Part-Time Jobs in Sweden for International Students: The 2026 Work Limit

  • Last Updated on: September 18, 2026 by
  • Ananya Nallagalla
Part-Time Jobs in Sweden for International Students
Part-Time Jobs in Sweden for International Students

International students can work part-time in Sweden without a separate work permit. A study permit granted on or after 11 June 2026, though, caps term-time work at 15 hours a week. Part-time jobs in Sweden for international students in cafés, shops, cleaning and delivery pay at least SEK 131 to 171 an hour under collective agreements, and less if you’re under 20. No part-time job can supply the SEK 10,656 a month Migrationsverket (the Swedish Migration Agency) asks of 2026 applicants. If you’re applying now to study in Sweden for a January or autumn 2027 start, your permit will be granted after 11 June 2026, so the 15-hour rule applies to you. Budget term time as if you earn nothing, and start with your university’s job board and job ads marked Jobs in English.

Written by
Ananya Nallagalla
Senior Counsellor
Ananya Nallagalla, Senior Counsellor for Nordic Countries at AOEC India (Hyderabad), has 7 years of experience in Nordic admissions and has counselled 113 students at AOEC India, specialising in Sweden and Finland.
95% visa success rate
Reviewed by
Sridhar Kongara
Managing Director
Mr. Kongara Sridhar, Director of AOEC India, has over 12 years of experience in overseas education consulting, admissions, and student visa guidance.
Over 12 years Experience

Key Takeaways

  • Permits granted from 11 June 2026: 15 hours a week in term, no cap in June, July and August.
  • From age 20, agreement minimums run from SEK 130.90 to 171.46 an hour (≈ ₹1,279 to ₹1,675).
  • At 18, café and restaurant work can pay a youth rate of SEK 115.56 an hour (≈ ₹1,129).
  • Even the best-paid role takes home SEK 9,701 to 9,783 a month (≈ ₹94,779 to ₹95,580) after tax, below SEK 10,656 (≈ ₹1,04,109).
  • An extension needs payslips for every month of the permit and, from 2026, 37.5 credits in year one.
  • In 2026, you owe no income tax if your total yearly income is SEK 25,041 (≈ ₹2,44,651) or less.
Table of Contents
What part-time jobs in Sweden pay per hour in 2026 Scroll here ↓ Part-time jobs in Sweden for English speakers, and where to find them Scroll here ↓ The 15-hour work limit: what counts and what breaking it costs Scroll here ↓ Take-home pay against Sweden’s SEK 10,656 monthly maintenance figure Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓

Already in Sweden? Which work rule applies depends on when your permit was granted and what the work is:

Permit granted on or after 11 June 2026
15 hours a week in term, no limit in summer
 
No limit applies in June, July and August. Keep every payslip, because your extension will ask for them.
Permit granted before 11 June 2026
No hour cap until your extension
 
The 15-hour cap applies once your extension is granted, so plan next year’s hours around it.
Finished a programme of two semesters or more
Hours uncapped for the rest of your permit
 
Keep your diploma or certificate as proof. This holds unless you apply for another bachelor’s or master’s study permit.
Working for your own university
Campus roles do not count toward the 15 hours
 
Teaching assistant, research, student representation, administration and programme traineeship hours are exempt. Ask your department first.

What part-time jobs in Sweden pay per hour in 2026

From 1 April 2026, a café, restaurant or hotel worker aged 20 or over with no prior training earns at least SEK 153.64 an hour (≈ ₹1,501) under the Gröna riksavtalet 2025-2027 hospitality agreement between HRF and Visita. Shop and cleaning jobs pay a little more, and a Foodora rider can earn less, so your employer’s agreement sets your rate.
Aged 20 or over
Role Collective agreement Minimum hourly pay (SEK ≈ INR) Monthly pay at 15 hours a week (65 hours, before tax)
Café, restaurant or hotel staff, no prior training HRF / Visita SEK 153.64 (≈ ₹1,501) SEK 9,987 (≈ ₹97,573)
Qualified restaurant or hotel staff HRF / Visita SEK 164.30 (≈ ₹1,605) SEK 10,680 (≈ ₹1,04,344)
Shop assistant, no retail experience Handels (retail) SEK 162.33 (≈ ₹1,586) SEK 10,551 (≈ ₹1,03,083)
Shop assistant, one year of retail experience Handels (retail) SEK 165.84 (≈ ₹1,620) SEK 10,780 (≈ ₹1,05,321)
Cleaner aged 20 or 21 Fastighets (cleaning) SEK 154.31 (≈ ₹1,508) SEK 10,030 (≈ ₹97,993)
Cleaner aged 22 or over Fastighets (cleaning) SEK 171.46 (≈ ₹1,675) SEK 11,145 (≈ ₹1,08,887)
Foodora bike or moped courier Transport SEK 130.90 to 155.90 (≈ ₹1,279 to ₹1,523) SEK 8,509 to 10,134 (≈ ₹83,133 to ₹99,009)

