Swedish application fees are modest — the real money question is the salary threshold, rewritten on 1 June 2026 at 90% of the median (SEK 33,390), with citizenship costs reset on 6 June 2026.
Overview
All Swedish residence and work permit fees are paid to the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket), normally by Visa or Mastercard when the application is submitted in the e-service, and are never refunded if the application is rejected. The June 2026 schedule: work permit SEK 2,200 (accompanying adults SEK 1,500, children SEK 750 — citizens of Japan pay no work-permit fee), EU Blue Card SEK 2,000, higher-education student permit SEK 1,500, residence permit to move to a partner in Sweden SEK 2,000 (children SEK 1,000), and Swedish citizenship by naturalisation SEK 2,900. Appealing a refusal to the migration courts costs nothing. The fees are minor next to the qualifying thresholds: first-time work permits decided on or after 1 June 2026 require a salary of at least 90% of the median published by Statistics Sweden — currently SEK 33,390 per month — with around twenty exempted occupations at 75%, a transitional 80% rule (SEK 29,680) for extensions applied for before 2 December 2026, and an EU Blue Card line of SEK 52,000. Verified against migrationsverket.se as of June 2026.
Migrationsverket Application Fees (June 2026)
Fees are paid when the application is submitted — by card in the e-service, or at the embassy or consulate-general for paper applications. No fee is refunded on rejection.
| Application | Main applicant | Family members | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work permit (arbetstillstånd) | SEK 2,200 | SEK 1,500 adult / SEK 750 child | Citizens of Japan pay no fee; salary must be at least SEK 33,390/month (90% of the median) unless the occupation is on the 75% exemption list |
| EU Blue Card | SEK 2,000 | SEK 1,500 adult / SEK 750 child | Salary at least SEK 52,000/month (1.25× the average gross salary, since 9 July 2025) |
| Student permit — higher education | SEK 1,500 | SEK 750 per child | Maintenance of at least SEK 10,656/month for 2026 applications, plus health insurance for stays under a year |
| Residence permit to move to a partner in Sweden | SEK 2,000 | SEK 1,000 per child | Sponsor normally subject to a maintenance and housing requirement |
| Swedish citizenship (naturalisation) | SEK 2,900 | — | New self-sufficiency requirement: income of three income base amounts — SEK 250,200/year (SEK 20,850/month) for 2026 |
| Appeal against a refusal | No fee | — | In writing to Migrationsverket within three weeks; forwarded to a migration court if the decision stands |
The Salary Thresholds Are the Real Cost Gate
- 90% rule from 1 June 2026: First-time work permits decided on or after 1 June 2026 require a monthly salary of at least 90% of the median salary that Statistics Sweden (SCB) publishes each June — SEK 33,390 at the current median of SEK 37,100. The decision date, not the application date, determines which rules apply, and the salary must also match collective agreements, which can push the floor higher.
- Transitional 80% rule for extensions: Existing permit holders who apply to extend between 1 June and 1 December 2026 are assessed under the old 80% requirement (SEK 29,680). Extension applications filed from 2 December 2026 must meet the full 90% line.
- 75% exemption list: Around twenty occupational groups in the Aliens Ordinance — including assistant nurses, IT operations and support technicians, systems administrators, laboratory engineers, welders, maintenance mechanics, butchers, forestry workers and farm-animal caretakers — need only 75% of the median. From 11 June 2026 former students and researchers applying for their first work permit are also exempt.
- Excluded occupations: Since 1 June 2026 no work permit can be granted for employment as a personal assistant (SSYK 5343) or as a forest berry picker (within SSYK 9210), regardless of the salary offered.
- EU Blue Card unchanged: The Blue Card threshold stayed at SEK 52,000/month (1.25× the average gross salary, set 9 July 2025); the June 2026 reform did not touch it, but did extend maximum Blue Card validity to four years.
- Health insurance: Work permit applicants staying a maximum of one year must hold, or have applied for, comprehensive health insurance covering care, hospitalisation and medical repatriation — a real cost that sits outside the application fee.
Fee Mechanics — How and When You Pay
- Card at submission: The e-service requires payment by Visa or Mastercard before the application registers. Paper applicants pay when submitting at a Swedish embassy or consulate-general; people applying from inside Sweden receive payment instructions by email or letter after Migrationsverket logs the application.
- No refunds, ever: Migrationsverket states plainly that the fee is not refunded if the application is rejected — for any permit type.
- Changing employer means paying again: A new job with a new employer, a change of profession, or even your employer changing its company registration number requires a brand-new work permit application with a new SEK 2,200 fee.
- Family applies together for less: Family members included in a worker's application pay the reduced SEK 1,500/750 rates; a partner who applies separately later pays SEK 2,000 under the family-ties route, so co-applying saves money as well as time.
- Appeals are free: There is no fee at any stage of the appeal chain — Migrationsverket reconsideration, the migration courts, or the Migration Court of Appeal. Legal representation in work and family cases is at your own cost.
