Questions and answers

Traditionally the university teacher, and not the university, owns the copyright to teaching or research material. Consequently the university normally may not use the teacher’s copyright-protected material without permission.

No there is no difference. Copyright, and the intellectual property rights of academic staff, apply to both teachers and researchers in the same way.

There is an intellectual property rights of academic staff stated in the Right to Inventions by Employees Act. However there is also such an exception within copyright. This follows a tradition that has been observed for a very long period of time and is described in several government reports.

Yes. If something is to be protected by copyright it must contain a certain amount of independence and originality, what is termed its level of originality. However, requirements concerning independence and originality are not strict and, in practice, most material that is lectured, written, drawn or created in any other way is protected by copyright.
There may be exceptions, see the question If the teacher is paid to work extra hours to create this course material, does this affect copyright?

Yes, in this situation a department, or the equivalent at a university, may have acquired a certain right of use to the teaching material. This applies only, however, if there is an agreement between the teacher and university that the extra fee is payment so that the university will be entitled to use the material. This must always be assessed in each individual case.

As copyright owner, teachers make their own decisions as to whether presentations or other material is put up on the course webpage. It is necessary that the university has gained the permission of the teacher to store the teaching material digitally. Consequently the university may not transfer digital material in any other manner to the students, for example by e-mail. The teacher’s permission is necessary to do this.

According to the intellectual property rights of academic staff, copyright of lectures belongs to the teacher, and the university must obtain the teacher’s permission to put recorded lectures up on the course webpage.

The point of departure is that teachers, as originators, own the copyright to their teaching material. However, copyright can be partially or fully transferred to another party, for example the university. Creating presentations, compendiums etc. lies outside the teachers’ normal teaching duties and, if the university is to have any rights to use this material, an agreement between the teacher and the university is required. On the other hand normal teaching duties do include producing timetables, syllabuses, course information and examining students, and the department or equivalent of the university where the teacher works is entitled to use such material in their own operations.

No. Copyright applies irrespective of the technology used to store the material. Consequently it makes no difference whether the material is on paper or in digital form only – the same preconditions for protection apply. Today material in digital form can be found everywhere, for example on Internet, course websites etc.

Changes, updates, reworking (or similar) of teaching material is only permitted if the owner of the copyright, the teacher, grants approval.

If the university is entitled to use the material for teaching, this does not mean that the university is allowed to make changes to it – the teacher must also be contacted in this case. If there is no permission in place then altering the material is an infringement of the teacher’s copyright.

Students may, according to the private copying regulations in the Copyright Act, record teaching. No permission from the teacher is required. However the right to copy for private use may be limited if the teacher, as a condition of participation in the lecture, states that no recordings may be made. The university may also apply a local recording ban via local regulations.

Students may not then give their recordings to their fellow students or put them up on websites such as Youtube or Facebook. This is the illegal use of the teacher’s copyright-protected lecture and is an infringement of the teacher’s copyright.

The copyright owner, the teacher, determines whether the teaching material is to be copied and who is to receive the copies. However teaching material is normally registered as an official document which means that other teachers or students may request a copy of the course material in accordance with the principal of public access to official documents.

The copyright owner, the teacher, makes all decisions concerning his/her own copyright-protected material. You may hand it over if you wish to but you cannot be compelled to hand over your copyright-protected material to someone else

It is entirely up to you whether you wish to put up your material online. If the university wishes to put the course material online then they must have permission from the copyright owner.

This is not a copyright issue, this is a question of working tasks. Normally a teacher is not duty-bound to allow him/herself to be recorded, however if teachers are employed to supply, for example, distance teaching then there is a duty inherent in their employment conditions.

Please note that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) may also be applicable as this may be an issue of processing of personal data.

SULF recommends that you discuss copyright terms with your employer before recording any lectures or lessons. This may involve such matters as the scope of the university’s right to use the material which is to be used for distance teaching, e.g. recorded lectures, compendia and study assignments, and how the material is to be updated and quality assured. It is SULF’s view that, as a general rule, the intellectual property rights of academic staff apply to materials used in distance education.

If you have any questions regarding copyright and intellectual property issues, please contact the local union representative at your higher education institution.

You can find more information about copyright and the intellectual property rights of academic staff here.

As for anyone else, the Copyright Act is fully applicable for doctoral candidates. If a person has produced material that meets the requirements of originality, that person retains the copyright to the material. The copyright is not affected by the fact that the person who produced the material is a doctoral candidate. What can complicate the issue is copyrighted material may be the result of several people working in collaboration, for example supervisors collaborating with doctoral candidates. If such cases, they share the copyright.

Joint copyright means that copyright holders have rights to the material together. Note that copyright is shared, which means that one party cannot utilise the material unilaterally. A supervisor may not use material which is jointly copyrighted without the approval of the other copyright holders, e.g. doctoral candidates.

The new Act on Responsibility for Good Research Practice and the Examination of Research Misconduct, (SFS 2019:504), defines research misconduct as ’a serious breach of good scientific practice in the form of fabrication, falsification or plagiarism that is committed intentionally or with gross negligence in the planning, performance or reporting of research.’ Other deviations from good research practice are still to be tried by the higher education institution concerned in accordance with Chapter 1, Section 17 of the Higher Education Ordinance, see below.

Advice and support regarding good research practice

Section 16
A higher education institution is to ensure that employees can receive advice and support in matters of good research practice and deviations from such practice. Ordinance (2019:1151).

How to deal with cases of suspected breaches of good research practice

Section 17
A higher education institution is to try all suspected breaches of good research practice that are not covered by the Swedish Act on Responsibility for Good Research Practice and the Examination of Research Misconduct, (SFS 2019:504).
A higher education institution is to establish guidelines for examination of suspected deviations from good research practice. Ordinance (2019: 1151).

