Working in Sweden

Summary: There is a large British expatriate community living in Sweden and because the country offers its citizens and residents such a high standard of living, many people consider working in Sweden either temporarily or for a prolonged period of time.

There is a large British expatriate community living in Sweden and because the country offers its citizens and residents such a high standard of living, many people consider working in Sweden either temporarily or for a prolonged period of time.

With a high standard of living comes a high rate of tax however - and this is one of the main downsides of working and living in this particular country.  This article looks at both the pros and cons of establishing a working life in Sweden.

When discussing the pros and cons of working in Sweden it’s best to get the issue of taxation out of the way immediately because when most people learn about the amount of income tax they will have to pay they are usually put off the country for good! 

Income tax is payable at a rate of between 26 and 35% to the municipality in which an individual resides and then on top of that there is also a national income tax which is levied at between 20 and 25%...so at best an individual will pay about 46% income tax and at worst an expatriate working in Sweden will have to pay upwards of 60% taxation.

With that out of the way – if you’re still reading you’re either curious about where that much tax goes or you really are interested in finding work abroad! 

Taxation is high - but it’s high because of the incredibly sophisticated welfare system that Sweden is rightly proud of.  Its health, education and benefit systems are second to none…and an expatriate who heralds from the UK for example and has employment in Sweden will have the exact same entitlements to these benefits as a Swedish citizen.

Expats who go to work in Sweden and take their families with them will find that the state education system offers them free schooling for children in English and free or heavily subsidized and excellent medical services.  Furthermore not only are expatriates entitled to all the same social benefits as local Swedes, they have the same employment rights when it comes to pay, conditions and their right to be an active member of a trade union etc.

The main employment sectors are manufacturing, the service industry and also the public sector; unemployment in Sweden is actually very low and because English is the main business language and the teaching of English in schools is compulsory, those with English as their first language won’t struggle in the work arena.  UK Nationals do not require a work permit to find or hold down a job in Sweden but all those who intend to reside for more than 3 months in the country will need to get a residency permit arranged.

SHARE: del.icio.us   Digg   Facebook   Google   Mixx   NewsVine   StumbleUpon   Technorati   YahooMyWeb