How to Apply for a Nystartsjobb

Wanting to apply for a Nystartsjobb through Arbetsförmedlingen? First, two things to know about eligibility:

  1. As an immigrant, you can’t have been here for more than three years and you must be eligible (as decided by Migrationsverket) to work in Sweden.
  2. You are NOT allowed to be studying at the same time (for example, at a university), unless it is with SFI. If you have advanced past SFI into SAS, you will be required to quit your SAS class before Arbetsförmedlingen makes a decision (backwards, I know).

Now, here’s what you’ll need to do (as based upon my own experience):

  1. Go to your nearest Arbetsförmedlingen office and register. You need to be in its database and you will need a contact person to help walk you through the process once you get going.
  2. Apply for jobs and right up front (e.g. in the body of the email that has your resume attached, or near the beginning of your cover letter) tell them that as an immigrant you are eligible for Nystartsjobb (point them to the website, because it’s possible they’ll have never heard about the program). More importantly, call it to their attention that with Nystartsjobb, they can get 66% of your salary paid by the government (i.e. hire me because I’m way cheaper than all of my Swedish competition! and because I’m awesome).
  3. Once you find an eager employer, you will both need to fill out one copy together of the application – Ansökan om nystartsjobb. Have the employer send it in.
  4. Your Arbetsförmedlingen contact will then ask for the following documents:
    1. Arbetssökandes sammanställning inför Nystartsjobb - fill out and sign two copies.
    2. Migrationsverkets Beslut – this is the document that states that you are allowed to work in Sweden. They will want two copies; you can either make photocopies of your original or click on the link above to order (for free) a couple from Skatteverket (choose Uppehållstillstånd).
    3. Migrationsverkets Mottagningskvitto - this is optional. If you are in the midst of renewing your residence permit, then you need to provide two copies of the receipt (kvitto) from Migrationsverket that states you have submitted your renewal.
    4. Intyg from your place of study – this is optional. If you have been studying somewhere (other than at SFI), then you will need to quit your studies and have the school give you a letter of proof (intyg) that you have indeed stopped.

Once you have submitted all of the paperwork, all that’s left to do is wait for a decision to be made. In my case, it took approximately two weeks between submission of the application and a response from my contact at Arbetsförmedlingen asking for the additional paperwork. After I had submitted those, it only took four days before receiving the good news that I could start the job the following week.

I hope this is of help to other immigrants out there having a tough time landing a job. Hang in there, keep trying, and lycka till!