 2,000 in 2024, 1,000 in 2025 and 4,000 in 2026.
Some good news for current work permit holders is that the number of applications processed each year is also expected to increase “substantially” in 2026 and 2027, as the agency acquires new staff.
Announcement
This year it is expected that 28,300 work permit applications will remain “open”, a figure that will drop to 15,300 next year, before rising again to 18,300 in 2026 and 54,300 in 2027.
The number of citizenship applications is expected to remain stable over the forecast period (69,000 in 2024 and 65,000 in 2025, 2026 and 2027), although the agency has revised its forecast for completed applications this year, dropping from 2,000 to 78,000.
In 2025 and 2026, however, this number is expected to rise to 87,000 per year – again due to increased agency staffing – before falling to 43,000 in 2027.
The agency also predicts that the number of people choosing to voluntarily leave the country following a rejected request for asylum or other residence permit will be higher than previously expected from July 26 this year.
“We have increased the forecast for this year, based on the results achieved so far this year, and because our work to increase the number of people returning voluntarily is expected to have further effects,” said Maria Mindhammar, director of the ‘agency. -general.
Announcement
The agency now predicts that about 7,800 people will choose to return home voluntarily in 2024, 900 more than its last forecast. Of these, 4,900 are expected to be rejected asylum seekers.
The number of people returning home is expected to fall to 6,900 in 2025, although that is still 300 more than expected in July.
The decline in 2025 is partly due to the fact that there were fewer asylum applications, which means fewer rejection decisions. The number of people returning home in 2026 is expected to increase again, mainly due to other types of permits, such as work permits, awaiting renewal and rejection.
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