Republic of Poland vs Kingdom of Sweden
A neutral side-by-side of immigration systems, routes and regulators. Each row links to the underlying visa page with its primary government source.
Last reviewed:
Source basis
This comparison combines Republic of Poland and Kingdom of Sweden government portals with the primary sources for each side's dominant skilled route. Every detailed figure links through to the underlying route or data page.
Reviewed
Primary sources
- Office for Foreigners — Poland
Office for Foreigners (Poland) - verified
- Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket)
Migrationsverket - verified
- MOS Poland — Temporary residence and work permit
Office for Foreigners (Poland) - verified
- Migrationsverket — Employees work permit
Migrationsverket - verified
Republic of Poland
Poland is the largest Central European gap in the current atlas and has meaningful demand from workers, students and neighbouring-country migrants. Residence cases are handled through the Office for Foreigners and voivodeship offices, with work-based temporary residence, work permits and EU Blue Card options forming the core skilled-migration map.
- Official portal
- Office for Foreigners (Poland)
- Languages
- Polish
- Currency
- Polish zloty
Kingdom of Sweden
Sweden's work and residence permits are administered by the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket). The work permit system requires an employer offer meeting minimum salary and insurance conditions. The EU Blue Card (Sweden) targets highly qualified workers. Self-employment, researcher, and student permits round out the system. Sweden offers permanent residence after 4 years of continuous residence on a work permit.
- Official portal
- Migrationsverket
- Languages
- Swedish
- Currency
- Swedish krona
How Republic of Poland and Kingdom of Sweden differ
| Dimension | Republic of Poland | Kingdom of Sweden |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 3 | 4 |
| Routes without employer sponsor | 1 | 1 |
| Routes leading to permanent residence | 3 | 3 |
| Typical full settlement timeline | — | Employee permit -> permanent residence after 4 qualifying work years in 7; self-employed permit -> possible permanent residence after 2 qualifying years; citizenship is a separate residence-based step. |
| Dominant skilled visa | Temporary residence and work permit | Work Permit (Arbetstillstånd) |
| Skilled visa salary minimum | — | SEK 34,470/month |
| Skilled visa processing time | — | For initial highly qualified employee cases, the Swedish Migration Agency reports that 75% of complete applications are decided within 1 month and incomplete applications within 2 months. |
| Skilled visa government fees | — | A Swedish employee work-permit application costs SEK 2,200 for the principal applicant. |
| Official languages | Polish | Swedish |
| Currency | Polish zloty | Swedish krona |
| Primary regulator | NRA | Advokatsamfundet |
| Policy changes (last 12 months) | 0 | 0 |
Skilled-route head-to-head
Comparing each country’s most-used skilled-migration route side by side.
Republic of Poland
Temporary residence and work permit
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- —
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Kingdom of Sweden
Work Permit (Arbetstillstånd)
- Salary minimum
- SEK 34,470/month
- Government fees
- A Swedish employee work-permit application costs SEK 2,200 for the principal applicant.
- Processing time
- For initial highly qualified employee cases, the Swedish Migration Agency reports that 75% of complete applications are decided within 1 month and incomplete applications within 2 months.
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Routes unique to Republic of Poland
Routes unique to Kingdom of Sweden
Visa routes side by side
Republic of Poland (3)
Temporary residence and work permit
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · More than 3 months and up to 3 years.
Temporary residence for highly skilled work (EU Blue Card)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Temporary residence permit; validity depends on the job and decision.
Temporary residence for business activity
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Temporary residence permit; usually up to the statutory temporary-residence maximum.
Kingdom of Sweden (4)
Work Permit (Arbetstillstånd)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Up to 2 years initially, limited by the employment contract and passport validity; extendable for up to 2 years at a time.
EU Blue Card (Sweden)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · At least 9 months and up to 4 years; renewable.
Self-Employment Permit (Eget företag)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Up to 2 years initially, limited by passport validity; at the extension stage, permanent residence can be requested after at least 2 qualifying years.
Student Residence Permit (Uppehållstillstånd för studier)
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 1 or 2 years depending on the institution and programme; never longer than the studies or passport validity.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, Republic of Poland or Kingdom of Sweden?+
Republic of Poland’s Temporary residence and work permit is the dominant skilled route; Kingdom of Sweden’s Work Permit (Arbetstillstånd) requires SEK 34,470/month. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This comparison is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the page for the compiled head-to-head table and use the country-comparisons JSON endpoint to retrieve the indexed pair, destination profiles and underlying source datasets.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "Republic of Poland vs Kingdom of Sweden immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/poland/vs/sweden. Last verified 27 June 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons