Sweden: New Agency Units Forthcoming to Improve Work Permit Processing

Update September 6, 2023: The report has been published.

The Swedish government plans to implement new International Recruitment Units at the end of 2023 to improve the work permit application process, which has seen significant processing delays and backlogs. Work permit applications would be divided into four categories: complete applications of highly-qualified employees and senior executives in Category A will take 30 business days to process; special rule-related applications (i.e. EU Blue Cards, seasonal workers) in Category B; other applications which do not require a higher education in Category C; and applications from industries where there has been widespread abuse of work permits (such as construction, hospitality, cleaning, and personal assistants) in Category D, with the highest level of scrutiny.  There are also plans to end the certified fast track scheme due to its inefficiency, and for the government to provide support for companies submitting work permit applications to ensure more complete applications. The government is expected to publish a detailed report on the plans in September. We will report on related developments.