Changes to work permit salary minimums, more types of bars on the horizon, and citizenship changes come into effect. Here’s what’s on the agenda for Sweden in June this year.
June 1st: Work permits
On June 1st, the salary threshold for work permits will be raised to 90 percent of the median salary (it’s currently set at 80 percent of the median salary).
There will be a few exemptions: 27 professions – which include nurses, ambulance drivers and several lower-paid engineering roles – will only have to earn 75 percent of the median wage (27,825 kronor a month) rather than 90 percent (33,390 kronor a month) when the high work permit salary threshold comes into force on June 1st.
June 1st: New types of bars and pubs allowed in Sweden
From June 1st, Sweden’s towns and cities could see beach bars, wine bars and the occasional beer garden for the first time from this summer.
The change comes after parliament agreed to abolish the requirement that restaurants must be able to serve cooked food in their own kitchen in order to serve alcohol. The requirement for seating at bars will also be abolished.
READ ALSO: ‘Stockholm is going to be like Paris or Copenhagen’
When the change comes into force on June 1st, it will open up the possibility for new types of bar to spring up.
June 6th: National Day
Sweden’s National Day has been a public holiday since 2005, replacing Whit Monday, but was first celebrated in 1916 in honour of the election of King Gustav Vasa on June 6th, 1523.
Gustav Vasa’s election also marks the end of the Danish-ruled Kalmar Union, so is arguably a marking of Swedish independence, although it occurred so long ago that few Swedes associate National Day with this aspect of Swedish history.
This year, June 6th is on a Saturday meaning that those who work during the week won’t get a freebie day off.
You may also be able to buy a nationaldagsbakelse or National Day pastry in many bakeries on June 6th, a small almond cake topped with strawberries and a Swedish flag.
June 6th: New requirements for citizenship take effect for all applicants
Sweden’s National Day will this year have a distinctly uncelebratory flavour for the approximately one hundred thousand people currently waiting for the Migration Agency to look at their citizenship applications, because June 6th is also the day when Sweden’s sweeping citizenship reforms come into effect – for those in the queue, as well as for new applicants.
The Local has covered this issue extensively; if you’d like to catch up on our coverage, filter for the tag “Swedish Citizenship” on our site.
Early June: Electricity rebate payments begin
Electricity rebates promised by the government in April will begin to be paid by the Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) to households in early June.
For a villa, townhouse or holiday home owner, the support can amount to between 1,100 and 1,850 SEK depending on where in the country the property is located and how high the consumption was during January and February this year.
For residents in residential or rental apartments with their own electricity bill, it can be just over 100 SEK in the north and just over 200 SEK in the south.
Those who live in residential or rental apartments where the electricity is shared by the association or property and is included in the fee or rent will not receive any support. The government assessed that it would be too complicated and take too long to present a proposal on how the support to such residents would be distributed.
Most eligible households will receive the money before midsummer.
June 9th-12th: Tax refund
Anyone who submitted their tax return by the later May 4th deadline should receive their refund between June 9th and June 12th. If you instead end up having to pay extra tax, you’ll find out between June 8th and the 12th, with payment due around three months later.
If you have been granted an extension on filing your tax return, your final deadline is June 1st.
Mid-June: School holidays and graduation
Summer holidays start in most of Sweden’s schools around the middle of June. You can also expect Sweden to be a bit louder in June, especially if you live in an urban area near a gymnasium school.
Students finishing upper high school (gymnasium) will springa ut starting in early June, a tradition where newly-graduated students run out of school after getting their final exam results to cheers from friends and family, after which they will drive around in a car or on the back of a van with friends and party for the rest of the evening.
June 16th: New median salary figures released
Statistics Sweden will release new salary figures on June 16th.
This may not sound like a big deal, but these are the figures which affect the salary threshold for work permit applicants in Sweden.
The most recent figures from June last year put the median salary at 37,100 kronor, a 1500 kronor jump up from the previous year. From June 1st, those applying for a new permit will need to earn 90 percent of this median salary – 33,390 kronor – to qualify for a permit.
Once the new median salary figure has been released on June 16th, the work permit salary requirement will rise. This will only apply to applications submitted from that release date – the threshold is determined by the most recent salary figures at the time of application, not at the time a decision is made.
June 19th: Midsummer’s Eve
Rounding off June, we have Midsummer’s Eve, which falls on June 19th this year.
The majority of workers – at least those who work standard hours throughout the week – will have the day off on Midsummer’s Eve, despite the fact that it is not officially a röd dag (a public holiday).
The reason it’s celebrated on a Friday rather than on the actual summer solstice, which this year is on June 21st, is due to a 1953 reform to make it fit in better with the working week – and presumably to give workers the Saturday off to recover from the festivities.
However, it is listed as a holiday day equivalent to a Sunday in Sweden’s Annual Leave Act, so if you don’t usually work on Sundays, you should have the day off.
If you do have to work on Midsummer’s Eve, you may be offered OB-tillägg (pay for working inconvenient hours), overtime pay, or a day off in lieu at a later date.
READ ALSO: Why is Midsummer’s Eve celebrated in Sweden?
Summer holidays and other events in June
June also marks the start of Sweden’s famously long summer holidays.
Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg comes highly recommended by rock music fans. Put June 3rd to 6th in your calendar if that’s you.
Järvaveckan (Järva Week) has grown to one of Sweden’s biggest political events in the last few years, with representatives – often the leaders – from every major party attending. Held at the Spånga sports field in northern Stockholm, it is still young and vibrant enough to feel less elite than its older cousin, the Almedalsveckan (Almedalen Week) festival. This year it will take place from May 27th to 30th. It’s a full program, with youth debates, talks from party leaders, and seminars on a variety of social issues, along with pop music performances and events for kids (Bolibompa’s Draken will be there). Entry is free.
Speaking of Almedalen Week, it will be held on the island of Gotland between June 22nd and 26th. Interest in the event has been declining in recent years, but some 40,000 people still attend every year, 95 percent of them coming from outside Gotland, where hotel prices shoot up every summer.