Creative Commons is a private, independent and co-financed organisation that claims to be non-profit and to strive for copyright owners to easily access a tool through their licenses that enables them to have a platform and to distribute and share their material without having to give up all the rights that copyright implies. There are four main types of CC licence, whereby the copyright owner allows the use of copyrighted material to varying degrees and for different purposes, depending on the license he or she chooses. If you are considering using a CC licence, you should first ensure that you fully understand the terms and conditions of the licence.

According to the collective agreement for the state sector, (Villkorsavtal-T), you are entitled to leave in order to work at another employer in the state sector for up to two years. This right only applies to a full-time position. Other cases concerning requests for leave of absence for other employment are to be decided on by the employer. My advice is to ask your employer if it would be possible to arrange a 50 per cent leave of absence to pursue this opportunity. Could it perhaps be something your current employer could also benefit from? Try to find good arguments and solutions for how the situation can be resolved in the best way for your current employer too.

You can find more information and advice here.

According to LAS, Section 15, (in Swedish) the employer must give written notice at least one month before the end of your employment period if you have been employed for at least twelve months by the same employer over the past three years. Consequently, you should have received written notice that your employment will be terminated. If you do not receive a new employment contract from your manager as soon as possible, contact your local trade union representative to help you with your situation.

Employment as a substitute is a fixed-term form of employment covered by the Employment Protection Act, (LAS). Therefore, according to LAS, Section 5a, (in Swedish) the substitute position must be converted to a permanent position if you have been employed as a substitute for a total of more than two years over a five-year period.

If your current employment is an ALVA employment position, however, deployment for a period longer than five years when adding up all the different fixed-term contract jobs may be counted as a basis for permanency. When adding up fixed-term employment contracts only ALVA, temporary or seasonal work may be taken into account. For periods to be considered for adding up, there may not be more than 6 months between contracts.

The employment contract you have when the two-year limit is passes will be converted into a permanent position. If it is a full-time position, then the permanent position becomes full-time, if it is a part-time position then the permanent job will be the equivalent part-time position. This is regardless of the extent of your previous employment history.

A decision on holiday scheduling is to be regarded as a legal contract with binding force that the employer cannot unilaterally withdraw from without justification. If this does occur, the employer may be liable to pay damages (according to case law in the Labour Court).

Remaining holidays must be paid at a value of 5.09 percent of the monthly salary per holiday day, including holiday salary supplement. The employer cannot schedule holidays retroactively, and saved holidays can never be scheduled without the employee’s consent, even if you know that an employment period is going to end. If the year’s holiday is scheduled without your agreement, this must occur at least two months in advance. In addition, holidays may not be scheduled during a notice period without employee consent if the notice period is a maximum of six months.

If you have a doctoral candidate employment in accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance, you have the same benefits as other employees, (in accordance with Villkorsavtal-T).

Employees who terminate their employment at a university before taking out all paid holiday days are entitled to be paid holiday compensation by the university if they have not been able to take out all holiday days as free time while employed.

My advice is to check with the HR-department so there is no misunderstanding about the number of days you are entitled to and will be compensated for.

Sometimes the employer argues that you should take all your saved holiday days before the expiration of the employment. Here you can read some more advice if this happens.

A scholarship can never be considered as income on which to base unemployment benefits. However, it may be possible to discount the period on the scholarship if, for example, you have studied (on postgraduate education) or during a postdoc period and have had this period approved as studies by the unemployment insurance fund. Furthermore, your studies must have been full-time and you may only discount five years.

Read about the special regulations concerning unemployment benefits here.

The application form for SULF income insurance, (administrated by Folksam), has to either be sent by e-mail or printed out and sent to Folksam, to the address at the bottom of the application form. It is important that you attach the relevant decision if you are entitled to benefits from Trygghetsstiftelsen or other benefits in addition to Akademikernas a-kassa. Your income insurance will be activated directly after the period of benefits from Trygghetsstiftelsen expires.

Here is some more information about the SULF income insurance.

No. You must choose which income insurance you wish to use.

No. In order to receive payments from income insurance, you must be entitled to income-related benefits from an unemployment insurance fund. This means that you need to have been a member of both SULF and an unemployment insurance fund, (for example Akademikernas a-kassa), for at least twelve months in order to benefit from this insurance.

If you are not yet a member of the unemployment insurance fund, join Akademikernas a-kassa now.

SULF income insurance does not apply if you voluntarily leave your job and this termination results in a non-payment period from
the unemployment insurance fund, (i.e. termination without employer action), which is normal. If, on the other hand, according
to the rules of the Akademikernas a-kassa there are valid reasons for your leaving, there will be no suspension of payments. Read more about valid reasons here.

The new temporary rules mean that the criteria for eligibility to receive unemployment benefit have been relaxed and that the level of compensation has been increased. In addition, the six-day compensation-free qualifying period has been removed. The basic compensation level for people who do not fulfil the requirements for income-related benefit has also been raised to SEK 510 per day before tax. In order to qualify for the full basic compensation level, you must have worked full time for at least one year.

In order to receive the higher level of compensation, income-related benefit, you now need to have been a member of an unemployment insurance fund (a-kassa) for at least three months, (previously twelve months), before you become unemployed. This is known as the membership condition. You must also have worked for at least 60 hours per month, (previously 80 hours), for at least six months. This is known as the employment condition. The highest level of income-related benefit has been raised to correspond to 80 per cent of the previous income up to a ceiling of SEK 33,000 per month for 100 days. The previous ceiling was SEK 25,025 per month.

When do the changes come into effect?

The changes come into effect at slightly different times and the full details are still not yet clear, but it has been confirmed that the new membership condition is applicable from March 1. This means that the earliest qualification date if you joined an unemployment insurance fund in March 2020 under the new membership condition is 1 June. The new increased level of compensation applies from 13 April and the removal of the compensation-free qualifying period is effective from 30 March. The government has announced that the changes will be applicable until 3 January 2021.

Membership of an unemployment insurance fund (a-kassa)

SULF recommends that you join the AEA unemployment insurance fund (link) as soon as possible if you are not already a member, and that you contact them if you have further questions about your unemployment insurance.

