How to Hire Childcare Workers and Nannies in Sweden (2026)

6 min

Is there a childcare shortage in Sweden and is hiring abroad realistic?

Sweden faces a persistent shortage of qualified childcare professionals, particularly certified preschool teachers (förskollärare) and experienced childcare assistants (barnskötare). The shortage is most acute in expanding metropolitan areas like Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö, as well as northern industrial regions experiencing rapid population growth. Private nanny agencies and specialized family care providers also struggle to retain qualified staff for long-term roles.

However, recruiting non-EU candidates for childcare roles in Sweden involves distinct regulatory realities that every employer must weigh carefully before starting. Sweden set its general work permit salary threshold at 80 percent of the national median salary, which equals roughly 28,480 SEK per month. For certified preschool teachers, standard market wages easily exceed this threshold. For general nanny roles or entry-level childcare assistants, employers must be prepared to pay at or above this statutory minimum, even if standard local junior pay rates fall below it.

Furthermore, public and private pre-schools in Sweden operate under strict language requirements established by the Swedish Education Act (Skollagen). A worker coming from outside the EU without functional Swedish proficiency cannot immediately step into a regulated teaching role in a Swedish pre-school. As a result, Swedish employers who successfully hire foreign childcare workers usually fall into two categories: international or bilingual pre-schools operating in English or other languages, and private agencies or families seeking specialized, full-time in-home nannies who meet the mandatory salary threshold.

Legal routes, work permits, and authority rules

To bring a non-EU childcare worker or nanny to Sweden, you must process the application through the standard work permit system administered by the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket). Sweden does not operate a quota system for childcare workers; every candidate is evaluated under general labor migration rules.

The legal process requires specific sequential steps:

Labor market testing: You must advertise the vacant position on the Swedish Public Employment Service portal (Arbetsförmedlingen) and the EURES portal for at least 10 calendar days. This step is legally mandatory before extending an offer to a non-EU candidate.
Offer of employment: You complete an official offer of employment (anställningserbjudande) outlining job responsibilities, working hours, salary, and mandatory insurance coverages.
Trade union review: You must send the employment offer to the relevant trade union for an official opinion (fackligt yttrande). For childcare assistants and domestic nannies, the relevant union is usually Kommunal; for preschool teachers, it is Sveriges Lärare. The union verifies that salary and employment conditions match Swedish collective bargaining standards.
Migrationsverket submission: Once the union provides its written opinion, you initiate the online work permit application on the Migrationsverket portal.
Candidate completion: The candidate receives an automated link to upload personal identification, confirm details, and submit the file for decision.

Immigration regulations and salary thresholds are updated periodically. Employers should always verify current requirements directly on the official website of Migrationsverket before signing binding employment contracts.

Qualifications, recognition, and background checks

Qualifications and background verification depend heavily on whether the employee will work within a registered pre-school (förskola) or in private family care.

For preschool teachers (förskollärare):

Skolverket recognition: The preschool teacher title is regulated in Sweden. To hold a permanent teaching position, candidates must obtain official teacher certification (lärarlegitimation) from the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket).
Language requirements: Full certification from Skolverket requires documented Swedish language proficiency equivalent to Swedish 3 or the Tisus examination. Non-EU teachers without Swedish language certification can only be employed on temporary contracts as uncertified substitute staff or assistants.

For childcare assistants (barnskötare) and nannies:

Vocational background: The nanny and assistant trade is not regulated by a state licence. Employers evaluate foreign diplomas or practical experience directly against the Swedish upper secondary vocational benchmark (Barn- och fritidsprogrammet).
Mandatory criminal record check: Swedish law strictly dictates that anyone working with children must present an extract from the Swedish Police criminal record registry (belastningsregister för arbete inom förskola och skola). For foreign recruits, employers must require an equivalent official criminal background certificate from the candidate's home country and any country of recent residence.

Timeline: From job decision to the worker starting

The total lead time from making a hiring decision to having the worker present at your facility ranges from 4 to 9 months. Employers must account for this period in their staffing plans.

A typical timeline includes the following phases:

Job posting and union review (3 to 5 weeks): Advertising on Arbetsförmedlingen takes 10 calendar days, followed by union review which generally takes between 1 and 3 weeks.
Migrationsverket processing (3 to 6 months): Standard processing times for non-certified employers submitting first-time work permit applications often span several months. Incomplete applications cause significant additional delays.
Biometrics and entry clearance (2 to 4 weeks): Once approved, the worker must visit a Swedish embassy or consulate general to complete biometric registration and receive their residence permit card (UT-kort) before traveling to Sweden.
Local registration (1 to 2 weeks post-arrival): After arrival, the candidate registers with the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) to receive a personal identity number (personnummer) or coordination number (samordningsnummer) and open a Swedish bank account.

Pay rates, mandatory benefits, housing, and legal liability

Compensation levels for childcare workers in Sweden are established by collective agreements or market standards. When hiring from outside the EU, your financial offer must satisfy union norms as well as the statutory threshold enforced by Migrationsverket.

Salary expectations: A childcare assistant or nanny typically earns between 25,000 SEK and 30,000 SEK gross per month. A certified preschool teacher earns between 32,000 SEK and 40,000 SEK per month depending on region and experience. To clear work permit rules, the salary must meet or exceed the statutory median wage threshold (currently around 28,480 SEK) regardless of local entry-level rates.
Mandatory insurances: Work permit rules state that the employer must provide four compulsory insurances from day one: health insurance, life insurance, occupational injury insurance, and occupational pension (tjänstepension).
Housing obligations: Institutional employers in Sweden do not customarily provide housing. For private live-in nannies, room and board may be provided, but benefit values must be declared in compliance with Skatteverket tax rules, and net cash pay must independently meet work permit rules.

A legitimate employer must never ask a foreign worker to pay for their own recruitment, visa fees, or job placement. Under Swedish law and international labor standards, all costs associated with recruitment belong exclusively to the employer. Workers who are charged placement fees by agencies are victims of unlawful exploitation. Engaging with agencies that charge job seekers exposes your business to severe legal liabilities and reputational risk.

What this costs you, roughly

Below is a breakdown of the typical direct employer expenses involved in bringing a non-EU childcare worker to Sweden:

Migrationsverket application fee: 2,200 SEK per permit application.
Document translation and authentication: 1,500 SEK to 4,500 SEK for certified translations of diplomas and police checks.
Background check verification: 500 SEK to 2,000 SEK depending on the candidate's country of origin.
Relocation assistance and travel: 4,000 SEK to 12,000 SEK for flights and travel arrangements (standard employer practice).
Compulsory monthly insurances: 1,500 SEK to 3,500 SEK per month per employee for compulsory pension and occupational insurance setup.

How to find childcare candidates on Workuro

If you want to recruit candidates directly without relying on traditional agencies, you can search the Workuro registry for childcare workers and nannies who have indicated an interest in relocating to Sweden.

Workuro is not a recruitment agency, a headhunter, or a temporary staffing firm. We do not charge per-hire fees, we do not interview candidates on your behalf, and workers never pay to publish a profile on our platform. Employers pay a subscription fee to search candidate profiles and communicate with workers directly.

Our registry is young and still growing, which means you will not find thousands of profiles for every specific specialization. However, every profile represents an individual who has chosen to publish their skills and express interest in working abroad. You evaluate candidates, run background checks, handle the Migrationsverket filing, and conduct hiring on your own terms.