Sweden is a Scandinavian nation with thousands of coastal islands and inland lakes, along with vast boreal forests and glaciated mountains. Its principal cities, eastern capital Stockholm and southwestern Gothenburg and Malmö, are all coastal. Stockholm is built on 14 islands. It has more than 50 bridges, as well as the medieval old town, Gamla Stan, royal palaces and museums such as open-air Skansen..
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy, with legislative power vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. It is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities.
Sweden is famous for its abundant forests and lakes. It’s a nation of keen recyclers, hikers, and Fika takers, and it’s the Pop Music Capital of the World. Sweden is also known for brands such as IKEA, Spotify, and Volvo.
The economy of Sweden is a highly developed export-oriented economy, aided by timber, hydropower, and iron ore. These constitute the resource base of an economy oriented toward foreign trade.
Swedish people are nice and helpful to foreigners but usually, they don’t bother entering personal space. So, most of the time you will have to initiate the talk and then you may end up talking for hours. Sweden is often considered a great place to live,
with its high standard of living and abundance of natural resources. Employees from the European Union are entitled to get at least 20 paid vacation days per year. The minimum in Sweden is 25 days, but bigger employers offer 30 paid vacation days.
It’s also true that you get a premium on your monthly salary when you go on vacation! Sweden has been very progressive when it comes to worker’s rights.Because winter in Sweden is harsh & long, everybody goes out and travels during the summer, and goes
where the sun is! Swedes celebrate the longest day of the year called Swedish Midsommar.
You pay high taxes in Sweden, but the positive side of this is you get a well-functioning social welfare system. If your goal of moving to Sweden is to make & save money, then Sweden might not be your best choice!
Sweden has also one of the most expensive costs of living. The cost of housing, food, and transportation is high compared to other countries.
People can be cold or distant as well, and it takes time to get along and befriend a Swede. But, once you get close to them, you will see they are fun and friendly.
Small talk is not a thing here, but you will always find yourself talking about the weather!
If you just moved to Sweden, you can join Facebook groups to meet people.
In Sweden, all work permit applications are submitted to Migrationsverket (Swedish Migration Agency). Migrationsverket can also certify employers as certified operators which provide faster processing times on work permit applications.
The processing time for getting or renewing a work permit varies. It can be within a couple of days for certified employers. But, recently, there have been delays even for certified employers.
A new work permit application will can take between 1 to 4 months.
Government: Representative democracy, Parliamentary system, Unitary state, Constitutional monarchy, Hereditary Monarchy
Capital: Stockholm
Dialing code: +46
Currency: Swedish krona
Official language: Swedish