The SULF income insurance

As a member, you are also covered by SULF’s income insurance. To be eligible to receive compensation from the income insurance, you must have been a member of SULF for at least 12 months when you become unemployed, be entitled to income-related benefit from the unemployment insurance fund and have had a salary that exceeds the ceiling, which from April 13 is SEK 33,000 per month for 100 days. From day 101 you can receive compensation from the SULF income insurance if you have had an income of SEK 20,900 per month. Our insurance provides compensation for the first 150 days and gives you a total of around 80 per cent of your previous income, including the amount you receive from the unemployment insurance fund. The 150 day period begins on the first day of your unemployment . If your salary does not exceed SEK 33,000 per month but is over SEK 20,900 per month, you can receive compensation from the SULF income insurance for 50 days. Also, see below for information on how to receive compensation from the Job Security Foundation, Trygghetsstiftelsen, if you are eligible.

See here for more about our income insurance.

Supplementary income insurance cover

You can take out a supplementary insurance that covers an additional 150 days here. The supplementary insurance must be taken out no later than 12 months before the first day you become unemployed.

What do you do if you are also entitled to financial support from the Job Security Foundation (Trygghetsstiftelsen)?

If you are entitled to additional support from the Job Security Foundation, you must make an application to the Foundation through our transition agreement. The same applies if you have not worked in the state sector and are covered by another transition agreement, but in that case you apply to another job transition organisation.

If you are only entitled to 44 compensation days from the Foundation, (which applies if you have been employed on a fixed-term contract by the same employer for at least three consecutive years), you should start by applying for compensation at the Foundation. They will reimburse you for the first 44 days and you can then apply for compensation from the SULF income insurance. You can then receive compensation for up to 150 more days, making a total of up to 194 days. If you have taken out the supplementary insurance in time, you can receive compensation for up to a further 150 days through that. (2/4)

According to our central collective agreement, (Villkorsavtal-T, Chapter 13, Section 1), you are entitled to take leave of absence to try another job that is also covered by the same agreement. This includes a large number of jobs within the state sector. The agreement specifies that you have the right to take leave of absence when you have been permanently employed by an employer for at least twelve months. The job you want leave of absence for must be a time-limited contract position. If you are offered a permanent job that starts with a probationary period of six months, you are also entitled to take leave under the same rule.

You may take leave of absence in this manner for up to two years according to the central agreement. However, if you have been offered a fixed-term contract with reference to the Higher Education Ordinance, you may be entitled to a longer period of leave. Jobs that are regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance include doctoral candidate positions
and assistant professor positions.

If you do not meet the requirements described above, you may still be granted leave for up to six months or more according to Chapter 13, Section 3 if the university considers that there are special reasons for this.

If you are employed by a state agency, the central collective agreement Villkorsavtal-T stipulates that you are entitled to leave of absence to take up any fixed-term employment regulated by the Higher Education Ordinance (in Swedish), for example employment as a doctoral candidate. Therefore, if you have been granted a doctoral candidate position, you are entitled to take leave of absence for the entire period of the fixed-term position as doctoral student.

If your permanent position is not in the state sector, you may still have the right to take leave of absence for doctoral studies under the provisions of the Student Leave Act (in Swedish). SULF’s interpretation is that employment as a doctoral candidate counts as education in accordance with Chapter 5, Sections 1 and 2 of the Act, and that you therefore have the right to take leave of absence for the entire period of the doctoral studies. The right to leave in accordance with the Act applies to employees who at the beginning of the leave have been employed by the employer for the previous six months or for a total of at least twelve months during the previous two years. However, the employer has the right to postpone the leave of absence for up to 6 months.

You have the right to appeal to the Higher Education Appeals Board (ÖNH). Your appeal must be made within three weeks of the announcement of the employment decision. The appeal must be made in writing.

If an employment decision is to be upheld against a possible appeal, the university must be able to show that the factors underlying the decision are the same as those presented in the qualification requirements in the advertisement, and that the qualification requirements are relevant in order to be able to carry out the job adequately. A state sector employer is not permitted to change qualification requirements during a recruitment process.

There is no limit, but in the case of a permanent job the processing period is often longer than for fixed-term employment contracts, and a benchmark is at least three weeks. In the case of job appointments where expert assessment is required, which is necessary for lecturer and professor appointments, the period between the final application date and the decision may be several months.

The first thing you should do is read through your employment contract. It is a binding agreement between both parties and may be oral or written. We recommend that you request a written employment contract so that no confusion or misunderstanding arises afterwards. Do not sign it until you have understood the terms of employment and agreed on the salary. Also, find out when the next salary review will take place and if you will be part of it.

The contract is to be signed by both you and your manager and the following information is to be included: The parties’ names, contact details, starting date, place of employment, form of employment, title, salary and any salary benefits and scope of employment.

Holidays, occupational pensions, working hours, notice periods and other terms of employment are usually regulated in collective agreements. The agreement that applies to your particular workplace may be obtained from your employer or your local trade union representative. Within the state, Villkorsavtal- T (in Swedish) applies. There may also be local collective agreements that regulate things like wellness allowances, doctoral candidate salaries or working hours.

If you are planning to start working in a workplace without a collective agreement, then all your terms of employment must be regulated in writing in your employment contract. Get help from SULF to check the contents of your contract by contacting the SULF Membership Helpline.

The question of employment contracts is regulated in the Employment Protection Act (LAS). An employment contract is valid regardless of form, so an oral contract is also binding. However, according to LAS, Section 6c, the employer must submit written information on any conditions that are material to the employment contract or employment relationship to the employee no more than one month after the employee has commenced work. (if the employment is for longer than three weeks). You must also find out which collective agreement applies at the workplace, as this regulates certain employment conditions such as on any conditions
that are material to the employment contract or employment relationship number of your paid holiday days.

