SWEDEN OFFICE

About Pentasia Sweden
Pentasia started its focus on Sweden in summer 2006 and has from there on also been targeting Norway, Denmark and Finland. It has shown that this was a successful move into the Scandinavian gaming market and a further recruitment has been done to keep up with the demand of popular Scandinavian candidates.

For further information please contact:
Ulrika Dykstra
Head of Scandinavian Market
+46 (0) 850 901 249
ulrika.dykstra@pentasia.com

Facts about Sweden

• Capital: Stockholm.
• Population: 9 million inhabitants
• Languages: Swedish
• Form of government: Constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy.
• Parliament: The Riksdag, with 349 members in one chamber.
• Religion: 82% belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden.
• Average life expectancy: men 77 years, women 82 years.
• Most important export goods: Paper products, electrical and computer equipment, motor vehicles, machinery, chemical products, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, foodstuffs.
• Most important imported goods: Petroleum products, motor vehicles and accessories, machinery, electrical and computer equipment, foodstuffs, textile products, footwear.
• The monetary unit in Sweden is the krona (plural "kronor") and equals 100 öre.

Sweden is the third largest country in Western Europe. Because of its long, narrow shape and northerly location, the landscape is highly diversified.

The ever-varying Swedish coastline stretches for thousands of kilometres, from Haparanda on the Finnish border high up in the Gulf of Bothnia, all the way to Norway and the North Sea to the west.

Sweden has majestic mountains and glaciers, as well as wide-open countryside, interspersed by small idyllic villages and vibrant cities such as the capital, Stockholm.

Stockholm is one of the world's most beautiful cities, splendidly spread out over fourteen islands in the interlock between Lake Mälaren and the magnificent Stockholm Archipelago seascape with its over 24.000 islands. Stockholm is the Nordic regions largest city with historic and cultural grandeur unparalleled in Northern Europe.

Visas, work and residence permits
You must have a work permit in order to work in Sweden. Once you have been granted a permit, it must be entered into your passport before your arrival.

Obtaining a Swedish work permit is no easy matter. Swedes, foreign citizens already living in Sweden and EU/EEA citizens have preference over others in obtaining work here.

If there is a temporary shortage of labour, or if you have obtained employment as part of an international exchange programme, the Migration Board may grant you a work permit.

If the offer of work is for more than three months you will also require a Swedish residence permit.

A specialist employed by an international concern and travelling to and from Sweden in that capacity in order to work for temporary periods does not require a work permit. This applies if total duration of stay in Sweden is less than 12 months.

If you will be in Sweden for less than three months, you will not require a residence permit. You may, however, require an entry visa.

Requirements for work permit
You must have a written offer of employment in Sweden, made out on a special form which your employer can obtain via the National Labour Market Board. Your employer must send it to you so that you can enclose it with your application.

Your employer shall guarantee you pay, insurance coverage and other terms of employment equal to at least the collective agreement or Swedish practise in the profession or the branch of trade.

Accommodation must have been arranged for you in Sweden.

You must be fully prepared to leave Sweden when your term of employment is over.

Application process for work permit
The first time you apply for a work permit, you do so at a Swedish embassy or consulate in your country of origin or in your country of domicile.

Work permits are normally granted for one year at a time, or, if it is less than one year, for the period for which employment is offered. Permits are granted for a maximum of 18 months altogether if the employment is due to a temporary labour shortage.

The permit is restricted to the trade or profession envisaged in the offer and to the employer who made you the offer.

Your family, i.e. spouse/cohabitant and children under 18, can obtain residence permits for the same period as you. If you have a work permit valid for at least six months, your spouse/cohabitant can also obtain one for the same period.

The Schengen Agreement
The rules in the Schengen Agreement on travel within the Schengen zone now apply in Sweden as well. One result is that people with Swedish residence permits can travel freely throughout the zone for a period of three months without first applying for a visa. All travellers must have a valid passport and be able to prove their identities.

The Schengen Agreement is in force in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

For further information about work permits in Sweden, contact the nearest Swedish embassy/consulate or the Swedish Migration Board.