Since Sweden is a member of the EU, your work abroad in an EU/EEA country or Switzerland can be included when you apply for unemployment benefits in Sweden. This applies if you either:

• had your last job in Sweden,
• worked abroad and retained your permanent residence in Sweden (gränsarbetare or oäkta gränsarbetare), or
• are covered by the five-year rule in the Nordic Convention

If your last job was in Sweden

To be entitled to benefits, you must fulfill a work requirement. You can include work in another EU/EEA country, Switzerland, or the United Kingddom in the work requirement if your most recent work was in Sweden. You must therefore have worked in Sweden after you moved here for this to apply to you.

Gränsarbetare

In Sweden, you are a so-called “gränsarbetare” if you

• work in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland
• are a resident of Sweden
• travel to your home in Sweden usually daily or at least once a week.

As a gränsarbetare, you are subject to the legislation of the country where you work for the duration of your employment.

Gränsarbetare and unemployed full-time

If you become unemployed full-time, you become subject to the legislation of your country of residence. This means that you must apply for benefits in Sweden if you are resident here.

Gränsarbetare and unemployed part-time

If you become part-time unemployed, you are covered by the legislation of the country where you work. This means that you should apply for benefits in the country where you work.

Oäkta gränsarbetare

In Sweden, you are a so-called “oäkta gränsarbetare” if you

• live in an EU/EEA country or Switzerland
• work in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland
• return to your country of residence less than once a week, but the link with the country of residence is considered strong enough for it to be where you are considered permanently resident.

Oäkta gränsarbetare and unemployed full-time

If you become full-time unemployed, you can choose to stay in the country where you have been working and search for jobs and apply for unemployment benefits there. You can also choose to go back to your country of residence and claim benefits there.

Oäkta gränsarbetare and unemployed part-time

If you become part-time unemployed, you are subject to the legislation of the country where you work. This means that you should apply for benefits in the country where you work.

The five-year rule in the Nordic Convention

The five-year rule means that you may be entitled to count work and unemployment insurance periods from another Nordic country without first having worked in Sweden. The requirements for being covered by the five-year rule is that you:

• have previously been covered by Swedish unemployment insurance
• return to Sweden within five years of leaving Swedish unemployment insurance to start working in another Nordic country.
• apply for membership or basic beneftis within eight weeks of ceasing to be insured against unemployment in the other Nordic country.

Start a part-time job in an EU/EEA country or Switzerland

If you are planning to start working part-time in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland and have ongoing benefits with us, you should contact us before starting your employment. It is important that you contact us because you cannot be covered by the social security legislation of two countries at the same time. It is the Social Insurance Agency that decides which country’s social security legislation applies to you.

Work outside the EU/EEA countries and Switzerland

If you have worked outside the EU/EEA countries and Switzerland, this work cannot normally be included in a work requirement if you apply for benefits in Sweden. However, there are some exceptions where the work can be included and it is a good idea to continue to be a member of an unemployment insurance fund in Sweden.

The exceptions are if you

• work for an employer based in Sweden and your salary is paid from Sweden.
• serve in the Swedish Armed Forces abroad.
• are an aid worker and the Swedish International Development Cooperation, or another Swedish government agency, pays your salary
• works for the Nordic Council, the Nordic Council of Ministers, or related bodies.

Apply for benefits after work abroad

If you want to apply for benefits after working in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland, log in to Mina Sidor and submit:

• the application for benefit called Ansökan om ersättning
• the form Fastställande av bosättningstat
• the form Uppgifter om utlandsarbete
• employment contract for the work abroad with the name and address of the employer
• notice of termination from the employer, the employer’s confirmation of your termination request, or mutual agreement to terminate the employment, if you have one
• employment contract and employer’s certificate from the Swedish workplace if your last employment was in Sweden.

If you do not have an electronic ID

If you do not have an electronic ID, you can send an email to ees@alfakassan.se and state which country you have worked in and for how long. You then need to send us your certificates and information by post.

Join Alfa-kassan

To be eligible for income-based benefits, you must have been a member of an unemployment insurance fund for 12 consecutive months. Join a Swedish unemployment insurance fund as soon as possible in order to be able to count the time with the insurance in the previous country of work. Remember that you can join us from the month in which you submit your application for membership at the earliest.

Apply for benefits abroad

If you have worked in Sweden and want to count your work when applying for benefits within EU/EEA or Switzerland, contact the authority that manages unemployment insurance in that country. That authority will then request a certificate from Alfa-kassan for your work in Sweden. We can issue the certificate if you have been a member of us or if you were not a member of an unemployment insurance fund when you last worked in Sweden.

In order for us to issue the certificate, the authority in the other country must send the form Arbetsgivarintyg and the annex Komplettering till arbetsgivarintyg for all your employment.

Do you have questions about work abroad?

Please send an email to ees@alfakassan.se and we will help you.