If you are granted an EU Blue Card for Sweden, you will enjoy many offers. These could include residing and working in Sweden. You can apply for the designation of long-term resident (permanent residency) in the state where you are living for five years in Sweden or other EU countries. You must have lived in that country for the previous two years.
Essential requirements to get an EU Blue Card
The applicant must fulfill these requirements to get an EU Blue Card:
- You must have a valid passport;
- You must have access to health insurance (initially arranged from your country of origin for the first three months). This insurance must be permissible for care in Sweden in full means;
- Territory education credits must be 180;
- Professional experience in your specific field must be 5 years;
- Must have a contract of an offer for any highly scoped job. The duration of the contract should be at least one year;
- The salary offered by that specific job must be 1.5 times greater than the average salary threshold in Sweden.
Employer’s criteria
The employer with which you have at least one year contract must meet the following criteria:
- The job offer that he granted you, must be advertised by the employer for 10 days in Sweden, the EU and Switzerland;
- The job offer that he/she will create must allow the trade unions to comment on this freely;
- The rules and regulations for the job and the criteria for the employee must be according to the Swedish agreements.
Usage criteria for e-service
If you want to use an e-service, then you will have to fulfill some requirements, which are:
- There will be a need for email verification from your employer. In that email, the employer will send you a link to the e-service;
- A declaration from the trade union;
- Clear copy of your passport in which all data must be clear including,
- personal information
- Image
- Signature
- Passport number
- Expiration date ( if you have permits to go to and reside in states other than your own)
- Employment agreement from your native country’s employer;
- You must be enabled to pay by credit card for the application charges;
- You must have one thing from these two,
- An employer’s accreditation from your recent jobs
- A diploma/certificate except for your university
- Job offer
- A confirmation from the relevant trade union outlining your job circumstances, that you will receive from your employer or principal in Sweden;
- A photocopy of your current EU Blue Card, if you received one from another EU country.
Note:
You will have all of these rights as just an EU citizen. Furthermore, You will have more options to work, study, or set up a business in another EU country after the designation of a long-term resident.
Salary criteria
The Swedish Migration analyzed the income criteria that must be met to receive an EU Blue Card each year. The criteria for this is as follows:
- Approximate to 1.5 times the total gross salary;
- The figures are decided in collaboration with the Swedish National Mediation Office, which is in charge of Sweden’s official wage and salary data.
The salary criterion will be SEK 54,150 per month as of August 3, 2021.
If you have an EU Blue Card from any other state
In case, you already have an EU Blue card from another state. Now you want to have it issued it again from Sweden, then your application will be verified if you follow these requirements:
- You must have spent at least 1.5 years in another European state with an EU Blue Card;
- Within one month after arriving in Sweden, the application must be submitted.
Procedure after the submission of the application
If your application is approved then, you will be handed an EU Blue Card residence permit card. The card, which includes your fingerprints and photos, is a confirmation that you have the authorization to be in Sweden.
If you need a travel visa
If you need a visa to travel to Sweden, then:
- You must go to the Swedish embassy or immigration department as soon as possible to have your image and fingerprints taken.
- Although your photo and fingerprints cannot be retained, you will need to do this even if you have previously held a residence permit card.
If you do not need a travel visa
In case, you do not need a visa to travel to Sweden then:
- You must schedule an appointment as soon as possible after landing in Sweden to have your fingerprints and photograph taken.
An EU Blue Card decision
The information about the decision that has been made for an EU Blue Card is,
- The decision on an EU Blue Card is always made within 3 months;
- The decision will be forwarded to the embassy or general consulate you specified in your application;
- When you go to get your decision, you must bring your passport with you;
- You can receive a permit for the duration of the job offer, but not longer than the validity of your passport.
The procedure after the issuance of an EU Blue Card
The details about what will happen after the completion of the process to get an EU Blue Card is,
- It will be granted or sent to you by the embassy or consulate-general;
- After you receive your decision, it may take a maximum of up to a month to issue and deliver the card to the embassy or consulate-general;
- You must provide the resident permit card together with a valid passport after your entrance into Sweden.
If you do not need a visa to travel to Sweden
If you do not need a visa to travel to Sweden, must follow these things,
- When you enter the country, bring a copy of the verdict with you;
- Schedule an appointment as early as possible after landing in Sweden to have your fingerprints and photograph taken;
- Your residence permit card will be sent to your Swedish address once it is finalized.
