Work permits and alcohol: What changes in Sweden in June 2025
Advertisement
June 1st: Will the work permit salary threshold be raised?
On June 1st, the salary threshold for work permits was originally set to be raised to 100 percent of the median salary (it's currently set at 80 percent of the median salary) if the government were to stick to the schedule proposed by its inquiry.
That's unlikely to happen. Sweden's Migration Minister Johan Forssell told The Local in May that 'no formal decision' has been made on where the final salary threshold will actually end up.
The government in February asked the Migration Agency to present a list of which professions should be exempt from the salary threshold by August 1st, suggesting that the original plan to roll out the new threshold on June 1st will be postponed until at least the autumn.
This isn't the first time that we've seen an indication that the government hasn't fully committed to raising the threshold to 100 percent of the median salary. In January, Employment Minister Mats Persson said that his party, the Liberals, would even be willing to lower the threshold.
That said, the work permit salary threshold will likely be raised anyway in June, but more on that below.
Advertisement
June 1st: Alcohol producers allowed to sell take-away drinks direct to customers
From June 1st, some small-scale alcohol producers, such as vineyards and microbreweries, will be allowed to sell their products on-site for consumption elsewhere, in what is known in Swedish as gårdsförsäljning, literally "farm sale".
It will only apply to producers who make a maximum of 75,000 litres of spirits, 400,000 litres of fermented drinks up to 10 percent ABV or up to 200,000 litres of fermented drinks over 10 percent ABV.
The proposal includes all types of alcohol and will not require that drinks' ingredients are produced on-site, with the exception of grapes for wine.
There will be limits on the amount of alcohol customers can buy, and producers will only be allowed to sell their products to visitors who have paid for a guided tour, lecture or similar.
June 3rd-5th: Tax rebate
Anyone who submitted their tax return by the later May 2nd deadline should receive their rebate between June 3rd and June 5th. If you on the other hand end up having to pay extra tax, you'll also find out on this date, with payment due around three months later.
If you asked for an extension to your tax declaration, this has to be handed in by June 2nd.
Staying on the topic of money, the Riksbank will announce its fourth interest rate update of the year on June 18th. It is widely expected that the key interest rate will remain the same at 2.25 percent.
June 6th: National Day
Another important date in the Swedish calendar in June is Sweden's National Day on June 6th. It has been a public holiday since 2005, replacing Whit Monday, but was first celebrated in 1916 in honour of the election of King Gustav Vasa on June 6th, 1523.
Gustav Vasa's election also marks the end of the Danish-ruled Kalmar Union, so is arguably a marking of Swedish independence, although it occurred so long ago that few Swedes associate National Day with this aspect of Swedish history.
This year, June 6th is a Friday, meaning that Swedish workers will be able to enjoy a long weekend.
READ ALSO: Sweden's public holidays in 2025
You may also be able to buy a nationaldagsbakelse or National Day pastry in many bakeries on June 6th, a small almond cake topped with strawberries and a Swedish flag.
Mid-June: School holidays and graduation
Summer holidays start in most of Sweden's schools around the middle of the month. You can also expect Sweden to be a bit louder in June, especially if you live in an urban area near a gymnasium school.
Students finishing upper high school (gymnasium) will springa ut starting in early June, a tradition where newly-graduated students run out of school after getting their final exam results to cheers from friends and family, after which they will drive around in a car or on the back of a van with friends and party for the rest of the evening.
Advertisement
End of June: New median salary figures released
Statistics Sweden will release new salary figures at the end of June. In past years, they've been released between June 18th and 22nd.
This may not sound like a big deal, but these are the figures which affect the salary threshold for work permit applicants in Sweden.
The most recent figures from June last year put the median salary at 35,600 kronor, meaning that work permit holders applying for a new permit or an extension need to earn 80 percent of this – 28,480 kronor – to qualify for a permit. This was a hike of over a thousand kronor compared with the year before.
Once the new median salary figure has been released, the work permit salary requirement will (almost certainly) rise. This will only apply to applications submitted from that date – the threshold is determined by the most recent salary figures at the time of application, not at the time a decision is made.
If the work permit threshold is raised to 100 percent of the median salary on June 1st (which as we explained above looks unlikely), then that figure will be higher.
