Previously, a monthly salary of 13,000 kronor was enough to be granted a work permit. But on November 1, 2023, the government doubled the salary requirement to at least 80 percent of the median salary – which today corresponds to 28,500 kronor, according to Ekot on Swedish Radio.
One year after the doubling, the proportion of rejections has increased from 34 to 46 percent within the restaurant industry and from 28 to 49 percent within the cleaning industry. The proportion of rejections has also increased for healthcare assistants and personal assistants.
On the other hand, nurses have a higher proportion of approved applications, which can be explained by the fact that nurses earn more than 80 percent of the median salary.
The government and The Moderate Party's increase in salary requirements was made to stop immigration, primarily to low-wage jobs. Then-Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) thought it was "completely unreasonable" that people came from the other side of the world for a monthly salary of 13,000 kronor.
Rejections also increased slightly for highly qualified workers, from 3 to 4 percent.
The figures come from the Migration Agency, which cannot say with certainty that the changes are solely due to the tightened salary requirements.