Before tax. 65 hours = 15 hours a week averaged over a month. Foodora also pays SEK 4 per km. Cleaning hourly figures divide the agreement’s monthly wage by 168, the divisor it states for workers aged 22 or over; ages 18 to 21 receive 90 per cent of that wage. INR figures use the live Google-published rate captured on 2026-09-17: SEK 1 ≈ ₹9.77; figures are indicative.

None of these rates is a legal floor for every employer, because Sweden has no minimum wage law (Arbetsförmedlingen’s Find your new job in Sweden). Each is the minimum in a collective agreement (kollektivavtal), a pay deal between a union and employers, and it binds only employers covered by it. Before you take a shift, ask whether the café or shop has one. If it doesn’t, your hourly wage (timlön) is whatever you agree, and it can sit below the table. Age changes the number. From 1 April 2026, an employer may pay a lower youth rate until you turn 20, for at most three years. At 18 the youth rate is SEK 115.56 an hour and at 19 it is SEK 124.92; from 20, the same job pays at least SEK 153.64. If you’re coming straight after Class 12, budget on SEK 115.56, and choose an employer covered by a collective agreement, even over a higher verbal offer.
Aged 18 or 19 (straight after Class 12)
Role Collective agreement Minimum hourly pay (SEK ≈ INR) Monthly pay at 15 hours a week (65 hours, before tax)
Café, restaurant or hotel staff aged 18 HRF / Visita SEK 115.56 (≈ ₹1,129) SEK 7,511 (≈ ₹73,382)
Café, restaurant or hotel staff aged 19 HRF / Visita SEK 124.92 (≈ ₹1,220) SEK 8,120 (≈ ₹79,332)
Shop assistant aged 18 Handels (retail) SEK 160.40 (≈ ₹1,567) SEK 10,426 (≈ ₹1,01,862)
Shop assistant aged 19 Handels (retail) SEK 162.33 (≈ ₹1,586) SEK 10,551 (≈ ₹1,03,083)
Cleaner aged 18 or 19 Fastighets (cleaning) SEK 154.31 (≈ ₹1,508) SEK 10,030 (≈ ₹97,993)

Part-time jobs in Sweden for English speakers, and where to find them

Most jobs in Sweden require fluency in Swedish (Arbetsförmedlingen’s Find your new job in Sweden). Student jobs cluster in shops, cafés and restaurants, and competition for the roles that don’t need Swedish is high (Study in Sweden’s Work and internships page). For part-time jobs in Sweden for international students who speak only English, search in this order:

  1. Your own university’s job board. The University of Gothenburg Ad Portal carries part-time jobs aimed at its students, and the Stockholm-based KTH Degree Project Portal lists part-time and seasonal jobs.
  2. Academic Work, filtered to “Jobs in English”. Its English-language roles sit mostly in IT, technology, finance, sales, customer service and marketing (Academic Work’s page for English-speaking applicants), which suits engineering and business students.
  3. Manpower student jobs. The common fields are retail, warehousing, restaurants, customer service and administration (Manpower’s Available student jobs across Sweden).
  4. Platsbanken, the national job bank. Most of its ads are in Swedish (Arbetsförmedlingen’s Find your new job), so use it last.

Whichever route lands you a shift, you’ll need an ID number before your employer can pay you. A personnummer (Swedish personal identity number) comes with a permit of more than one year. On a shorter permit, apply in person at a service centre of Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency) for a samordningsnummer (coordination number).

Babysitting, language tutoring and teaching a skill are common student jobs (Karolinska Institutet’s Working while studying guide), and there your English is the skill. If you arrive in early August for the autumn intake, those weeks are uncapped, so send applications before you fly.

