Uncovered: Potential Positions Exempt from Minimum Wage Requirement for Swedish Work Visas
In a move to address critical labour shortages in various sectors, the Swedish Migration Agency received a list of 152 shortage professions on May 30th, 2023. The list, titled "Occupations where the need for labor cannot be met within Sweden," was compiled by the Public Employment Service at the request of the government.
The list encompasses roles from healthcare, IT, engineering, education, hospitality, and academia. Notable inclusions are junior house doctors, various categories of nurses, nursing assistants, care workers, teachers at various levels, after-school activities teachers, vocational teachers, game developers, system testers, system administrators, several categories of engineers, and roles from the hotel and restaurant industry such as chefs, sous-chefs, pantry chefs, and pastry chefs.
The existence of this list signals an intention by the Swedish government to create exceptions to standard rules, such as the usual higher salary thresholds, to facilitate entry for workers in occupations where labour shortages are critical. However, the specific timeline and procedure for implementing these exceptions are not fully detailed.
Sweden grants work permits primarily under a General Work Permit scheme, which requires employers to meet criteria including a minimum salary requirement to ensure a good living standard. The current salary threshold for work permits is set at 80 percent of the median salary, and there is no existing legislation that could apply to this list.
The process for implementing exceptions to the higher salary requirement involves several regulatory and administrative steps, but the exact timeline and steps are not yet publicly documented. The general framework suggests that the government will announce the exceptions, enact regulatory changes, update the Migration Agency’s application criteria, and allow employers to sponsor workers at a lower salary level within these fields.
The Migration Agency processes work permit applications with a median time of about 52 days but sometimes longer, averaging 116 days. Given the typical permit processing time, the policy rollout and procedure implementation might take several months from the time the list and new regulations are published.
Mats Persson, who initiated the request for the list to be prepared, was replaced as employment and integration minister at the end of June. It remains to be seen how the new administration will proceed with the list and the proposed exceptions to the work permit rules.
As the Swedish government continues to work on the regulatory changes and administrative updates, the hope is that these exceptions will help alleviate labour shortages in critical sectors and contribute to the overall economic growth of the country.
- Recognizing the significance of Education and Self-development sectors in addressing labor shortages, the Swedish government aims to create exceptions to standard work permit rules for teachers at various levels, after-school activities teachers, vocational teachers, and game developers, among others, as they were included in the list of critical shortage professions.
- The implementation of exceptions to the higher salary requirement for the Education-and-Self-development sector, as well as other shortage professions, will contribute to a more robust workforce in Sweden, fostering economic growth and facilitating the alleviation of labor shortages in these crucial sectors.
