What Happens to a Work Permit When Employment Ends in Sweden

The employer's notification obligation

When a work permit holder's employment ends — for any reason — the Swedish employer is legally required to notify Migrationsverket. This obligation applies regardless of whether the employee is being dismissed, made redundant, resigns voluntarily, or the fixed-term contract expires. Failure to notify is a compliance breach that can affect the employer's future ability to sponsor work permits.

How and when to notify

Notification must be submitted through the Migrationsverket employer portal within a reasonable timeframe after the employment ends. Swedish practice treats "reasonable" as within a few working days. There is no grace period of weeks.

The notification requires:

• The employee's name and Migrationsverket case number
• The date employment ended
• The reason for termination (voluntary resignation, employer-initiated, contract expiry)

What happens to the work permit after notification

A work permit is tied to the employer that sponsored it. Once Migrationsverket receives the termination notification, the permit is typically revoked — the employee no longer has a legal basis to work in Sweden under that permit. The employee has a grace period (usually 30–90 days depending on circumstances) to either find a new employer and submit a new work permit application, or leave Sweden.

During this grace period, the employee can legally remain in Sweden but may not work without a new valid permit or pending AT-UND from a new application.

Redundancy situations

When a work permit holder is made redundant as part of a restructuring, HR should be aware of the following:

• The employee's right to notice pay and severance under Swedish employment law (LAS — lagen om anställningsskydd) applies in exactly the same way as for any other employee. Work permit status does not reduce employment protections.
• If the employee is within their notice period, they retain the right to work during that period — the permit is still valid until Migrationsverket processes the termination notification.
• Support the employee in understanding their options: a new job search, a new employer-sponsored application, or departure. Some employers provide outplacement support specifically tailored to international employees.

Voluntary resignation

When a work permit holder resigns to move to a new employer in Sweden, the notification process is the same. However, the employee and the new employer should have the new work permit application submitted and ideally approved before the resignation takes effect — or the employee risks a gap period where they cannot legally work.

What not to do

• Do not delay the Migrationsverket notification to give the employee more time. This creates a compliance record against the employer.
• Do not continue paying salary after the permit has been revoked and assume this extends the right to work — it does not.
• Do not advise the employee to stay in Sweden without a valid permit or pending application. The employer has no authority to authorise continued stay.