Centre Party pledges to scrap Sweden’s work-permit salary floor
Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist has pledged to scrap Sweden’s work-permit salary floor, making the pay requirement for foreign workers part of her election campaign.
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The party’s 4 September package would replace the median-wage threshold with pay set at collective-agreement levels. Thand Ringqvist says removing the floor would be the party’s first decision in government.
Under the current rules, the general threshold is 90 per cent of Sweden’s median salary. Certain occupations and applicant groups face a lower threshold, while some existing permit holders have transitional protection when renewing.
The Centre Party also promises to preserve permanent residence permits, introduce a start-up visa for entrepreneurs from outside the EU and spend SEK 1 billion annually on attracting and retaining international researchers and entrepreneurs.
The dispute is over who should qualify. In a 2 July reply to the party’s migration spokesperson, Niels Paarup-Petersen, Migration Minister Johan Forssell defended tighter conditions alongside exemptions for shortage occupations and selected groups. Paarup-Petersen had challenged the floor as out of reach for many young people seeking a work-permit route to stay.
The party promises a clearer, faster application process for the proposed start-up visa. The research funding would include scholarships and grants enabling Swedish universities to recruit internationally.
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