Construction is the sector where Sweden's rules bite hardest: the trades are not on the exemption list, the industry is in the slowest processing category, and every site runs an electronic staff register with ID06 cards. It is still done, by contractors who plan it as a programme. This guide covers the trades, the numbers, the queue and the site rules.
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.
None of the construction trades is on the exemption list, so SEK 34,470 is the floor for a carpenter, a concrete worker or a mason — in most cases close to Byggavtalet's rate for an experienced tradesman, so the rule is less a barrier than a reason to hire skilled people rather than helpers. The union opinion comes from Byggnads, which looks at the pay and the accommodation arrangement carefully.
Construction is one of the industries the Migration Agency flags by SNI code for additional investigation — category D — alongside cleaning, hospitality, personal assistance and staffing companies. Applications are not prioritised and may take longer than the 120-day target; a company established for less than twelve months lands in category D whatever its industry. The practical answer is to file complete, early and in parallel with the Philippine steps, and to plan five to seven months from brief to the first workers on site — timed for a spring start.
A carpenter builds a form from a drawing, a rebar fixer reads a bar schedule and ties a cage, a mason lays to line and level, a scaffolder is assessed on components and safe erection, a painter prepares and finishes a panel — at Prime Search's Makati facilities, watched live. Site-safety behaviour is scored because Swedish sites expect it on day one.
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.
Because the Migration Agency sorts applications by industry code into handling categories and construction is in category D, the group it investigates most closely. It is the same permit with the same salary and collective-agreement rules; only the queue is longer.
No — the 90 % rule applies to every role; a construction helper must also be offered SEK 34,470 and Byggavtalet pay, which is why employers hire skilled trades.
Formwork carpentry, rebar, concrete, masonry, scaffolding, painting, drywall and plant operation; MEP trades on request with the electrical and plumbing trades noting Swedish authorisation rules.
Issued after arrival against the employer's ID06 registration and the worker's identity documents; we schedule it in the first week together with the Tax Agency registration.
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.