The startup work-permit discount is narrower than it sounds

A startup offer below Sweden's new work-permit salary floor can still look possible if the company invokes the tech exemption. The risk is that the exemption is not a blanket startup visa; it is a smaller gate with its own paperwork and expiry problem.

The Swedish Migration Agency's current salary rules set the ordinary work-permit floor at SEK 34,470 a month, or 90% of the median salary, for applications covered by the rules from June 2026. Exempt applicants still need at least SEK 28,725, or 75%.

The tech route is narrower than the phrase sounds. Migrationsverket says employees at certain tech or life-science companies can use the lower floor only when the company is in a startup phase, is under five years old and has fewer than 100 employees.

A second tech-adjacent route covers listed occupations such as IT operations technicians, IT support technicians, systems administrators and network technicians. Software developer is not on that list. The employer's occupational classification therefore matters as much as the job title on the offer.

The useful question is not "does this company do tech?" Ask for the organisation number, founding date, headcount, SSYK/occupation code, salary before benefits, collective-agreement benchmark and what happens at extension if the list or company age changes.

For international workers, the discount can rescue a real offer. It can also expose an offer built on a label the Migration Agency may not accept.

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.

Contact the editorial desk ›