Global
Global Mobility Insights - Winter 2022 / 2023 Swedish Immigration Law Updates Author: Lena Rekdal, Gründerin von Nimmersion AB, Sweden & Rozeta Zlattinger, Senior Immigration Specialist, LLB & MA (Sweden) The Swedish Parliament introduced new updates to the immigration law on June 1, 2022. The newly introduced changes aim to discourage criminal activities and prevent companies from engaging in salary dumping, while safeguarding the protection and interests of workers through trade unions. Furthermore, the law is presented as an additional level of protection against human trafficking. Amendments to the law on this topic are expected to be introduced in 2023. It should be well noted that these changes have already and will continue to substantially lengthen the application processing times for work permits by the Swedish Migration Agency. The fast-track processing for already vouched employers is essentially no longer existent. Approvals take months, even for first-time work permits that should take 10 days or less. Processing of applications has spiked to several months rather than a couple of weeks. There is no indication of when things will go back to normal. One of numerous reasons is that the law has been implemented retroactively, so the balance of pending applications needs to be supplemented. Key changes introduced: A signed employment contract must be presented as part of the application. Swedish employers usually include a 6-month probation clause as part of the contract. This results in the Migration Agency only granting a work permit for 6 months, even if the period sought is the full 24 months. This means the employee will not be able to get fully locally registered until up to a year or more, depending on the time the work permit renewal takes to get a decision. Currently, the timeline is 4-6 months. The work permit holder will not have access to healthcare, day-care, or any social services normally included for taxpayers. Employees that have lengthy work permit extensions can apply for a D-visa to travel for business purposes during the processing period. Family members are not included, nor is travel for personal reasons. Starting employment within 4 months of the work permit’s validity should no longer be a cause for denial of the work permit extension, and eventually perm- 36 convinus.com
Global Mobility Insights - Winter 2022 / 2023 37 anent residency. We do not yet know whether an allowance for an additional 2- year permit will be issued instead, or if a permanent residence permit will be granted going forward. We believe that the new legislation allows for ambiguity and may lead to different interpretations by different migration agency caseworkers. Which in practice can translate to different decisions for similar cases. Removing the 4-year limit for work permits and allowing the permit to be extended should the applicant decide not to opt for permanent residency. The Migration Agency can only grant permanent residency if a valid work permit has been held for at least 4 years. Permanent residency is no longer available for adult family members of work permit holders who do not have employment and cannot provide for themselves. The income of the head applicant is not taken into consideration. This change was introduced during the Aliens Act amendments in July 2021. More minor omissions in the employment terms shall not be the cause for eviction. This is to counter “kompetensutvisning” i.e., deportation of talents. If employment terms deteriorate, the employer has an obligation to report this to the Swedish Migration Agency. Employers may be required to provide proof of the terms of employment; refusal to comply will result in fines. A newly introduced visa allows highly educated individuals to live and stay in Sweden for 9 months searching for a job or setting up a company. Proof of the ability to support oneself (and family, if applicable) is required, along with private medical care insurance. Introduction of a maintenance requirement for families tied to foreign labour. New requirements are comparable to the ones already applied for other family reunification cases, but without the requirement for housing of a certain size and standard. However, in many cases leases are required as part of the application and always in the case of permanent residency. The lease also needs to be ongoing for at least 18 months into the future. This is a problem as building associations typically grant sublets for only 12 months at a time. A newly introduced visa allows highly educated individuals to live and stay in Sweden for 9 months searching for a job or setting up a company. Proof of the ability to support oneself (and family, if applicable) is required, along with private medical care insurance. Introduction of a maintenance requirement for families tied to foreign labour. New requirements are comparable to the ones already applied for other family reunification cases, but without the requirement for housing of a certain size and standard. However, in many cases leases are required as part of the applicconvinus.com
Expat policy
LinkedIn
Youtube
Instagram
Email