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27 yrken undantas från nya lönekravet – men färre ansöker och fler får avslag

Svenska (Lätt svenska) – sammanfattning: (English version below)


27 yrken undantas från nya lönekravet – men färre ansöker och fler får avslag

Från den 1 juni 2026 gäller ett nytt, högre lönekrav för arbetstillstånd: lönen måste vara minst 90 procent av medianlönen i Sverige (cirka 33 390 kronor i månaden), upp från tidigare 80 procent.

Regeringen har bestämt att 27 yrken med brist på arbetskraft undantas från kravet – bland annat undersköterskor, vårdbiträden, IT-tekniker, ingenjörer inom kemi, jordbruksarbetare, svetsare och slaktare. För dessa yrken räcker det med 75 procent av medianlönen (cirka 27 825 kronor). Undantag gäller också för anställda hos tech- och life science-startupbolag, personer med utländsk läkar- eller sjuksköterskeexamen som väntar på svensk legitimation, samt ukrainska flyktingar.

Samtidigt visar ny statistik något oroande: antalet förstagångsansökningar om arbetstillstånd har sjunkit till samma nivå som före 2016, och avslagsfrekvensen har stigit från 26 till 42 procent – den högsta på tio år. Detta trots att regeringen säger sig vilja attrahera internationell kompetens.


Läs mer om alla detaljer kring de nya reglerna för arbetstillstånd i vår artikel: Uppdatering – Nya regler för arbetstillstånd i Sverige.

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English version:

27 Professions Exempted from Sweden's New Salary Requirement — But Work Permit Applications and Rejections Hit Record Levels


New salary requirement takes effect: From 1 June 2026, a stricter salary requirement applies to work permits (arbetstillstånd) in Sweden: applicants must earn at least 90% of the Swedish median salary (approximately 33,390 SEK per month), up from the previous 80% threshold.


27 professions exempted: The government has announced that 27 professions facing labour shortages will be exempt from the new requirement, needing only 75% of the median salary (approximately 27,825 SEK) instead. The exempted groups include:

  • Healthcare & Care: Nursing assistants (in elderly care, hospitals, clinics), care workers, ambulance support staff, childcare assistants

  • IT & Engineering: Chemical engineers/technicians, IT operations and support technicians, system administrators, network technicians

  • Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries: Crop and livestock farm workers, forestry workers, farm fruit pickers (forest berry pickers are excluded)

  • Manufacturing & Processing: Welders, machine repair technicians, steel structure assemblers, butchers, meat/fish processing machine operators, power distribution technicians


Other exemptions:

  • Healthcare professionals awaiting Swedish licensing: People with foreign pharmacy, medical, nursing, or dental degrees working in lower-paid roles while completing the process to obtain a Swedish professional license.

  • Startup employees: Applies to tech and life science startups operating for less than 5 years, with fewer than 100 employees, certified by Sweden's Innovation Agency (Vinnova).

  • Ukrainian refugees under the EU's mass displacement directive are also exempt, at least for the first two years.


But rejection rates are hitting record highs: Despite the government's stated goal of "rolling out the red carpet" to attract international talent — through initiatives like fast-track visas and electronic passport checks — the actual data tells a different story. According to the latest figures from the Migration Agency (Migrationsverket):

  • First-time work permit applications fell by around 10% in 2025, dropping below levels seen even a decade earlier, in 2015 — the second consecutive year Sweden has received fewer applications than a decade prior.

  • The rejection rate for first-time applications has jumped from 26% to 42% — a ten-year high. That means more than 4 out of every 10 applicants are now being turned away.

  • Key sectors — including healthcare, software, agriculture, and education — have all hit ten-year lows in foreign worker applications. The IT and software sector alone saw a 25% drop compared to a decade ago, a steeper decline than even the 14% drop seen during the pandemic.


Why the contradiction: Both trends — plunging applications and rising rejections — began in 2022, coinciding with a series of tightening measures: the salary threshold for work permits was raised from 80% to 90% of the median wage, and stricter citizenship rules were introduced without a softer transition period. The result is two negative trends reinforcing each other: discouraged applicants turning away from Sweden, while the Migration Agency simultaneously tightens approval criteria.


For a full breakdown of the new work permit rules, see our article: Uppdatering – Nya regler för arbetstillstånd i Sverige.


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