More information

Things to consider when changing job
Employment conditions

When you are offered a position, you are entitled to negotiate your salary. You do this with your salary-setting manager. Prior to this negotiation, prepare yourself by thinking about the salary you will request, the lowest salary you are willing to accept and how to justify your salary request. According to the central salary agreement within the state, (RALS-T), salaries are to be individual and differentiated based on the level of difficulty of the tasks, your skills and expected results/performance and the responsibilities you have in your new job.

In order to obtain information about the salary situation at your university and to receive support in your salary negotiation process, contact your local Saco-S representative. They have an overview of local salary and benefit levels and can help you with things like local salary policies and statistics. Salary statistics for the entire country can be found on Saco Lönesök and in SULF’s salary statistics, which are available to SULF members. Before accepting your new salary, also find out when the next salary review will take place and if you will be included in it.

Information about salary level setting.

It depends on what kind of time-limited employment contract you have, i.e. what it says in your employment contract on the line under “Reasons for time limit” or similar. This determines your rights regarding extension of your employment period. The vast majority of time-limited employment contracts among our members are based on one of the following three regulations:

1. The Higher Education Ordinance, HF
2. The Postdoctoral Agreement, (a collective agreement on employment as a postdoc)
3. The Employment Protection Act, LAS

Example 1: According to HF, a doctoral candidate’s employment is always extended on the basis of parental leave. Assistant professor or equivalent positions may also be extended for a maximum of two years.

Example 2: If you are employed according to the postdoctoral agreement
between Saco-S and the Swedish Agency for Government Employers, (Arbetsgivarverket), you are entitled to an extension for the period of your parental leave.

Example 3: Employment according to LAS does not give the right to extension for parental leave, illness or other circumstances. In these cases, It is therefore up to the employer to extend contracts based on needs and finances.

According to the Parental Leave Act 1995:584, an employer has no right to ask about pregnancy nor planned parental leave. For example, Section 16 of the Act states that it is prohibited to disadvantage an applicant because of pregnancy or parental leave. This means that you do not need to raise this with the employer during a job interview. However, there is an obligation to inform employers at least two months before planned parental leave, as well as to indicate how long you plan to be on leave (Section13).

Parental leave to care for a sick child, as well as any other forms of parental leave, gives you the right to extend your doctoral employment if this is necessary in order to complete your doctoral studies. If the employer chooses to adopt another solution, this may constitute a violation of the prohibition against discrimination provisions in the Parental Leave Act, since you will not enjoy the same conditions as a doctoral candidate who has not taken parental leave. We recommend that you raise this issue with your supervisor and head of department/manager and ensure that it is documented in your study plan.

From 2020, the maximum age specified in the Swedish Employment Act (LAS) that gives the right to retain employment, (known as the LAS age), is 68 years. In 2023, this will be raised to 69 years. After the age of 68, you can keep your job, but the employer has the right to terminate your employment without objective grounds and with a shorter notice period.

Discuss the matter with your employer. If you want to stay on and work, this is entirely possible. You may also request changes in work tasks or you may want to reduce your working hours.

The terms of employment under Villkorsavtal-T do not change because you have reached a certain age. This means that you continue, for example, to be entitled to the same number of holiday days as before as well as all the other benefits contained in the agreement. However, indirect conditions may be affected, for example, sickness benefit supplement payable during sick leave, as opportunities for sickness benefits are dependent on the age of the person concerned.

There are conditions in some other collective agreements that are affected after reaching a certain age. Contact your local Saco-S representative or SULF member’s helpline for more information.

If you would like to leave your job, discuss an appropriate date for this, for example if there are tasks that both you and the employer think should be completed after you have passed the age limit. It may feel better to choose to terminate employment yourself by resigning instead of being terminated at the end of a long working life, which may result from not reaching an agreement. Also, consider applying for the start-up of payment of your retirement pension well in advance if this is the case, as it can take up to three months for your pension to be paid out.

The notice period is one month when the age limit has been passed. Before the age limit, two months’ notice period usually applies. It is also possible to agree a different notice period with your employer.

However, if you are covered by the chefsavtalet, (i.e. you are a manager), or have a position where you personally hold certain authorisations, the notice period is three months after the age limit has been passed unless otherwise agreed. Prior to the age limit, a six-month notice period applies.

If the employer wishes to terminate your employment after you have reached the age of 68, there is no longer any need for a substantive basis for dismissal. However, the employer must notify you in writing at least 14 days before the notice of termination is issued. You, and also your local Saco-S Association may request a consultation with the employer about this notification within a period of one week. During such a consultation, discuss whether there are any other alternatives for the employer. This may, for example, include the opportunities to work with other tasks, reduce your working hours to part-time, resign or switch to employment on a fixed-term contract. However, as mentioned above, this dialogue should have been carried out at an earlier stage. If the employer does not change their opinion after consultations, the employer is entitled to terminate your employment, although no earlier than the day you reach the age of 68, (69 from 2023). The notice period is then one month unless otherwise agreed. If you are covered by the chefsavtalet, the notice period is three months.

If you are in this situation and intend to apply for payment of your retirement pension, act quickly so that, hopefully, your pension payments will begin in conjunction with the termination of your employment.  Processing at the Pensions Agency and the National Government Employee Pensions Board, (SPV), can take up to three months.

Because your employment cannot be terminated with the support of the provisions of the Employment Protection Act, LAS, special termination rules apply at a certain age. The current obligation to resign is in force until the end of 2019, i.e. at the end of the month you become 67. Since the transitional provision contained in LAS for other employees does not apply to you, the age of obligatory retirement is increased to 68, (or a later date notified by the employer), as of 1 January, even if your 67^th birthday falls in January 2020. On 1 January 2023, the obligatory retirement age is increased to 69.

If your employment continues and you wish to terminate your employment after the age of obligatory retirement has passed, you have your own special notice period of three months, unlike the six-month period which otherwise applies to such employees.