- Processing speed varies by category: For highly qualified workers, 75% of recently decided complete applications were decided within one month; for other employment, complete cases ran to around four months and incomplete ones far longer — an incomplete file is the most expensive mistake.
Citizenship Costs Under the 6 June 2026 Reform
- Application fee SEK 2,900: The naturalisation fee is SEK 2,900, paid on application and not refunded on refusal.
- Eight years and self-sufficiency: Applications decided from 6 June 2026 — including those filed earlier, as there are no transitional arrangements — require eight years' habitual residence and a maintenance requirement of three income base amounts: an annual salary or self-employment income of at least SEK 250,200 before tax for 2026 (SEK 20,850/month).
- Knowledge requirements phase in: Applicants aged 16–66 must demonstrate knowledge of Swedish society and language. The civics test (medborgarskapsprovet), run by the Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR), holds its first sitting on 15 August 2026 with registration from 8 June 2026; Swedish reading and listening tests start 1 October 2027 at the earliest. Test fees are set by UHR — check uhr.se for the current charge before booking.
- Free preparation exists: SFI (Swedish for Immigrants) remains free through the municipalities, now with a three-year completion window introduced on 1 January 2026 — the realistic no-cost route to the language level the reform demands.
- Refusals appealable for free: Citizenship refusals follow the same three-week, no-fee appeal route through Migrationsverket to the migration courts.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a Swedish work permit application cost in 2026?
SEK 2,200 for the employee, plus SEK 1,500 for each accompanying adult family member and SEK 750 per child, paid by Visa or Mastercard when you submit your part of the application in Migrationsverket's e-service (your employer starts the application, but the fee is paid at your end before it registers). Citizens of Japan pay no application fee. The fee is not refunded if the application is rejected, and applying again — for example after changing employer or profession — means paying the full fee again. Budget separately for certified translations of documents not in Swedish or English, and for comprehensive health insurance if your employment lasts a year or less.
What salary do I need for a work permit after the 1 June 2026 reform?
At least 90% of the median salary published by Statistics Sweden — SEK 33,390 per month at the current median of SEK 37,100. The requirement applies to first-time permits decided on or after 1 June 2026, regardless of when you applied, and your pay must also be on par with Swedish collective agreements, which can push the real floor higher. Around twenty exempted occupations (assistant nurses, IT technicians, welders, forestry workers and others listed in the Aliens Ordinance) need only 75% of the median. If you already hold a permit and apply to extend before 2 December 2026, the old 80% rule (SEK 29,680) still applies to your extension.
Is the EU Blue Card cheaper than an ordinary work permit?
The application fee is marginally lower — SEK 2,000 against SEK 2,200, with identical family rates of SEK 1,500/750 — but the qualifying salary is far higher: at least SEK 52,000 per month (1.25 times the average gross salary, in force since 9 July 2025) plus highly qualified employment and a contract of at least six months. What you buy for that is flexibility: Blue Cards can now run up to four years at a time (since 1 June 2026), switching to another highly qualified job is handled by notifying Migrationsverket rather than filing and paying for a new application, and EU mobility rules apply after periods in another member state.
What does it cost to bring my spouse and children to Sweden?
If they apply together with you in your work permit application: SEK 1,500 per adult and SEK 750 per child. If a partner applies separately under the family-ties route to join you later, the fee rises to SEK 2,000 per adult and SEK 1,000 per child — so including the family from the start is cheaper. The bigger constraint is the maintenance requirement: your income after tax must cover your housing costs plus standard amounts for the household (for 2025, for example, SEK 10,314 left over each month for a cohabiting couple after rent, plus set amounts per child by age). Income from family members does not count.
What does Swedish citizenship cost under the new rules?
The application fee is SEK 2,900, not refunded on refusal. The expensive part is qualifying: from 6 June 2026 naturalisation requires eight years' habitual residence and a self-sufficiency requirement of three income base amounts — at least SEK 250,200 in annual pre-tax salary or self-employment income for 2026 (SEK 20,850 per month). Applicants aged 16–66 must also meet the new knowledge requirements: UHR's civics test sits for the first time on 15 August 2026 (registration from 8 June 2026), with language tests following from 1 October 2027; a passing civics grade from Swedish grade 9, upper secondary or komvux can substitute. These rules hit every application decided from 6 June 2026, including ones filed years ago.
Do I get my fee back if I am refused — and what does an appeal cost?
No refund — Migrationsverket keeps the fee on every rejected application, of any type. The appeal itself is free: you write to Migrationsverket within three weeks of being informed of the decision, the agency reconsiders, and if it stands firm the file goes to a migration court at no charge; even the Migration Court of Appeal levies no fee. You pay only for any lawyer you choose to engage. If the refusal turned on a fixable defect — salary below SEK 33,390, missing insurance, an incomplete contract — a corrected fresh application (with a fresh fee) is often faster than appealing, so weigh the SEK 2,200 against the months an appeal can take.