News

Photo:The Woodland Cemetery ,Stockholm by Cecilia Larsson Lantz/Imagebank.sweden.se

Here are three tips for this Halloween Weekend in Sweden:

1. Shockholm
Europe’s largest Halloween Parade Creative Festival, held annually in Stockholm.

https://www.visitstockholm.com/events/shockholm-halloween-parade-creative-festival/next/

2. Brunnsviken Lights Festival 2024
A torchlight procession around the shores of Brunnsviken Bay, Stockholm, to brighten the November darkness.

https://www.visitstockholm.com/events/the-light-festival-in-brunnsviken/next/

3. All Sainthttp://See https://www.visitstockholm.com/events/the-light-festival-in-brunnsviken/next/ Night
Your local cemetery will be a beautiful sight this Saturday, fully aglow as people remember lost loved ones.
https://sweden.se/culture/celebrations/all-saints-day-in-sweden

Have a great Halloween weekend 🙂

Relocate to Sweden provides expert advice and hands-on help for companies recruiting internationally or transferring staff to Sweden. Email us at info@relocatetosweden.com or call us on +46 8 361011 for more information. You can also read more about our relocation services at www.relocatetosweden.com or follow us on social media for tips and advice

A new pilot scheme has been launched to speed up passport control checks for employees and students applying for residence permits for studies and work.

A Digital Passport Check e-service has been developed so that visa-free students and workers can avoid time-consuming and sometimes expensive trips to a foreign authority to show their passports. It will also save money and time for the foreign authorities, and is good for the environment.

Visa-free nationals from 23 countries will be able to have their passports checked digitally using the identification app Freja. Applicants will be able to download an app, scan their passport and do a facial recognition to identify themselves for their applications for residence permits for studies and work, says Fredrik Larsson, expert at the Swedish Migration Agency’s foreign unit.

The Swedish Migration Agency will be at the technological forefront from a global perspective when the first offers for digital passport control are sent out in the last week of May.

The offer of digital passport control will go out in the form of an automatic email within a couple of days of an online application for a work permit or study permit. The email contains a personal link to the e-service which is valid for one week and the short response time is important so as not to delay the processing.

In connection with the launch, the Swedish Migration Agency is also sending the offer to all people – who are covered by the pilot – and who have made an application in 2024 but have not yet shown their passport.

The 23 countries included in the pilot for digital passport control are

USA
CANADA
BRAZIL
MEXICO
AUSTRALIA
UK
NEW ZEALAND
HONG KONG
TAIWAN
JAPANESE
SOUTH KOREA
CHILE
SINGAPORE
MALAYSIA
NORTH MACEDONIA
GEORGIA
UKRAINE
ARGENTINA
COLOMBIA
PERU
ALBANIA
SERBIA & MONTENEGRO
BOSNIA & HERCEGOVINA

For more information about fast and efficient assistance with work permit applications please do not hesitate to contact us at info@relocatetosweden.com.

Relocate to Sweden provides expert advice and hands-on help for companies recruiting internationally or transferring staff to Sweden. We help your international recruits with the entire relocation process including immigration, home finding, tax consultancy, registration with Swedish authorities, schools, health care and intercultural training. We also provide private relocation services. Email us at info@relocatetosweden.com or call us on +46 8 361011 if you would like help. You can also read more about our relocation services at www.relocatetosweden.com or follow us on social media for tips and advice

With the Ascension Thursday holiday weekend approaching, help your international colleagues understand Swedish commitment to work-life balance, holidays and the concept of Squeeze Days (klämdagar).

Optimizing and scheduling around Swedish public holidays and key holiday periods are just some  of the many useful topics covered in Working in Sweden; The A-Z Guide, Essential reading for anyone new to Sweden and Swedish work culture, the guide covers all the important information you won’t find in your company’s official personnel handbook, from consensus culture and flat hierarchies through to Swedish habits, norms and social codes. It’s the perfect onboarding guide for professionals relocating to Sweden, guaranteed to save a lot of time and energy figuring out why Swedes do things the way they do.

Anne Pihl and Sofi Tegsveden Deveaux discussing the guide on TV4 Nyhetsmorgon

Written by Sweden experts Sofi Tegsveden Deveaux and Anne Pihl, founder of Relocate to Sweden, with 25 years experience of living in Sweden and extensive experience of helping internationals relocate and settle in Sweden, the guide is an easy and fun read, used by major international companies and relocation companies alike. Currently on its second edition, a Swedish version “Jobba i Sverige; Svensk arbetsplatskultur A-Ö” has also been published.

How to order

The guide is available at book websites such as Akademibokhandel, Amazon, Bokus etc. as well as publishers LYS Förlag and is now also available in Stockholm libraries.

Intercultural communication training

We also provide training in Swedish work culture and intercultural skills:

• Workshops
• Customised courses
• Individual mentoring
• Online training

Please contact us at info@relocatetosweden.com if you would like more information.

Have a great long weekend 🙂

Relocate to Sweden provides expert advice and hands-on help for companies recruiting internationally or transferring staff to Sweden. We also offer private relocation services. Email us at info@relocatetosweden.com or call us on +46 8 361011 for more information. You can also read more about our relocation services at www.relocatetosweden.com or follow us on social media for tips and advice.

Valborgsmässoafton or simply “Valborg” (Walpurgis Night in English) is part of the Swedish cultural events calendar and is celebrated on the last day of April, followed by the public holiday of May Day on May 1^st.

Where does the name come from?

