Hiring a Japanese Chef in Sweden: Work Permits After June 2026

Sweden has no chef visa and no shortage list that helps cooks. What it has is one general work permit with a hard pay floor, and that floor moved sharply in 2026. From 1 June 2026 a new work permit needs a monthly salary of at least 90 percent of the Swedish median, which the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) puts at SEK 34,470 a month from 16 June 2026. For a restaurant, that single number decides whether hiring a chef from Japan is possible at all.

1. What changed on 1 June 2026

Before June 2026, the main pay test was that the salary had to be enough to support the worker, measured at 80 percent of the median. The new rules replace that with a straight salary requirement of 90 percent of the median salary published by Statistics Sweden (SCB) at the time of application. As of 16 June 2026, SCB's median is SEK 38,300, so the requirement is SEK 34,470 a month.

Pay must also still be on par with Swedish collective agreements or normal practice in the trade. If the agreement for your kitchen sets a higher rate, the higher rate applies.

The government can exempt occupations from the salary requirement, in which case 75 percent of the median applies. The current exempt list covers groups such as assistant nurses, welders, forestry workers and butchers. Cooks and chefs are not on it, so a restaurant hiring a chef from Japan has to meet the full 90 percent.

2. The salary requirement in practice

Migrationsverket's definition of salary matters for kitchens, where pay packages often include meals or housing.

• Counts: regular salary, plus supplements for inconvenient working hours and overtime pay if they are recurring and stated in the employment contract.
• Does not count: benefits such as free food and accommodation.
• No combining jobs: one employment must meet all requirements. Two part-time jobs cannot be added together.

So if you planned to offer a lower cash salary plus a staff flat, the flat will not help you reach SEK 34,470. Put the evening and weekend supplements in the contract in writing if you intend to rely on them.

3. What the employer has to do

In Sweden the employer starts the application. You enter the job details in Migrationsverket's e-service, then the chef receives a link and completes their part. Before that, you need to have done the following:

1. Advertise the job for at least 10 days so that anyone in Sweden, the EU/EEA and Switzerland can apply. The usual way is the Swedish Public Employment Service's job portal, whose ads also appear on EURES. Migrationsverket notes that an ad only on LinkedIn or similar channels is usually not enough. Keep the ad ID.
2. Sign the employment contract after the advertising period ends, with both signatures. Migrationsverket suggests a start date that runs from the day the permit is granted, to avoid delays if processing takes longer than expected.
3. Arrange four insurances from the start of employment: health (sickness), life, occupational injury and occupational pension.
4. Let the relevant trade union comment on the terms. You choose the union in the e-service. If the union does not respond, Migrationsverket judges the terms itself.
5. Collect the details you will enter: the chef's name, date of birth, citizenship, education and email; your organisation number; the SSYK occupation code; salary, hours and insurers.

Our guide to writing a job ad for chefs helps you write the advert once and use it both for the Swedish requirement and for reaching Japanese candidates.

4. Extra checks for restaurants

Migrationsverket applies higher investigation requirements to certain industries, and hotels and restaurants (SNI codes starting 55101 and 56) are on that list. A restaurant must be able to show how it will guarantee the chef's pay and that it can pay the salary for at least three months. In practice that means attaching:

• documents showing cash and cash equivalents;
• balance sheet and income statements for the previous and current year;
• the tax account statement for the last three months, if you have employed permit holders before.

A business less than a year old counts as a start-up and has to prove the same three months of salary. Migrationsverket also says that applications in occupations with higher investigation requirements take longer than those for highly qualified workers, so leave time.

5. Permit length, extensions and family

• Length: up to two years per permit, never longer than the employment or the passport.
• Health insurance: if the job lasts one year or less, the chef must also have, or have applied for, comprehensive health insurance covering care, hospitalisation, emergency dental care and medical repatriation.
• Family: a spouse, partner or children under 21 can apply at the same time, and the chef must meet a maintenance requirement for them. New rules for accompanying family members apply from 1 October 2026, so check the current version before filing.
• No working on arrival without a permit: the chef may only come to work after the permit is granted.

6. Hiring for a Stockholm kitchen

Japan's foreign ministry counted 4,911 Japanese nationals in Sweden as of 1 October 2025, of whom 3,659 were permanent residents. It does not publish a separate Stockholm figure. Anyone with Swedish permanent residence, or a residence permit to live with a partner in Sweden, can work without a work permit, so a small part of that community is a hiring pool you can reach with a normal job ad.

Japan and Sweden have also had a working holiday programme since 2020, and Japan's foreign ministry lists no annual cap. A working holiday cook can be a useful short-term addition, but check the current conditions with Migrationsverket before rostering someone full time. For the wider picture, see our guide to working holidays in Europe.

For senior roles from Japan, the budget question comes first. SEK 34,470 a month is a floor for a permit, not a market rate for an itamae who can run a counter, and a permit hire also carries relocation costs. Our relocation package guide and salary comparison help you set the offer.

7. Checklist

1. Confirm the monthly cash salary is at least SEK 34,470 and on par with the relevant collective agreement.
2. Prepare three months of salary evidence, financial statements and (if relevant) tax account statements.
3. Advertise for at least 10 days on the Public Employment Service portal. Keep the ad ID.
4. Sign the contract after the ad closes. Put recurring supplements in writing.
5. Take out the four insurances and check the union consultation step.
6. Start the application in the e-service and send the chef the link.
7. Diarise the permit end date. Extensions can be filed no more than two months before expiry.

Before you advertise, read our employment contract checklist. To reach Japanese chefs during your advertising window, you can post the job on WashokuJob.

General information gathered from official sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. The Swedish salary requirement follows SCB's median and changes each June; confirm current figures with Migrationsverket before applying.