Before you trust a Swedish job offer
For people moving to Sweden for work, accepting an offer means putting more than a salary on the line.
Sweden checks employers before granting work permits. For someone preparing to move for a job, what does that approval actually say about the company they are about to trust?
A February audit found that employers had received new approvals after earlier refusals involving sham jobs or falsified union statements. Information about companies was scattered, and searches of previous employer records reached back only 18 months. A fresh application could be assessed without earlier abuse coming to light.
The auditors also found that cases carrying a higher risk did not always receive closer examination. Checks on insurance at employers without collective agreements were inadequate, potentially leaving workers without the protection they needed after an accident.
An earlier refusal does not make every later approval wrong: each application needs its own assessment. In its June response, the government accepted the recommendations and pointed to work under way to strengthen checks. The audit describes failures found during its review, rather than the record of every employer recruiting today.
For the worker, the consequences can extend beyond lost wages. If promised employment conditions are not met, the Migration Agency can investigate withdrawing the work permit. Someone who changes employer during that investigation has four months to apply for a new permit for the new job.
DailySweden
DailySweden's desk of editors, reporters, researchers and investigative journalists. We bring readers factual, truthful and objective reporting on the issues that matter to them.