The night is named after a British Saint and is celebrated all over Europe, but ironically, it’s not widely known or celebrated in the UK.  Walpurgis Night is the English translation of Walpurgisnacht, one of the Dutch and German names for the night of 30th April, the eve of the feast day of Saint Walpurga,  an 8th-century English woman who moved to Germany to evangelize the  Germans, became an abbess and was canonized in 870 by Pope Adrian II. Walpurgis Night is the name for the eve of her day, which coincides with May Day.

Witches night

The night is also called Hexennacht in German or heksennach in Dutch, literally “Witches’ Night”. As with most European traditions, Walpurgis Night has its roots in ancient pagan customs and festivals. The original pagan festival heralded the onset of the growth season. It attempted to ward off evil, ensure fertility and cleanse the land of the dried and dead of winter.

How to celebrate

The classic way to celebrate Valborg is around a bonfire, usually organised in a common space by local municipalities. The bonfire also helps Swedes keep warm as nights are still chilly at this time of year. If you are lucky, there will also be a local choir singing traditional Swedish songs and even some fireworks. It’s common to meet up with friends for dinner before heading over to the nearest bonfire. It’s also a great way to take the temperature on your local neighbourhood and feel a sense of community by bumping into people you know, half- know or just recognize, and stopping for a spontaneous chat – atypical Swedish behaviour that is totally acceptable on Valborg!

Where to celebrate

One of the biggest and oldest Walpurgis celebrations in the country is hosted at Stockholm’s famous outdoor museum Skansen. Any students looking for a party, or visitors keen for a taste of the ‘real’ Valborg, should head to Uppsala. Events there range from raft racing  along the city’s Fyris River to a “donning of the caps” ceremony which signals spring, as well as choirs and bonfires. University city Lund is also a great place to celebrate Valborg with an all- day folk festival at city park “Stadsparken”.

Party night

This Swedish annual celebration of spring is usually a big party night, especially for young people. For many Swedish teenagers, this night is their first experience with alcohol and underage binge drinking is common. Valborg is also the Swedish King’s birthday (Carl XVI Gustaf), but that’s just coincidence!

Enjoy!

Credits: Aline Lessner/imagebank.sweden.se

Relocate to Sweden provides customised assistance for all your staff’s relocation and on-going support needs, including help with work permits and extensions, accommodation, local registration, schools and intercultural training. Read more about our relocation services at www.relocatetosweden.com or follow us on social media for tips and advice. You can also email us at info@relocatetosweden.com or call us on +46 8 361011 for more information.

Easter is a wonderful time in Sweden and in many ways the easiest of annual celebrations;  The focus is on relaxation and food and there isn’t a long list of customs to observe, or presents to buy.

How to do Swedish Easter

Wondering what you should do, make and serve to celebrate Easter Swedish- style? From Easter witches (Påskkärringar) to Easter food, you will find all the details you need at the following link

Easter in Sweden | Official site of Sweden

3 rookie mistakes to avoid if you are new in Sweden

Watch out for the following common mistakes if you are celebrating Easter in Sweden for the first time:

1. Which day to celebrate
Easter is celebrated on Holy Saturday in Sweden i.e. the day before Easter Sunday. Swedes celebrate on the eve of most big celebrations, such as Christmas Eve and Midsummer Eve

2. Holiday planning
There are geographical differences in the scheduling of school Easter holidays in Sweden. Stockholm and Gothenburg, for example, have Easter holidays the week after Easter whilst Malmö and Örebro have holidays this week i.e. the week before Easter.

3. Supplies
Get stocked up with sweets on Maundy Thursday (28th March, Skärtorsdagen in Swedish) to prepare for any Easter witches who may ring your doorbell looking for treats. These witches are called Påskkärringar and it’s a Swedish tradition for kids, similar to trick or treating at Halloween.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Photo credit: Lena Granefelt/imagebank.sweden.se

Relocate to Sweden provides customised assistance for all your staff’s relocation and on-going support needs, including help with work permits and extensions, accommodation, local registration, schools and intercultural training. Read more about our relocation services at www.relocatetosweden.com or follow us on social media for tips and advice. You can also email us at info@relocatetosweden.com or call us on +46 8 361011 for more information.

Here are the key announcements made yesterday at a press conference to present the findings of the Swedish Government’s enquiry on changes to labour immigration. Changes are proposed to take effect from June 1st, 2025.

1. Raised minimum salary level
A new salary threshold of 34 200 SEK per month (to equal the median salary in Sweden) has been proposed. Exemptions for certain skilled workers may be permitted.

2. Exclusion of specific professions
Employment in certain professions will no longer be valid grounds for work permits.

3. Promote highly skilled workers
A range of proposals have been made to facilitate work permits for the highly skilled.

4. Comprehensive health insurance
CHI proposed as a requirement for all work permits valid for less than twelve months.

5. Tighter controls
Increased fines for employing someone without a valid permit and mandatory reporting for employers to The Swedish Migration Agency if a work permit holder’s employment is terminated or not commenced.

Questions about full details of the proposed changes and how this might affect your international talent’s work permits? Please contact us at info@relocatetosweden.com

Relocate to Sweden provides expert advice and hands-on help for companies recruiting internationally or transferring staff to Sweden. We help your international recruits with the entire relocation process including immigration, home finding, tax consultancy, registration with Swedish authorities, schools, health care and intercultural training. We also provide private relocation services. Email us at info@relocatetosweden.com or call us on +46 8 361011 if you would like help. You can also read more about our relocation services at www.relocatetosweden.com or follow us on social media for tips and advice.