SWEDEN – Immigration Services Delayed Due to Influx of Refugees
Swedish authorities are increasingly dedicating resources to assist the thousands of travelers seeking asylum which has resulted in delays to various other immigration services. Foreign nationals applying for visitor’s visas, residence permits or work permits among other immigration services may experience a processing delay for their applications. Presently, work permit applications are averaging approximately 20 business days, extensions are taking about 30 business days and residence permits for dependents may require more than a year for processing.
Employers should consider initiating and submitting cases a few months prior to an employee’s expected start date and ensure completion of applications and supporting documentation before submission to avoid any further delays.
Sweden is one of the top destination countries for travelers seeking asylum as a result of the massive refugee crisis currently affecting Europe. Immigration authorities have announced that they would be transferring resources to help process thousands of asylum cases and will be increasing lead times needed for work permit applications and other standard immigration services. Immigration authorities will be processed in the order they were submitted and will not accept priority processing requests.