Sweden: New Policy on Minimum Salary Requirements for Foreign Workers

Sweden recently changed its policy on salary requirements for foreign nationals working in Sweden. Taxable allowances and benefits provided to foreign workers can now be included in addition to base pay when calculating a foreign worker’s salary for purposes of complying with minimum salary requirements in Sweden.

The Swedish immigration authorities recently changed their policy on salary requirements for foreign nationals working in Sweden. Taxable allowances and benefits received by a foreign worker – in addition to his or her base pay – can now formally be included as part of the foreign worker’s salary. This cumulative salary amount must meet or exceed the minimum required salary for foreign workers in Sweden as determined by the Swedish Migration Board and the applicable employee trade union. Daily living allowances cannot be included in the salary amount to meet the minimum salary requirements in Sweden.

Previously, allowances and benefits could only be considered part of the foreign worker’s salary in the discretion of the Swedish authorities. Generally, a foreign worker’s base salary, exclusive of allowances and benefits, was assessed by Swedish authorities when determining whether her or his salary complied with the minimum salary requirement.

Under Swedish law, the terms and conditions of a foreign national’s employment in Sweden, including wages, must be consistent with Swedish collective bargaining agreements or, if there is no collective bargaining agreement, with prevailing wages in the relevant business or industry.

In preparing this alert, Fragomen worked closely with Bird & Bird Advokat KB (Sweden). The content herein is provided for informational purposes only.

If you have any questions regarding this alert, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen Global Immigration Services or send an email to emea@fragomen.com.