Kompetensutvisning: Sweden's Talent Deportation Problem and How to Avoid It

In 2016 and 2017, Swedish news reported skilled workers, many of them software developers, losing their right to stay over errors made by an employer, sometimes a former one. In December 2016, The Local reported that 16 current IT specialists at a large Stockholm tech company could run into problems extending their work permits, because occupational pension or health insurance had not been arranged for some staff before September 2013. The gaps were in the employer's paperwork, not in anything the workers did. Swedish media call this kompetensutvisning, roughly "talent deportation": skilled workers refused an extension, or losing their permit, because a condition of the permit was not met, often through the employer's mistake. This article explains what the term covers, what the rules from 1 June 2026 changed, and what HR teams can check to lower the risk for their employees.

What Is Kompetensutvisning?

Kompetensutvisning is not a legal term. It is the name used in Swedish debate for cases where a skilled worker with a real job is refused an extension, or loses the permit, because one of the permit's conditions was not met. The mechanism is simple: the terms the permit was granted on (salary, insurances, the job itself) are checked again at the extension, and for years even small shortfalls caused by the employer led to refusals.

A law change in December 2017 let Migrationsverket skip revoking a permit when the employer had corrected the mistake on its own, and since 1 June 2022 the Aliens Act has said a permit need not be revoked in minor cases, or where revoking it would not be reasonable. Deliberate abuse is never treated as minor, though, and the burden of getting the terms right every month still sits with the employer.

How the rule on small mistakes developed

From	What the rule says
December 2017	A permit need not be revoked if the employer corrected the mistake on its own before Migrationsverket acted
1 June 2022	A permit need not be revoked in a minor case, or where revocation would not be reasonable (utlänningslagen 7 kap. 7 e §)
1 June 2026	The bill behind the 90% salary requirement says minor deviations can be a salary slightly below the requirement, or below it for a short time; a reasonable explanation and terms that will clearly be met going forward count in the assessment
Throughout: mistakes made to abuse the rules are never treated as minor

The 2026 bill is Prop. 2025/26:87, the same law that raised the salary requirement to 90% of the median. It did not change the minor-case rule itself.

Cases reported in the news

A large tech employer, 2016. According to The Local (December 2016), 16 current IT specialists at a large Stockholm tech company, and 25 former employees who had moved on to other employers, could face problems at their permit extensions because occupational pension or health insurance had not been arranged for some staff before September 2013. The gap was in the employer's paperwork, not in the workers' conduct.

A developer in Stockholm, 2016 to 2017. An app developer working in Stockholm had an extension refused because a previous employer had forgotten to take out occupational pension insurance for him. The Migration Court in Stockholm upheld the decision in May 2017 in a split ruling: two of the four members would have let him stay, but the chair had the deciding vote. By October 2017 Swedish Radio reported that he had left Sweden.

A graduate in Malmö, 2016. A former student who came to Sweden in 2010 had a job at an exchange bureau in Malmö when the Migration Court in Malmö refused his work permit in 2016. He had found the job through a professional networking site, and the court held that it had not been shown that the vacancy was visible to jobseekers across the EU (for example through Arbetsförmedlingen, which would also have put it on the EU job portal EURES). His appeal failed and he had to leave Sweden in May 2016. In August 2016 Swedish Radio reported that he had found a new job in Sweden and was waiting abroad for a decision on a new permit.

Where the gaps come from

The post-approval period, up to two years between when a permit is granted and when it is next reviewed, is where kompetensutvisning cases typically originate. During this window:

• Salaries can drift below the threshold due to reclassification, unpaid leave, or bonus changes
• Pension insurance coverage can lapse if employers switch providers and fail to update records
• Role titles can change in internal HR systems without a new permit being filed
• A move to another legal entity, for example after a merger, counts as a change of employer and needs a new permit

Migrationsverket can run follow-up checks during the permit period, but most of these issues surface at the extension application, when payslips and insurance records for the whole period are reviewed. By then the gap cannot be undone, and the worker is left with a refusal and a three-week window to appeal.

The rules from 1 June 2026 also raise the stakes for employers. The special fee (särskild avgift) for employing someone without the right to work has doubled to two price base amounts, or four if the work lasted more than three months. Two new crimes, exploitation of foreign labour and trading in work permits, carry up to two years in prison (four if the crime is gross). And Migrationsverket can now refuse work permits where the employer is suspected or convicted of certain crimes, or has been charged the special fee or tax surcharges. Compliance failures now carry risk for the company, not just the individual.

What HR Teams and Employees Can Do

For HR teams:

• Audit salary compliance at least quarterly. Cross-check every sponsored employee's actual monthly salary against the permit-specific threshold. This includes pension insurance, not just gross pay.
• Flag role changes immediately. Any change in job title, responsibilities, or working hours that would be material to Migrationsverket must trigger a permit review. Use an internal change request process that routes to the immigration team.
• Track permit expiry 6 months out. The extension can be submitted at the earliest two months before the current permit expires, and must be submitted before it expires. Use the months before that to gather documents and check the terms.
• Review pension insurance at every provider change. When your company switches pension providers, audit the coverage for every permit-sponsored employee explicitly.
• Keep a permit ledger by employee. Record permit type, expiry, salary threshold, and last compliance check date in a central system, not just in email threads.