The Swedish parliament has approved amendments to the Aliens Act and these came into force on 20 July 2021. The new provisions will apply to everyone who applied for a permanent residence permit and did not receive a decision before 20 July 2021.

For researchers and doctoral candidates, the change in the law mainly means that self-sufficiency through work or an own company is required for a permanent residence permit to be granted. No changes have made regarding the requirement of a four-year residence permit for doctoral studies, research or work within a seven-year period, . No requirements regarding knowledge of Swedish language or Swedish society have yet been introduced for permanent residence, but it is likely that such requirements will be introduced later.

In order to be granted a permanent residence permit, it is now required that applicants are also able to support themselves through employment or their own company. As a general rule, employment must be for a period of at least 18 months at the time the decision is made in the opinion of the Swedish Migration Agency, but this time requirement may be tried in court in the future. In some cases, probationary employment may be accepted. Benefits from an unemployment insurance fund cannot be counted as sufficient support to qualify for a permanent residence permit, but certain other benefits, such as sickness benefit and parental benefit, may be counted if they are paid temporarily and during the time you are employed.

Another important change is that accompanying family members over the age of 18 must themselves meet the self-support requirement in order to be granted a permanent residence permit, and they must also have had a residence permit for at least three years. The self-support requirement does not apply to children, but they must have had a residence permit for at least three years in order to be able to obtain a permanent residence permit. If these requirements are not met, a temporary residence permit can instead be granted if you are able to support the family members. In these cases, the self-support requirement is different than in the case of permanent residence, since unemployment benefit and other forms of benefit can also be included.

In addition, you and your family members must intend to live in Sweden and have shown good conduct.

If a permanent residence permit is not granted for the applicant or a family member, a temporary residence permit can still be granted in some cases. This may apply, for example, if a doctoral candidate has not yet completed their doctoral programme, if a residence permit to seek employment for one year after completing studies or research can be granted or if you have been given a temporary job. If you apply for a permanent residence permit but do not meet the requirements according to the Swedish Migration Agency, they should assess whether you can instead be granted a temporary residence permit. However, it is a good idea to contact them and ensure that they make such an assessment.

If you are not granted a new residence permit at all, you can appeal the decision to the Migration Court. In some cases, you can also appeal a decision on a permanent residence permit even if a temporary residence permit has been granted. This applies in cases where the Swedish Migration Agency has rejected your application because they do not consider that you meet the self-support requirement or on the basis of your conduct. You may stay in Sweden while the appeal is being heard, and in most cases you will also be allowed to work during this time.

It is also possible to obtain a permanent residence permit by applying for status as a long-term resident after five years of living in Sweden. If such an application is granted, you will also receive a permanent residence permit. The requirements regarding financial support and more are somewhat different in this case. You can read more about this under the question “Can I apply for long-term resident status?“

We understand that this is a difficult situation for members who are impacted by the change. The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for answering questions about how the new law affects you. Therefore, we primarily refer all questions to the Swedish Migration Agency, as they have an obligation to provide everyone with the service they need. It is also the Agency that makes all decisions about residence permits. Through the questions and answers we have collected on this page, and by arranging seminars, we provide members with information about the regulations so that you can also ask the right questions to the Swedish Migration Agency based on your own situation. This information will also help you to more easily understand the answers you receive from the Agency and to judge whether the answers seem unreasonable or incorrect. If you have questions about matters of principle and which are closely linked to your employment, we can also give individual advice about your situation. In general, in order to receive personal service from the trade union, you must have been a member for at least three months and the problem you have may not have arisen before you became a member.

In addition, SULF works on general level to improve conditions by lobbying politicians and other decision-makers and by influencing opinion on the issue. Read more below under the question “What is SULF doing with regard to permanent residence permits?”.

Permanent residence means you have a right to live and work freely in Sweden during the stated period. It also means that you are entitled to, for example, student loans and grants from CSN.

Previously, you could apply for a permanent residence permit as soon as you had been resident for four years with a permit that qualifies as the basis of a permanent residence permit, (regardless of the expiry date on your current residence permit). In April 2019, the Swedish Migration Board issued a new interpretation of the regulations and now states that applications may only be submitted no more than 14 days before the current residence permit expires.

Several people who had applied earlier have had their applications rejected and must instead submit a new application 14 days before their current permit expires. SULF anticipates that this will lead to problems, as anyone who leaves Sweden during the gap between two residence permits will not be allowed to re-enter the country. This makes it difficult for people to attend conferences or to take other trips abroad. We have raised this issue with the Migration Board, but this is how they currently apply the rule.

Please note that you are still entitled to stay and work in Sweden during the waiting period.

Yes, in some cases. You may add up your time with a residence permit for research studies and time with a work permit. Time with a residence permit as a visiting researcher can also be included, but not time with a residence permit for studies other than doctoral studies.

On what basis should I apply for permanent residence permit? I also have the opportunity to apply due to family ties to another person in Sweden.
If you qualify for a permanent residence permit in more than one way you can state two reasons in your application. The Migration Agency will examine them parallel and select the one that is most advantageous to you. For example,  if  you are able to apply based on your own time in research, but also through family ties with another person who has a permanent residence permit, is a Swedish national or EU/EEA national,  enter both on your application.

From 20 July 2021, every person applying for a permanent residence permit needs to fulfil the criteria. As a result, it is no longer automatic that you will be granted a permanent residence permit if a family member has one. Therefore, it is a good idea to apply for a permanent residence permit individually if you meet the requirements.

To be granted a permanent residence permit, you must have had a residence permit for doctoral studies for at least four years over a seven-year period. If needed, time with a residence permit for work or research can also be included in order to qualify. How the doctoral studies are funded is irrelevant. If you fulfil this qualifying period requirement, The Swedish Migration Agency will assess whether it is also your intention to settle in Sweden, i.e. that you intend to stay in Sweden for some time, and how you have conducted yourself.

