Sweden: Employment Duration for Permanent Residence Eligibility Reduced

Following a decision of the Swedish Migration Court of Appeal, the period of employment necessary to be eligible for a permanent residence permit has dropped to 12 months (down from the previous 18 months). Furthermore, applicants whose employment period is likely to exceed 12 months (even if they have not yet passed that time limit) may nonetheless satisfy this requirement. In Sweden, to be eligible for permanent residence, a person must first have been resident in the country for 48 months. Then they must show that in the period after they have applied for permanent residence and their current permit has expired (during which they have a ‘procedural’ right of residence) they will work for an adequate period of time. The recent Appeal Court decision changed what counts as an adequate period of time (reducing it to 12 months from the previous 18 months). This change in legal interpretation means that temporary or probationary jobs are more likely to satisfy the duration requirement, especially where the role is scheduled to last longer than one year or is likely to be converted into a long-term or permanent role at a later date (even if that has not yet occurred at the date of permit application).