Swedish judicial authorities have ruled that individuals may now qualify for a permanent resident permit with 12 months, instead of 18 months, of employment.

Key Points:

• The Swedish Migration Court of Appeal determined in a December 2023 decision that permanent residence permits should be interpreted with an income requirement of a “certain duration” in applications.
• Further, an applicant’s income should be considered to have a “certain duration” if they are employed for at least a year when applying for permanent residency.
• The Migration Agency had previously required that employment must be at least 18 months from the decision date for it to reach a “certain duration.”

Additional Information: The Migration Agency granted 102,000 applications for residence permits last year (a decrease of 40,000) and almost doubled the amount of revoked permits compared to 2022. The new case law is a significant change in how the Migration Agency will assess the requirement of “certain duration” when it comes to employment length. The new case law may also provide additional opportunities for those who have had a claim for permanent residency rejected by the Migration Agency. Individuals could receive a temporary residence permit and then appeal the part of the decision that concerns permanent residency due to the change in case law.

BAL Analysis: The court judgement is a welcome change for permanent resident applicants and should provide better guidance to individuals on how to interpret the requirements for permanent residency. The new case law may also allow greater access to candidates who previously were not able to qualify, including doctoral candidates who are currently prevented from being employed for more than a year at a time.