From 20 July 2021, it is also required that you are able to support yourself through work or your own company. The regulation states that such work is to have “some duration”. As a general rule, such employment/self-employment must have a duration of 18 months in the opinion of the Swedish Migration Agency, but this time limit may be tried in court in the future.

This new provision applies to anyone who applied for a permanent residence permit and did not receive a decision before 20 July 2021. Income from an unemployment insurance fund cannot be included in this support requirement, although such compensation can be included to qualify for a temporary residence permit in some cases. However, benefits such as sickness benefit and parental benefit can be included if they are paid temporarily during the time you are employed for a sufficient period.

It is also possible to obtain a permanent residence permit by applying for status as a long-term resident after five years of living in Sweden. If such an application is granted, you will also receive a permanent residence permit. The requirements regarding financial support and more are somewhat different in this case. You can read more about this under the question “Can I apply for long-term resident status?“

To be granted a permanent residence permit, you must have had a residence permit for research for at least four years over a seven-year period. If needed, time with a residence permit for work or doctoral studies can also be included in order to qualify. How the research is funded is irrelevant. If you fulfil this qualifying period requirement, The Swedish Migration Agency will assess whether it is also your intention to settle in Sweden, i.e. that you intend to stay in Sweden for some time, and how you have conducted yourself.

From 20 July 2021, it is also required that you are able to support yourself through work or your own company and that this employment/self-employment is to have a duration of at least 18 months. This new provision applies to anyone who applied for a permanent residence permit and did not receive a decision before 20 July 2021. Income from an unemployment insurance fund cannot be included in this support requirement, although such compensation can be included to qualify for a temporary residence permit in some cases. However, benefits such as sickness benefit and parental benefit can be included if they are paid temporarily during the time you are employed for a sufficient period.

If you have been granted a permanent residence permit after being a doctoral candidate for four years, your family can also apply for permanent residence. From 20 July 2021, however, family members are no longer automatically granted permanent permit if you are granted a permit. Each family member must meet the requirements for that and they must also be entitled to a continued residence permit. The requirements are that they are able to support themselves, (this requirement does not apply to children under the age of 18), that they have had a residence permit for at least three years and have shown good conduct, (this requirement applies to anyone over the age of 15).

If your family members do not fulfil the self-support requirement for permanent residence, they can instead be granted a temporary residence permit if you are able to support them. In these cases, the maintenance requirement is different than in the case of a permanent residence permit, as unemployment benefits and forms of support can also be included.

If you have applied for a permanent residence permit or a repeat fixed-term residence permit you may continue to reside in Sweden. If you also have a work permit, you may continue to work here during the period of your application. However do not leave Sweden during the period your application is being processed.

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU and have lived in Sweden without interruption for five years, you can obtain status as a long-term resident in Sweden. This is not the same as a permanent residence permit, but if you are granted long-term resident status, you will automatically also receive a permanent residence permit. No further assessment of whether you fulfil the conditions for permanent residence needs to be made after you have been granted long-term resident status. Having long-term resident status also means that you have greater opportunities to work, study or start your own company in most other EU countries. You can also stay outside Sweden for up to six years if you remain within the EU and in the countries covered by the regulation. Those countries are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. In the event of a more permanent move to one of these countries, you can also transfer your long-term resident status to that country.

To obtain status as a long-term resident of Sweden, you must:

• have lived in Sweden for at least five years without interruption. (Staying outside Sweden for less than six consecutive months and not more than ten months in total during the five-year period is not considered an interruption of the stay.) The qualification period is counted from the date of the decision.
• have had a residence permit or otherwise resided legally in Sweden for the past five years. (A residence permit for visiting or for studies other than doctoral studies cannot be included)
• be able to support yourself and your family financially. Note that this support requirement is not the same as for a permanent residence permit.

Qualification period –
types of residence permit that can be counted

All permits that can lead to permanent residence can be counted when calculating the qualification period. This includes, for example, residence permits for doctoral candidates, researchers or for work. It also includes residence permits through a relationship with a person living in Sweden as well as periods with the right of residence, (for example if you are a British citizen who lived in Sweden before Brexit or if you lived in Sweden with an EU/EEA citizen who had the right of residence) . Time that cannot be counted includes periods with a residence permit for studies other than doctoral studies or, according to the Swedish Migration Agency’s interpretation, periods with a residence permit to apply for work after graduation or completed research. Nor can time spent awaiting a decision on a new residence permit be counted if you are granted a new permit from a later date, i.e. if there is a gap between the permits. According to information from the Swedish Migration Agency, time without a qualifying residence permit means that you must begin a completely new qualification period of five years. They also say that time spent abroad, other than for that which is generally approved, (see above), cannot be counted, even if you have been posted to another country by a state employer during that time . However, these are matters that can be tried in court.

The self-support requirement

With regard to the self-support requirement for status as a long-term resident, the requirements set for a permanent residence permit do not apply. Instead, the provisions that applied before the new legislation came into force on 20 July 2021 continue to apply. An important difference is that the income does not have to come from your own work or own company, as other income can also be included. What is assessed is whether you can be regarded as a burden on the social insurance system and whether your means of support is sufficiently long-term. That means, for example, that unemployment benefit and scholarships can be accepted as forms of future financial support. Another important difference is that you can have your application for long-term resident status approved if you have been wholly or partially supported financially by a family member. However, the Migration Agency does not count private savings as sufficient means of financial support, but it will accept income from yield or interest from such savings.

As far as SULF is aware, there is no clear practice regarding a definition of long-term. The Migration Agency assesses each case individually. However, employment may not be too sporadic or consist of multiple short-term employment periods. New legal precedents may need to be set in order for us to know more about these requirements.

Applications

An application for long-term resident status can be submitted up to two months before your temporary residence permit expires. If you do not already have a permanent residence permit, the Migration Agency will regard your application as an application also for a permanent residence permit. Therefore, you do not need to submit two separate applications. The most important thing is that you must apply before your current residence permit expires.

