Most people from outside the EU/EEA need a work permit to work in Sweden.

But good news — some people don’t need one. Here’s a simple breakdown.

you already live in Sweden

You don’t need a work permit if you already have a residence permit that allows you to work.

This includes people who:

• have a residence permit that includes the right to work
• already legally live in Sweden and are allowed to work

you have a permit to look for work or start a business

If you:

• have a residence permit to look for a job, or
• have a permit to explore starting your own business

You can start working while your work permit application is being processed, as long as:

• your current permit is still valid
• you apply for a work permit before it expires
• the job matches the one in your application

military & defence cooperation

• Members of foreign armed forces under international agreements
• People covered by the Sweden–United States Defence Cooperation Agreement
• Close family members of US military or civilian personnel under that agreement

certain short-term jobs (special exemptions)

Some jobs are allowed without a work permit — but usually only for a limited time.

Here are the most common ones:

international company staff

• Specialists working in Sweden for less than 1 year
• Employees doing training or skills development (up to 3 months in a 12-month period)
• People involved in a business deal (training, testing, delivery prep, etc.) for up to 3 months

diplomats

• Diplomatic or consular officials
• Their family members
• Their service staff

emergency workers

• Installers or technicians fixing urgent breakdowns (up to 2 months)

Note: This only applies in unexpected emergency situations.

media & creative work

• People working temporarily for:
  • Sveriges Radio AB
  • Sveriges Television AB
  • Sveriges Utbildningsradio AB
  • Nordisk Television AB
    (up to 1 month)
• artists, technicians, and tour staff invited by a Swedish organiser (up to 14 days per year)
• journalists reporting for foreign news agencies

sports

• Professional athletes and officials competing in international events
  (up to 3 months, as long as they don’t have a Swedish club contract)

transport workers

• Train staff and international truck drivers employed outside Sweden
• Tourist coach drivers and staff (up to 3 months)

temporary construction work

You may not need a permit if you:

• live in an EU/EEA country or Switzerland (but are not an EU citizen)
• have the right to live and work there
• are employed by a company there and temporarily sent to Sweden

researchers & teachers

• University researchers or teachers (up to 3 months per year)
• Researchers from another EU country working in Sweden (up to 180 days)
• Students doing mobility studies in higher education (up to 360 days)

care & support

• Caregivers for someone visiting Sweden (up to 3 months)
• Witnesses or injured parties in criminal investigations (if they have a residence permit)
• People helping in disaster relief efforts