The job Sweden subsidises may not count for citizenship
Sweden tracks subsidised jobs as a route into regular work, but excludes income from several of those programmes from its new citizenship test.
Someone in a state-backed job can earn a salary and move closer to regular employment, yet Sweden will not count that income when deciding whether the worker can become a citizen.
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Under rules in force since 6 June, the Migration Agency says applicants aged 18 to 67 normally need regular earnings of at least SEK 20,850 a month in 2026. Income from special employment support, nystartsjobb or establishment jobs is excluded, along with unemployment and several activity allowances.
That exclusion sits beside the state's own labour policy. An employment report calls subsidised jobs a major instrument, costing about SEK 18 billion a year and covering roughly 150,000 people. It says these jobs mainly serve newcomers, long-term unemployed people and workers whose disabilities reduce their ability to work. Nystartsjobb is the second-largest form after wage subsidies.
The report also tracks whether these programmes lead towards ordinary jobs. Between 2015 and 2024, 25 percent of foreign-born women and 27 percent of foreign-born men were in regular work 90 days after a nystartsjobb ended. Those results do not prove that every subsidised wage signals lasting self-support, and the citizenship rule offers exemptions for some pensioners, full-time students and people who cannot reasonably meet the requirement, including because of disability. They do show that a job Sweden uses as a route into unsubsidised work can leave an applicant waiting for citizenship until the route has been completed.
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