If you have long-term resident status, you can stay outside Sweden, but within the EU in the countries covered, for up to 6 years. Those countries are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. In the event of a more permanent move to one of these countries, you can also transfer your long-term resident status to that country.

Applying for long-term resident status can therefore be an alternative way to obtain a permanent residence permit if you have lived in Sweden for five years but for some reason do not meet the requirements for being granted a permanent residence permit or citizenship.

If you are a citizen of a country within the EU/EEA, you are covered by the provisions on the right of residence and therefore do not need to apply for a residence permit in Sweden. For example, people who come to Sweden to work or study, (and have means to support themselves), have the right of residence. People who have a right of residence need not apply for a residence permit for doctoral studies or research, nor can such a residence permit be granted. This also applies to family members.

Registration

If you are a citizen of an EU/EEA country, you do not need to apply for a right of residence or contact the Swedish Migration Agency. However, you need to apply for registration with the Swedish Tax Agency. SULF has noted that the Swedish Tax Agency can refuse registration if you are not employed and cannot present proof that you have comprehensive health insurance. This is a situation that should not happen under free movement within the EU, but it can occur due to ambiguities about which member state is responsible for health insurance.

Family members of EU/EEA citizens

If you are a family member of an EU/EEA citizen with a right of residence who lives in Sweden, you also have a right of residence if you live with them. If you are a family member of an EU/EEA citizen, you must apply to the Swedish Migration Agency for a residence card so that you can prove your right of residence. You then do not need a work permit to work in Sweden.

However, family members of Swedish citizens must normally apply for a residence permit to live in Sweden with a Swedish citizen. You can be covered by the right of residence if the Swedish citizen has used the freedom of movement rights within the EU and returns to Sweden.

Permanent right of residence

When you have resided in Sweden with a right of residence for at least five years, you have a permanent right of residence. This also applies to family members of EU/EEA citizens who have had a right of residence for five years. (It is then referred to as a permanent residence card). Contact the Swedish Migration Agency to apply for a permanent right of residence/residence card. You do not have to meet any other requirements than having had a right of residence for five years.

Nordic citizens

If you are a Nordic citizen, you do not need to meet the requirements for either right of residence or a residence permit. You only need to contact the Swedish Tax Agency for registration.

Swiss citizens

If you are a Swiss citizen, special rules apply for residence permits. Neither you nor your family members need a work permit to work in Sweden. However, you must apply for a residence permit if you are to stay in Sweden for more than three months. Swiss citizens cannot be granted special residence permits for studies or research, but you still have the right to study and conduct research in Sweden if you fulfil the requirements for a residence permit. Please note that there are special rules that apply to citizens of Switzerland and their family members. For example, an application can be made free of charge. Contact the Swedish Migration Agency for more information.

Unfortunately, the fact that Swiss citizens cannot be granted residence permits for doctoral studies means that you cannot apply for a permanent residence permit after four years in the same way as other non-EU/EEA citizens. However, after five years, you can apply for long-term resident status.

In some cases, the Migration Court has granted the applicant a PUT even though they did not have a residence permit for doctoral studies for four years. For example, it may be that you have been granted residence permits for master’s studies or for work that were still in force when you started doctoral studies. The court has said that the important thing is the connection to Sweden that the applicant received through his/her doctoral studies, and not the classification of the residence permit. However, there is no guarantee that a PUT will be granted without an individual review.

We have seen that in some cases, the Migration Court has granted the applicant a PUT, despite having been admitted as a doctoral candidate for less than four years. In these cases, the court has said that the doctoral degree comprises 240 higher education credits, i.e. four years of full-time postgraduate studies.

You can apply for a residence permit for 12 months if you fulfil certain criteria, but not for a longer or shorter period. This applies both if you have had a residence permit for studies, including doctoral studies, and if you have had a residence permit for research, (often referred to as guest researcher).

In order to be granted a residence permit to seek employment, you must have completed your studies (and obtained a degree) or your research, be able to support yourself financially and have fully comprehensive health insurance. Please note that , unlike the requirements for a permanent residence permit, the financial support does not need to be from employment or an own company. This means, for example, that unemployment benefits can be sufficient to fulfil the self-support requirement. The requirement for comprehensive health insurance is always met if you have been given have a complete Swedish personal identity number (personnummer).

You can read more about this at the website of Swedish Migration Agency

Resi­dence permit for looking for work after studies
Resi­dence permit after rese­arch

If you believe that you meet the requirements for a permanent residence permit, we recommend that you apply for this instead, because it is a much better residence permit.

SULF recommends that you start preparing now for the introduction of a requirement of a certain level of knowledge of Swedish language and society in the future. There is already a proposal that such requirements be introduced for the acquisition of Swedish citizenship from 1 January 2025. We do not currently know when the requirement will be introduced for permanent residence or what knowledge will be required.

We recommend that you bring up with your manager the question of whether you can get support from your employer to attend training during working hours that will help you reach the requirements.

If you who have had a residence permit for studies (including doctoral studies) or research, you are able to apply for a one-year residence permit in order to be able to seek employment in Sweden. You can find more information about applying for work after studies or research here.

Yes there is!

Even if unemployment benefit cannot be counted toward fulfilling the self-support requirement for permanent residence, you can still receive unemployment benefit if the requirements that apply in order to receive it are met. In the vast majority of cases, you can receive compensation while you are waiting for a decision regarding a residence permit. Also, unemployment benefit can be regarded as fulfilling the self-support requirement that applies for you to be granted a residence permit to seek employment for one year. It may also be sufficient for you to meet the requirement for your family members to continue to have temporary residence.

Perhaps most important reason of all is that unemployment benefit can be counted toward meeting the requirements for being granted long-term resident status, which in turn entitles you to a permanent residence permit. You can find out more about this elsewhere on this page.