Advertisement
June 20th: Midsummer's Eve
Rounding off June, we have Midsummer's Eve, which falls on June 20th this year.
The majority of workers – at least those who work normal working hours throughout the week – will have the day off on Midsummer's Eve, despite the fact that it is not officially a röd dag or public holiday.
The reason it's celebrated on a Friday rather than on the actual summer solstice, which this year is on June 21st, is due to a 1953 reform to make it fit in better with the working week – and presumably to give workers the Saturday off to recover from the festivities.
It is, however, listed as a holiday day equivalent to a Sunday in Sweden's Annual Leave Act, so if you don't usually work on Sundays you should have the day off.
If you do have to work on Midsummer's Eve, you may be offered OB-tillägg (pay for working inconvenient hours), overtime pay, or a day off in lieu at a later date.
READ ALSO: Why is Midsummer's Eve celebrated in Sweden?
Advertisement
Summer holidays and other events in June
June also marks the start of Sweden's famously long summer holidays.
Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg comes highly recommended if you're into rock music. Put June 4th-7th in your calendar.
Järvaveckan (Järva Week) has grown to one of Sweden's biggest political events in the last few years, with representatives from every major party attending. Held at the Spånga sports field in northern Stockholm, it is still young and vibrant enough to feel less elite than its older cousin, the Almedalsveckan (Almedalen Week) festival. This year it will take place from June 11th-14th.
Speaking of Almedalen Week, it will be held on the island of Gotland between June 23rd and 27th. Interest in the event has been declining in recent years, but some 40,000 people still attend every year, 95 percent of them coming from outside Gotland, where hotel prices shoot up every summer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local Sweden
2 days ago
- Local Sweden
Inside Sweden: What does an 80s finance minister have to do with Sweden's work permit plans?
The Local Sweden's editor Emma Löfgren rounds up the biggest stories of the week in our Inside Sweden newsletter. Advertisement Hej, In 1983, the Swedish parliament voted to introduce employee funds (löntagarfonder), an attempt to challenge private ownership of companies by taxing profits and putting them into special funds controlled by the unions. It was a highly controversial scheme, and even Finance Minister Kjell-Olof Feldt's heart wasn't really in it, but the unions were too strong and so the Social Democrats managed to win the vote in parliament and introduce the funds. They were later scrapped after the conservatives won the election in 1991, and the Social Democrats have never attempted to bring them back ever since. But the reason why most Swedes remember them is completely different. During the parliamentary debate about their introduction, photographer Paolo Rodiquez from local newspaper Stockholms-Tidningen managed to snap a picture of Kjell-Olof Feldt, who spent the debate penning a poem. Löntagarfonder är ett jävla skit, men nu har vi baxat dem ända hit, read the first line on a scrap piece of paper on Feldt's desk. Or, in English: "Employee funds are a piece of crap, but we've lugged them all the way to where we're at." I was reminded of this story when immigration and relocation expert Lena Rekdal quoted Feldt's poem on LinkedIn, in the context of the plans to raise the work permit salary threshold to 100 percent of the median, with exemptions. The list of 152 job titles which could be exempted from a higher salary threshold was published by the Migration Agency this week (although The Local was able to reveal the full list a few days earlier), but there have been few signs from the government that they're actually moving forward with it. Advertisement It's hard to find anyone who's fully in support of the whole thing. Businesses worry a higher threshold will make it harder to recruit and don't want to rely on a list of exemptions based on very clunky metrics, relocation experts warn it's going to slow down permit processing times, and you barely even have to read between the lines to be able to tell that the Migration Agency itself thinks it's all just too much of a hassle for something that won't yield a lot of results. And if exemptions are needed for, potentially, 152 jobs out of the 429 jobs on Sweden's official list of job titles, that means that the higher salary threshold is unsuitable for over a third of Swedish job titles. What's the point, then? Even the government itself seems to be hesitating, as the higher salary threshold plus exemptions were supposed to have come into force earlier this summer, but haven't yet made their way into a draft bill. So is this going to be something that gets quietly buried and forgotten about, or will it become another piece of jävla skit that the government thinks it may as well push through now that it has lugged it all the way to where we're at? We'll see. I probably won't be here for it, though, as I'm writing this Inside Sweden on my last day before I go on maternity leave until spring. I'll hopefully be in touch with you again next year, but until then, it will be my Deputy Editor Becky Waterton and Nordic Editor Richard Orange manning the fort. In other news Sweden's security checks are likely to slow down the processing of citizenship applications further than previously estimated, a new forecast suggests. Advertisement Summer in Sweden is special: on that our readers are agreed. When we asked, they praised the days that stretch past 10pm, the natural, uncrowded beaches and lakes, berries, and locals who are suddenly carefree and smiling. Swedish summers are often wet, as some of you may have noticed this week, with downpours more common during the warmer months. Who is responsible if your home floods, and what can you do to prevent damage? The European Commission has laid out the start date for the long-delayed biometric passport checks known as the Entry & Exit System. Differing interest rates between Sweden's banks mean that mortgage holders could save thousands of kronor by switching banks or negotiating a new rate. Thanks as always for reading and take care, Emma Inside Sweden is our weekly newsletter for members which gives you news, analysis and, sometimes, takes you behind the scenes at The Local. It's published each Saturday and with Membership+ you can also receive it directly to your inbox.
