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Posted by: avalanche 21.Dec.2018, 12:45 PM

Hi,

I applied for a student visa extension to finish my thesis (non-EU citizen)
While waiting for a decision, got a full-time job offer.
Started working immediately without applying for a work permit as some documents were not ready yet.
Now the employer filled in their part of the application for a work permit and simultaneously I got the letter from Migrationsverket requesting additional documents regarding my studies (what means they are revising my case now). In their email, they stated "if you envoke other reasons to stay in Sweden... ...you need to contact us immediately".

The question:

Should I apply for a work permit now or is it better to wait until they make a decision regarding my student visa?
Since I hadn't applied before the work started (considering myself a student that is entitled to work without a permit) now I'm afraid if there could be any consequences as I signed the contract without having the permit in hands.

Posted by: adbar94 28.Jan.2019, 11:45 PM

Hi Avalanche!,

I was hoping to ask you if you received any updates regarding your case.

My situation is somewhat similar to yours. I am a master's student in Sweden and I have a valid student permit till the end of this month. I received a job offer just last week and it isn't going to be possible for me to apply for my work permit before my study permit expires. I was however planning to apply for the 6-month work search visa after studies since I finished my Master's coursework and just awaiting a couple of results to be reported.

My query was that a few weeks later, when my work search visa is still under process (and I possibly don't expect a case officer to be assigned by then either), will I be able to apply for a work permit for my job and ask the migration agency to consider my work permit application instead? Will this affect the approval of the work permit in any way?

Any further insight you or anybody else may have on this would be very helpful.

Posted by: womi 29.Jan.2019, 12:00 PM

I was in a similar situation a few years back. After applying for extension of my student visa I got a job offer. What I did was I applied for a work permit first and sent an email to MV to cancel my the application for extension of student visa. This is because you can't have two active applications at MV at the same time. After applying for work permit you can start working immediately without waiting for a decision.

I recommend you to contact MV if you want more information regarding this.

Good luck!

Posted by: adbar94 29.Jan.2019, 12:52 PM

Hello Womi!,

Thanks for the prompt response. I just had one more specific question about your case. Since in your case you mentioned you were waiting for a student permit extension when you got the job offer, and I'm guessing you probably applied for a work permit from the day you signed a contract, how about the days in between the expiry of your previous student permit and the day you applied the work permit.

In case I wasn't clear, say, your previous student permit expired on the 31st of January 2019 and you applied for an extension on 25th of January 2019, and say you applied for your work permit on 20th of February 2019 when your student permit extension was still in process, will they still give you the work permit starting from the 1st of February or will the give it from the 20th of February?


Thanks again and Regards,

Adhitya

Posted by: silent.nature 15.Feb.2019, 09:15 PM

You are eligible to apply work permit and start working if you had studies permit and you applied for extension before expiry date of it.
Just contact them and explain your situation. Remember NOT to cancel your current application if your studies permit already has been expired. Ask them to change your application to work permit application.
I think you should send offer of employment and union statement on offer of employment in your response of their questions about studies application. Write an additional letter explaining your situation. (In my opinion you should not submit the new application)

If you studies permit is already expired and your cancel your current application then you will lose your legal status in Sweden which may lead to the situation that MV will ask you to leave Sweden and then apply WP from outside of Sweden. Then you will have to wait outside of Sweden until decision is not made.
This is my opinion but off-course you should talk to MV about it.

Posted by: avalanche 27.Jan.2021, 07:10 PM

Hi adbar94,

I'm sorry for not answering your question on time - it seems I don't receive any notifications about the new answers I hope everything went alright with your work permit.

I'll add my experience here just in case someone else is looking for similar advice.

So, I submitted the work permit application and asked MV to take it into consideration instead of my student visa extension. I did not cancel my student application. In 2.5 months, I received my WP. However, the start date was the date when the decision was made, not the day when I submitted the application. My case officer explained that the gap was "covered" by my student status (I was entitled to work while waiting for the decision), so no WP was needed then.

So, for the students who are waiting for an extension and meanwhile got a full-time job, I'd recommend applying for WP BEFORE you begin your work. Chances are your WP start date will be the same as your first working day. Anyway, the earlier your WP starts, the sooner you'll be eligible for PR application.