As a member of SULF, if you are a member of the unemployment insurance fund you also have income insurance that provides a higher level of higher compensation in the event of unemployment . The qualification period is one year of membership of both SULF and the unemployment insurance fund, and this requirement must be met on the first day you become unemployed. The income insurance included in your SULF membership provides compensation for up to 150 days, but you can also take out a supplementary insurance to cover a further 150 days. This must also have been taken out at least one year before the first day you become unemployed. To find out more, see.

SULF has been very critical of the proposal, which also included language competence requirements, a requirement that has now been removed, but which will probably be introduced later. We have expressed this in various ways, for example in consultation responses and in debate articles.

The requirement regarding the ability to support oneself financially will create major problems for many, because it can be difficult to find a job that lasts for at least 18 months immediately after completion of doctoral studies or research, not least considering how common short fixed-term employment is within higher education. Since the employment duration requirement is to be tested at the time of the decision, there will also be uncertainty as to whether the requirement is met depending on how long the decision process is. The new regulations may therefore result in fewer foreign citizens wanting to or being able to stay in Sweden and contribute to the Swedish economy. There is a danger that we will lose many highly skilled people and that the internationalization of the higher education will become more difficult. Today, a large proportion of both doctoral candidates and people in career-development positions have a foreign background. It is clear that the politicians’ desire to restrict asylum immigration has been the focus rather than how Sweden will be able to retain qualified people, for example, those who complete a doctorate in the country.

SULF will continue to work with this issue in order to, we hope, be able to bring about changes. This, however, will require changes to the law or new legal precedents.

According to LAS, (the Employment Protection Act), if the employee is terminating the employment, one month’s notice period applies if the employment has lasted a maximum of one year. If you have been employed for more than a year, you have a two-month notice period. If you have had other government employment directly before your current position, then the employment
period includes this period too. If the employer agrees, it is possible to have a shorter notice period.

Read more here.

Here is information about the steps you should take when you become unemployed and the benefits you can receive, such as the SULF income insurance. The most important thing is that you register as a jobseeker with Arbetsförmedlingen, (the Swedish Public Employment Service), on your first unemployed working day.

Unemployment insurance is the basis for your income insurance. If you are not a member of the Akademikernas a-kassa insurance fund, the income insurance is not valid at all. You pay the unemployment insurance fee directly to Akademikernas a-kassa. If you would like to check how long you have been a member, log in to Mina sidor.

If you are not yet a member of the unemployment insurance fund, join Akademikernas a-kassa now.

You should start by talking to your manager. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that you have a reasonable workload. Your work task plan can help you to plan your working hours. To achieve balance in your work, the plan may need to be revised. If your manager is not very understanding, you can contact your local Saco-S association and/or health and safety representative, who can provide support in your dialogue with the employer.

You should start by bringing the matter up with your manager. You may have colleagues who feel the same way, in which case you can talk to the manager together and raise the importance of getting the necessary training to be able to work with the new program. If your manager does not agree, you can contact your local Saco-S association and/or health and safety representative for support in the matter. See also Routines below.

Tip: To avoid this type of situation, SULF has put together Routines/checklist for new digital tools in order to support local associations and facilitate dialogue with employers on these issues.

The employer needs to have rules and routines for this type of work environment issue. Is there a policy? Is it applied? You should raise the issue with your manager to find out what the rules are. It sounds like you need to discuss IT availability at your workplace so that you have an agreed position on the matter. Feel free to use our tool for accessibility and suggested guidelines. If you don’t see any improvement or if anything is unclear, you can contact you can contact your health and safety representative and/or your local Saco-S association and/or to start a dialogue.

As a manager, you are expected to be aware of the provisions in the Work Environment Act and the work environment rules that apply in your workplace. It is also common for managers to be given specific work environment duties, such as initiating health and safety inspections and administrating other parts of the systematic work environment routines. To be able to take this responsibility and better understand your role, you need to learn more about work environment issues. You should contact your immediate manager to discuss and plan the training you need for your various roles and responsibilities.

The employer is responsible for the work environment, even when you work at home. You should talk to your manager regularly about your work environment. This means not just the physical work environment and your IT environment, but also how you work and how you feel about your collaboration with colleagues and others you have contact with at work. If you feel that something is not working properly, it is important that you inform your manager, your health and safety representative and/or the local Saco-S association.

Yes, overtime must be ordered or approved retroactively by your immediate manager. You cannot decide yourself to work overtime and then assume that you will receive compensation afterwards. It is important that you document any requests to work overtime so that there is no disagreement later. Overtime pay is regulated in Villkorsavtal-T, a terms and conditions agreement or your local working time agreement.

The full text of Villkorsavtal-T can be found on the Swedish Agency for Government Employers’ website (in Swedish).

You can find the local working time agreements that we have access to here (in Swedish). Search for arbetstidsavtal.

Additional hours is when a part time employee is asked to work more than he or she normally works. For example, if you work 50 per cent part time and are asked to work more, that is additional hours. Additional hours are reimbursed differently to overtime, so check your local working time agreement or Villkorsavtal-T, a terms and conditions agreement.

The full text of Villkorsavtal-T can be found on the Swedish Agency for Government Employers’ website (in Swedish).

You can find the local working time agreements that we have access to here (in Swedish). Search for arbetstidsavtal.

Contact your local Saco-S association or local SULF association and they will help you try to solve the problem. It is important that you are able to show that you have been ordered to work overtime.

Unregulated working time means that you work towards goals and deadlines rather than working a certain number of hours per day, month or year. Unregulated working time gives you a great deal of freedom to plan your own working hours. However, it does not mean that you can ignore meetings that you are called to teaching you are scheduled for. If you have unregulated working time, you are not entitled to overtime compensation. If your manager wants you to change to unregulated working time, the employer must negotiate this with you.

Contact your local union representative and they will help you with this.

Annual working hours is the most common working time for university teachers. It means that you must work a certain number of hours per year. Annual working hours are often used for positions for which working hours vary between different times of the year. If you have annual working hours, you are entitled to overtime.