Local Sweden
3 days ago
- Local Sweden
Third time's the charm? Sweden appoints new national security adviser
Sweden has appointed Niclas Kvarnström as its new national security adviser, the third person to hold the role in less than a year. Advertisement The appointment was confirmed in a press release on Thursday. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson hailed Kvarnström as a "distinguished diplomat with extensive experience". Kvarnström previously served as ambassador to Singapore and has held senior roles within the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs over the past decade. He most recently held a leadership position at the EU's diplomatic service and is currently on leave from the foreign ministry. He replaces Tobias Thyberg, who resigned in May after naked photos of him were circulated taken from the Grindr gay hook-up site. Thyberg had only recently taken over from Henrik Landerholm, who resigned after a series of security scandals, including one where he forgot classified documents at a conference hotel. Kvarnström officially assumes the role on Monday, according to Dagens Nyheter, which first reported the appointment.
Local Sweden
7 days ago
- Local Sweden
Renegotiating your Swedish mortgage rate could save you thousands
Differing interest rates between Sweden's banks mean that mortgage holders could save thousands of kronor per year by switching banks or negotiating a new rate. Advertisement Only one in five Swedish mortgage holders has negotiated a new interest rate over the past few months, and one in three think that they do not have the right skills or knowledge to do so, a study by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (FI) has shown. At the same time, there are substantial savings to be made by switching to a different bank. According to there was a 0.34 percentage point difference between the cheapest and most expensive mortgage banks in June, which represents a 6,800 kronor difference on a 2 million kronor mortgage. "A lot of people could save a fair amount by sitting down, going through and comparing the options," FI consumer protection economist Moa Langemark told the TT newswire. Despite this, few Swedes renegotiate their interest rates. "The market would probably be more well functioning if consumers were more willing to move," Langemark said. One think to watch out for, she added, is being encouraged to make parts of your mortgage fixed-term, as it can make it difficult to renegotiate the loan as a whole and complicates the process if you want to switch to a different bank. "You're more tied to a specific bank, essentially," she said. Advertisement Many also fall into the trap of looking at the so-called listränta (the advertised interest rate), when they negotiate their rate, instead of the snittränta (the average rate people were actually given in recent months). The difference between the two can often be more than one percentage point at the same bank, so the listränta should be seen more as a starting point for negotiations rather than a fixed offer. Langemark added that you shouldn't be afraid of asking questions and be willing to switch banks if you're not happy. "There are no stupid questions. You have every right to keep asking questions until you understand what interest rate your bank is going to offer you." FI has also worked in recent years to implement new measures to make the process easier and more transparent for people looking to change bank. Banks must now inform customers of the date their interest rate discount is due to expire (if they have a discount), and mortgage-holders have since last autumn been able to request a digital copy of their amorteringsunderlag (foundation of amortisation). The document details the amortisation requirements of the mortgage you want to move. This includes information on how much you already amortise, the estimated value of your property and the date when that value was set, and the size of your loan. An amorteringsunderlag is necessary if you want to move your mortgage to another bank, so ordering one can send a message to your current bank that you're thinking of switching. "Sometimes it's enough to just order a digital amorteringsunderlag to get your bank to contact you and offer you a better interest rate," Langemark said.