For international employees:

• Know your salary threshold and check your payslip against it every month
• Request written confirmation from HR that your permit is in compliance whenever your role or pay changes
• If your extension is refused, the decision explains how to appeal and by when (the general time limit for appealing an authority's decision is three weeks). The decision also says whether you may stay in Sweden while the appeal is considered, so get specialist help quickly

Frequently Asked Questions

What does kompetensutvisning mean?

Kompetensutvisning is Swedish for roughly "talent deportation": skilled workers with a real job who are refused an extension, or lose their permit, because a condition of the permit was not met, often through the employer's mistake. It is a term from public debate, not from the law.

Can kompetensutvisning happen even if the employer is acting in good faith?

Yes. Reported cases show that an error made by a previous employer could lead to a refusal at the extension, even when the current employer was fully compliant. Since 1 June 2022 a permit need not be revoked in minor cases or where revoking it would not be reasonable, but that is an assessment, not a guarantee. Getting salary and insurances right every month is still the only safe approach.

What are the June 2026 changes to Swedish work permit law?

From 1 June 2026, a work permit needs a salary of at least 90% of the Swedish median, the special fee for employing someone without the right to work has doubled, two new crimes (exploitation of foreign labour and trading in work permits, up to two years in prison or four if gross) have been introduced, and Migrationsverket can refuse permits because of the employer's own record, such as certain crimes, special fees or tax surcharges.

How long after permit approval does compliance risk exist?

For the whole permit period, which is up to two years per work permit. The gaps behind the reported cases arose after approval, when pay, the role or the insurances changed, and surfaced when the extension was checked.

Has kompetensutvisning ended in 2026?

Not completely. Since 2022 a permit need not be revoked in minor cases, and the June 2026 bill describes small or short salary shortfalls as such cases, but larger or repeated failures, and anything done to abuse the rules, can still lead to a refused extension or a withdrawn permit.

What counts as a minor case?

The law doesn't list amounts. The government's bill gives examples such as a salary slightly below the requirement or for a short time, with an explanation and a clear sign the terms will be met in future.

What is the salary threshold for Swedish work permits in 2026?

For applications from 16 June 2026 the salary must be at least 90% of the Swedish median, SEK 34,470 a month, and also on par with the collective agreement or what is normal in the occupation. Some exempt occupations and groups need 75% (SEK 28,725). People who got their first permit under the old rules and apply to extend it by 1 December 2026 need at least 80% of the median (SEK 30,640); extensions registered from 2 December 2026 need the 90% level. Employers must keep the salary at the agreed level throughout the permit, not just at the point of application.

Related terms

• Särskild avgift: the employer's sanction fee.
• SSYK code: the occupation code that sets which salary level applies.

How Settio keeps permits on track

Most permit problems start with a date or a salary nobody was watching. Settio helps employers and immigration agencies watch both, for every person, before they move, after they arrive and at every renewal:

• Permit and salary monitoring tracks every expiry date and the salary each permit was granted on, and turns a dip or a missing month into a follow-up step with an owner.
• Plans for every case, from the first application to the extension, with each deadline counted for you.
• Your whole international workforce at a glance: import the people already on permits and see their risks in minutes.

Try it with your own people: see how to start for free.

Sources

17 official sources

• Riksdagen: Prop. 2025/26:87 Nya regler för arbetskraftsinvandring
• Migrationsverket: New work permit rules in force (1 June 2026)
• Migrationsverket: Lönekrav för arbetstillstånd (salary requirement)
• Migrationsverket: Extending an employee's work permit
• Migrationsverket: The employee has been granted a permit (follow-up checks)
• Migrationsverket: Changes in the employment
• Migrationsverket: The employee's application was refused
• Prop. 2016/17:212: Not revoking a permit when the employer has corrected the error on its own
• Riksdagen: Utlänningslag (2005:716), 7 kap. 7 e § (minor cases, since 1 June 2022)
• Riksdagen: Prop. 2021/22:134 Skärpta och förbättrade regler om arbetskraftsinvandring
• Förvaltningslagen (2017:900) 44 §: three weeks to appeal
• The Local: Tech heavyweights back developer told to leave Sweden (26 September 2016)
• The Local: IT specialists could lose their work permits (19 December 2016)
• The Local: Star developer loses fight against deportation from Sweden (16 May 2017)
• Sveriges Radio: App developer leaves Sweden after seven years (5 October 2017)
• The Local: Graduate who found his job online must leave Sweden (May 2016)
• Sveriges Radio: Sweden criticised for LinkedIn deportation (19 August 2016)