EU Blue Card’s Limitations
Along with benefits, there are some limitations of an EU Blue Card enlisted below,
- When you will receive an EU Blue Card for the very first time, it will be active for a minimum of one year and a maximum of two years;
- The card entitles you to work in Sweden for the employer and in the occupation, you just mentioned in your application;
- The card is active for the amount of time specified in the decision;
- The EU Blue Card is only usable for the company and industry mentioned in your decision for the first 2 years;
- You can switch employers without submitting a new application after working for 2 years. Furthermore, having your card renewed, as long as you work in the same industry. If you want to switch jobs or work for a longer period than your permit allows, you must apply for a renewal.
Family members’ permission
Your family members are eligible to apply for a residence permit for the same period as you. Now the question is which family members will enjoy this offer? The answer is,
- Your partner ( Husband/Wife);
- Any unmarried children under the age of 18 who are yours or your partner’s.
Application procedure for the family members
There are two parameters for it:
- You all apply for it together
You can include your family members with your online application if you apply together.
- Your family apply after you
If they want to apply after you, they can do so by filling out their online application. The further details are also on the internet, you can check them out.
Renewing the permit
The details for the renewal of the permit are given below:
- You must renew your EU Blue Card if you wish to continue working in Sweden;
- If you already hold an EU Blue Card but want to change your occupation or work obligations, you must submit a new application;
- You must apply for a new EU Blue Card if you have been employed for less than two years and decide to move professions;
- Before the existing permit ends, the application must be submitted.
The procedure for extending an EU Blue Card
The procedure is online in most cases. Also, you will have to pay the charges for the extension of an EU Blue Card. If you have family members in Sweden who need to renew their visas, submit a single online application for all of them.
Documentations
The documents needed to extend your EU Blue Card are,
- Clear copy of your passport in which all data must be clear including,
- A statement of your PAYE tax return from the prior year indicating your earnings if you were employed in Sweden;
- Salary receipts for the current year in case you are currently employed in Sweden;
- Employment licenses from employers specifying the dates you were employed in Sweden in case you have had a work permit in Sweden for almost 4 years;
- Job agreement;
- A declaration from a labor union about the terms and circumstances of the job;
- Employment credentials from past jobs.
Permanent Residence Permit
After 2 years in Sweden with an EU Blue Card, you can apply for a permanent residence permit. Even if you already held an EU Blue Card, you cannot include time spent in another EU Member State.
Eligibility Criteria for Permanent Residency Application
If you want to enjoy permanent residency in Sweden, must meet the given criteria:
- You must have been employed in Sweden for 4 years in the last 7 years with an EU Blue Card or a work permit;
- You must be able to financially sustain yourself;
- You maintain a sense of stability in your life.
Eu Blue card new changes
The EU Commission and the EU parliament have agreed upon the following major changes (in May 2021) in EU blue card eligibility criteria:
- EU card for all – highly skilled beneficiaries of international protection will be eligible to apply for an EU Blue Card.
- The salary threshold previously practiced has been reduced as it was very high. This now will be reduced to between 1 and 1.6 times the average gross annual salary.
- Job contract upfront for a long time is not that easy for new entrants. Companies prefer to recruit the candidates first for most 6 months in the EU countries. The new law has some good understanding of this and requires the minimum duration for a contract of employment to be reduced to 6 months.
- The degree will not be mandatory for all jobs in the labor market of the EU. New rules will facilitate the recognition of professional skills for occupations in the information and communication technologies sector. Applicants with professional experience equivalent to a higher education qualification in some specific sectors will also be eligible to apply.
- During the first 12 months, EU Blue Card holders need only complete a new labor market test if they wish to change position or employer. Only after this period, EU Blue Card-holders may be subject to an obligation to notify a change in their situation to the relevant national authorities.
- Family members of EU Blue Card holders will be able to accompany them and access the EU labor market.
- Permanent residency rules have also been made easy as EU Blue Card holders, and their family members will be able to move to a second Member State based on simplified mobility rules after 12 months of employment in the first Member State. The period spent working in different Member States will also be taken into account, facilitating easier access to the EU long-term resident status.
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