Working in Sweden in 2026: jobs, contracts and tax

To work in Sweden you need to find a legitimate employer, find out whether you have the right to work, get clear written information about your employment terms and sort out your tax. Start with vacancies at Arbetsförmedlingen, the Swedish Public Employment Service. If you are not an EU/EEA citizen, check the rules with the Swedish Migration Agency.

Where can you find jobs?

Arbetsförmedlingen describes Platsbanken as the largest and most visited website for vacancies in Sweden. Also look at employers' own career pages. Write a CV with your real experience, languages and education and check the company's organisation number. A job ad is not a work permit, and you should be extra careful with an employer that demands an advance payment for a job.

What should an employment contract include?

An oral employment agreement is valid, but the employer must give you written information about the terms of employment. According to Verksamt, this should normally happen within seven days after you start work. The information covers, among other things, the parties, start date and workplace, tasks or job title, form of employment and any probationary period, pay and other benefits, working hours, holiday and any collective agreement that applies. It helps to ask for written terms before your first day.

Is there a statutory minimum wage?

No. Arbetsförmedlingen states that Sweden has no minimum wage law and that wages are set through collective agreements between employers and unions. Ask which collective agreement applies at the workplace. Distinguish gross pay, which is before tax, from net pay, which is what is paid out after tax deductions.

Do you need a work permit and a personnummer?

EU/EEA citizens and citizens of countries outside the EU/EEA have different conditions for working in Sweden. If you need a permit, apply to the Swedish Migration Agency. Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency, handles tax registration and personnummer or coordination numbers where relevant.

How do tax and holidays work?

The employer normally deducts tax from your pay under the applicable rules. Read more in our guide Tax in Sweden: how much you pay and when. According to Arbetsförmedlingen, all employees are entitled to 25 days of holiday a year regardless of age and form of employment, and collective agreements and employment contracts can give more. When you are paid you also need a bank account, see Opening a bank account in Sweden 2026.

Sources: Arbetsförmedlingen, rights and obligations; Verksamt, written information on employment terms; Arbetsförmedlingen, find your new job in Sweden (checked 2026-11-10).

Related guides

• Tax in Sweden: how much you pay and when
• Opening a bank account in Sweden 2026

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