Contracting in Sweden

With just a few clicks, you can calculate your take-home pay in Sweden and choose the optimal solution to get the most out of your contract. Use the app below to calculate your possible net retention in Sweden.

Employment

This is a standard form of employment – you officially work for a company who pays you a monthly salary.

Pros:

• Enrollment in the social security system, which includes a pension plan, paid time off and sick leave.
• Stable monthly paycheck.
• Income tax is deducted from your salary, so you do not need to worry about calculating how much you have to pay.

Cons:

• Lower retention rate compared to other solutions due to social security payments.
• More and more companies are looking towards independent contractors rather than employees, so it could be more difficult to find such employment, especially as a foreigner.
• Less flexibility – you do not get to choose the projects that you can work on, you must work on the tasks assigned to you by your employer.
• Formal working hours – you may have to work “9-5”, as determined by your employment contract, rather than being able to determine your own working hours.

Self-Employment

This type of employment means that you are a freelancer – a company pays you to do a specific job, and you get remunerated, but you are not an official employee.

Pros:

• Possibility of gaining a higher rate of pay.
• Freedom to choose projects that interest you.
• Freedom to choose your own working schedule.
• Can deduct certain expenses, dependent on your business activities.

Cons:

• No social security benefits.
• You will need to sort out payments of income tax and social contributions yourself, or you could consider engaging a payroll company like Access Financial.
• Need to pay an extra 25% VAT, and there are no discounted rates.
• Must issue invoices that follow specific rules.
• There can be a fine line between self-employment and regular employment. If, for example, you end up doing too much work exclusively for a specific company, you could be classified by an audit as falsely self-employed, which can result in very hefty fines and the possibility of some legal action against you/your client.

Sweden Work Permit (Employer-sponsored)‍

A Swedish work permit is required for employees who have obtained a job offer from a Swedish company. This is the most frequently issued work permit, with the company providing sponsorship for the work visa.

Transfer within the Company

The Intra-company Transfer (ICT) permit is applicable for individuals who are employees of a non-EU company and are being relocated to the company’s Swedish office.

Business Visa

Business visas are designed for non-EU nationals who need to visit Sweden temporarily for business meetings or conferences. This type of visa is generally valid for a period of 90 days.

Visa for Self-Employed Individuals

For self-employed professionals, freelancers, and entrepreneurs intending to stay in Sweden for more than three months, a self-employment work permit is available. This permit acts as a residence permit and must be obtained before the person travels to Sweden.

Working Holiday visa

A working holiday residence permit is available to individuals aged between 18-30 from certain countries, allowing them to live and work temporarily in Sweden. The permit is typically valid for one year.

EU Blue Card

The EU Blue Card serves as a combined work and residence permit, intended for highly skilled professionals with relevant work experience.

EU, EAA, Switzerland

You do not need a visa or a permit to live and work in Sweden.

Other Foreign Nationals

If you are a third country national, you need a visa and a work permit in order to live and work in Sweden (the work permit allows you to live in the country). To obtain a work permit, you must have a job and be able to show an employment contract. You cannot enter Sweden until the permit has been granted. Read more

As an Employer of Record, we conclude an agreement with you and your client. We become your legal employer while your client maintains control over your work relationship, ethics, tasks, and daily responsibilities.

Why is this needed?

Not all companies have registered legal entities in the countries where they need employees. Moreover, not all companies want to bother with payroll, work permits, taxes, social security, and in general paperwork when employing workers. That’s why it’s more profitable and convenient for them to turn to an EOR provider (such as Access Financial) who already has local experience and can take on all the worries associated with hiring employees and be responsible for their paperwork and compliance.

Here are just some of the services we offer in Sweden:

• Assistance in obtaining the necessary visas/work permits for employees from third countries.
• Registering employees with the tax and social security office.
• Providing consultations on Swedish labour regulation & benefits.
• Setting up the Payroll system compliantly.
• Submitting wage tax returns and national insurance forms.
• Keeping our clients up-to-date and compliant with changes in Swedish regulations.

We provide a full set of services in Sweden, allowing corporate clients, recruitment agencies and professional contractors to operate in an optimal manner, while ensuring that all local compliance obligations are taken care of.

Access Financial offers the following services in Sweden:

• Contract Management
• Outsourced Payroll
• Employer of Record (EOR)
• Work Permits & Immigration Assistance