- Swedish businesses are demanding urgent approval for a list of 152 occupations exempt from higher salary requirements.
- The proposed rules would raise the work permit salary floor to 100% of the national median.
- Delays in parliamentary approval are slowing international recruitment for critical shortage sectors as of April 2026.
(SWEDEN) — Swedish businesses urged the government to adopt a proposed work permit exemption list “as soon as possible” so employers can keep hiring in shortage occupations while Sweden tightens salary rules for foreign workers.
Business groups including Business Sweden want ministers to move ahead with a list of 152 occupations that would be exempt from a planned salary floor tied to 100% of Sweden’s median salary, a higher threshold than the current 80% rule.
The Swedish Migration Agency, working with the Swedish Public Employment Service, submitted that list to the government on July 24, 2025. The proposal formed part of wider reforms expected to take effect on July 1, 2025, though the exemption plan still needs parliamentary approval before it can take effect.
As of April 2026, the exemptions remain pending final legislative approval. No confirmed updates have emerged beyond the July 2025 proposal, leaving companies pressing for a decision as they warn that delays can slow recruitment.
The proposal sits inside a broader shift in Sweden’s labor migration rules. Policymakers have moved to raise the minimum salary required for a work permit, lifting it from the current 80% level to 100% of Sweden’s median salary, while carving out a narrower path for occupations where employers say they still cannot fill jobs locally.
Authorities framed the exemption plan as a way to balance stricter wage requirements with continued access to foreign labor in sectors facing domestic shortages. Instead of easing the new threshold across the board, the government received an advisory list focused on occupations judged hard to staff within Sweden.
That has turned the proposed work permit exemption list into a focal point for businesses that rely on specialized and hard-to-find workers. Employers have argued that without the carveout, the higher salary threshold could make recruitment harder in roles that remain difficult to fill even when demand is clear.
The list itself covers 152 occupations, but the proposal described in the submission does not amount to an automatic rule change. Parliament must approve the exemptions before employers can use them.
That legislative step matters for timing as much as policy. Businesses have stressed urgency because the gap between a proposed reform and an enacted one can leave companies unsure how to plan hiring, especially when the salary floor is already set to rise.
The unresolved status also means employers are still waiting to see whether the exception framework will take shape in the form originally submitted by the Swedish Migration Agency and the Swedish Public Employment Service. Until parliament acts, the proposal remains just that, a proposal.
Alongside the exemption list, the reform package points in the opposite direction for some jobs. It suggests that personal assistants and berry pickers should be excluded from work permits entirely because Sweden has sufficient domestic labor for those roles.
That contrast shows how the government’s labor market approach is being divided occupation by occupation. Some sectors would get relief from the higher salary rule under the proposed work permit exemption list, while others would face tighter limits on access to foreign workers.
Employers backing the list have focused on labor shortages rather than a broad loosening of migration rules. Their argument is that the government can raise wage requirements and still preserve hiring channels for jobs where domestic recruitment is not meeting demand.
Under the proposal sent on July 24, 2025, the exemption mechanism would apply only to the occupations identified in the advisory list. Workers outside those categories would remain subject to the planned threshold of 100% of Sweden’s median salary.
The threshold marks a clear change from the current 80% requirement. A move to full median salary would set a higher pay bar for employers seeking work permits unless the occupation falls inside the proposed exemption system.
That is why the pending list has drawn close attention from companies with international recruitment needs. A higher salary rule can affect whether a position qualifies for a permit at all, particularly in occupations where wages may sit below the new national benchmark even when employers cannot find enough staff.
Sweden already operates several work permit exemptions that are separate from the new salary proposal. Those existing rules apply in limited circumstances and do not depend on the proposed 152 occupations list.
Specialists in international groups can work in Sweden for less than 1 year without a work permit, though a visitor’s permit is needed if the stay lasts more than 3 months. Employees taking part in skills development, training, testing, preparation, or completion of deliveries, or in negotiations or follow-up linked to business deals, can also qualify for an exemption for up to 3 months during a 12-month period.
Radio and television personnel assigned to produce broadcasts for certain Swedish broadcasters can work without a permit for up to 1 month. Personnel covered by defense cooperation under the Sweden-US agreement also fall under an existing exemption.
Those current exemptions address short-term assignments, internal corporate functions, media work, and defense cooperation. They do not resolve the question now facing employers that need longer-term recruitment in shortage occupations once the higher salary threshold applies.
That distinction has become more important because the current debate is not about whether Sweden has any exemptions at all. It is about whether the government will add a new category tied specifically to labor shortages and shield those jobs from the jump to 100% of Sweden’s median salary.
The proposal’s supporters have not asked for a blanket waiver. They have asked the government to implement the submitted list so the exception remains confined to the occupations identified by the Swedish Migration Agency and the Swedish Public Employment Service.
As of April 2026, the government had not confirmed any final move beyond the submission made in July 2025. That has left employers, recruiters, and affected industries watching for parliamentary action while planning around rules that may tighten before the exemption system arrives.
Businesses pressing for action have tied their demand to hiring delays rather than to a broader political fight over migration. Their message has been straightforward: if Sweden intends to raise permit salary requirements, it should also activate the shortage-occupation exemptions without waiting longer.
The full list of proposed occupations and future updates are available on the Swedish Migration Agency website, where the work permit exemption list now sits as a live reference point in a debate over labor shortages, salary policy, and whether 152 occupations will be spared the move to 100% of Sweden’s median salary.