The 15-hour work limit: what counts and what breaking it costs

Going over the limit can cost you the permit itself. From 11 June 2026, a bachelor’s or master’s student on a Swedish residence permit for studies may work at most 15 hours per week in term. Working more can lead to withdrawal or a refused extension (Migrationsverket’s study permit application page).

The date that counts is when your permit is granted, not when you applied. Under Migrationsverket’s new rules for residence permits for studies, a decision made on or after 11 June 2026 brings the cap even if you applied earlier.

Your hours are checked when you extend your study permit:

  • Employment certificates and payslips covering your whole current permit, if you worked on a bachelor’s or master’s permit (Migrationsverket’s extension page for study permits).
  • An income summary from Skatteverket (Sammanställd inkomstuppgift, a download listing all your reported pay) for the years your permit covers, whether you worked or not.
  • No certificates or payslips at all if you only worked in June, July and August.

Save each payslip as a PDF the day you get it; the extension file needs every month.

From 11 June 2026, full-time students must also earn 37.5 credits in year one and 45 credits a year from year two (Migrationsverket’s new rules for residence permits for studies). That bar sits on top of Sweden’s study requirements for admission. A job that costs you a failed course can cost you the permit as well, so protect exam weeks before you protect shifts.

Take-home pay against Sweden’s SEK 10,656 monthly maintenance figure

A 15-hour job does not cover Sweden's maintenance requirement. For 2026 applicants, the permit asks for at least SEK 10,656 a month (≈ ₹1,04,109) (Migrationsverket's study permit application page). In 2026, the best-paid role takes home SEK 9,701 to 9,783 (≈ ₹94,779 to ₹95,580) in Gothenburg or Stockholm under Skatteverket's monthly tax tables for 2026.

Your tax is worked out on the year, but it comes out of every payslip:

  • Yearly threshold: for income year 2026, you owe no income tax if your total income for the year is SEK 25,041 or less (Skatteverket’s Belopp och procent inkomstår 2026).
  • Monthly withholding: for income year 2026, your employer still takes tax each month from the Skatteverket tax tables, and the final bill is settled at your annual tax assessment. On the café row’s SEK 9,987, about SEK 1,129 is withheld in Stockholm, so about SEK 8,858 is paid out.
  • Second job: pay from a job that isn’t your main income has a flat 30 per cent withheld.

So even the best case for part-time jobs in Sweden for international students leaves a monthly gap, and tuition comes on top. Our cost of studying in Sweden breakdown prices the full year.

Parents, a job offer does not count as funds. Pay you have already earned, shown on payslips with an employment certificate, can count toward the maintenance requirement when you extend. Non-EU students generally can’t fall back on CSN, Sweden’s student finance, either (KTH’s Work and assignments during your studies). The bank evidence itself is covered in our Sweden proof of funds guide.

From our counselling desk: plan the year without term-time pay. June, July and August carry no hour cap, so summer is your main earning window. Treat summer money as next year's buffer, not this year's rent.

Get in Touch

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Since 11 June 2026, Sweden’s updated Aliens Ordinance, its immigration regulations, lets bachelor’s and master’s students work up to 15 hours a week without a work permit. Your study permit is the authorisation, so show your employer the permit card with your personnummer or coordination number.

Yes. Once you complete a programme of at least two semesters and hold its diploma or certificate, the 15-hour cap lifts for the rest of your study permit. After that, you can apply for a permit to look for work for up to one year after a bachelor’s or master’s. In 2026, the application fee is SEK 1,500 (≈ ₹14,655).

No averaging period exists in the rules, not across a month and not across a semester. Plan each term week at 15 hours or fewer. If an employer wants extra shifts from you, offer them for June, July or August, when the limit does not apply to anyone on a study permit.

No. The 2026 limit covers study permits at bachelor’s and master’s level only, so doctoral students can work without the 15-hour cap. After the doctorate, they can also apply for a permit to look for work in Sweden, just as master’s graduates can.

Yes, if the traineeship is part of your programme. Under the 2026 rules, a traineeship connected to your education does not count toward the 15 hours, and neither does research or administration at your university. An internship you arrange privately, with no link to your programme, counts like any other job.

Sources

Official sources first, then reputable third-party.

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