For Swedish engineering companies the salary rule is the whole question, and it is decided by SSYK code: welders and heavy plate workers are on the Government's exemption list at 75 % of the median, CNC machine-tool operators are not. This guide puts the numbers next to the codes and explains how we test and deliver both profiles.
Since 1 June 2026 a work permit requires pay of at least 90 % of the Swedish median salary — SEK 34,470 a month for applications received from 16 June 2026, when the median became SEK 38,300 — and never below the collective-agreement rate for the role. Occupations on the Government's exemption list need 75 %, SEK 28,725. The requirement is tested at application and again at every extension against the figures and the list in force on that day; an occupation that leaves the list reverts to 90 % at the next extension. Extensions of permits granted before 1 June 2026 keep the old 80 % test until 1 December 2026.
Welders weld coupons to your welding procedure at Prime Search's Makati workshop — MAG plate in PF, TIG root and MMA fill on pipe where you need it — bend or macro tested, with drawing reading and measuring; CNC candidates write and run a programme on a Fanuc or Siemens control, set tools and offsets and inspect the first-off to the drawing. You watch live and interview the same day. Formal coding to EN ISO 9606-1 is completed in Sweden on arrival; pre-testing on your parameters is what makes it routine.
Engineering workshops normally fall in the Migration Agency's category C; with the advertisement, union opinion (IF Metall), insurance and offer complete, three to five months from brief to arrival is realistic — the embassy appointment in Manila and the Philippine exit steps set the pace. The first permit is tied to your company and the occupation for two years, which in practice makes the welders you train yours.
Recruitment runs through our own DMW-licensed agency, Prime Search Manpower Agency Inc. in Makati (licence DMW-027-LB-11182024): your company is accredited at the Migrant Workers Office in London, which has jurisdiction for the Nordic countries, the job order is registered with the DMW, and every worker leaves Manila with a verified contract, medical clearance, pre-departure orientation and an Overseas Employment Certificate. Recruitment follows the employer-pays principle: no applicant pays for an interview, a trade test or a place on a shortlist. Your company is the employer from day one; we never employ or lease the workers.
Everything here is subject to the Aliens Act and Aliens Ordinance as amended, the Swedish Migration Agency's salary requirement and exemption list in force, the collective agreement for the sector and Philippine DMW rules.
Not under the list in force in 2026: 7223 is not listed. We check the list on the day of filing and before every extension; if it changes, the salary line changes with it.
Only if the occupation is still listed on the day of the extension application; otherwise 90 % applies. We build the extension check into the programme calendar.
EN ISO 9606-1 coding is done in Sweden on your parameters; we pre-test to the same parameters in Manila, which gives high first-attempt pass rates but is not a substitute for the coding.
Five to thirty per round is normal for engineering employers; shipyards and heavy fabricators have taken more in waves.
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.