Denmark
Authorities publish updated income statistics applicable from 1 July 2025.
The Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) uses income statistics made by the Confederation of Danish Employers (DA) in the case processing of applications to decide if an offered job is within the Danish standards for salary. This applies to the Pay Limit Scheme, the Positive List and the Fast Track Scheme, among other routes.
The new income statistics contain information from the first quarter of 2025 and will take effect for applications submitted from 1 July 2025. The income statistics are updated each quarter and It is expected that the next update will take effect from 1 October 2025.
Applications for a residence and work permit submitted after 30 June 2025 will be assessed based on the income statistics for Q1 2025. Applications submitted between 1 April and 30 30 June 2025 will be assessed based on the income statistics for Q4 2024.
SIRI will usually assume that the salary corresponds to Danish standards, and will not make further assessment, if it is stated in the application form and employment contract that the employer is covered by a collective agreement.
SIRI will assess whether the salary corresponds to Danish standards when the employer is a member of an employers’ organisation, but the employment relationship is not covered by a collective agreement. If the salary is just above the regular pay limit, SIRI will generally assume that the salary corresponds to Danish standards.
In cases where the employment relationship is not covered by a collective agreement and the employer is not a member of an employers’ organisation, SIRI will assess whether the salary corresponds to Danish standards up to approximately DKK 74,958, using the income statistics from the DA as a guideline.
Online application update
The Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) has noted that AR3, AR7 and FT1/2 applications will be moved to the new online platform by 27 June 2025.
Users should submit any applications they have saved on the old platform no later than 26 June 2025 as they will be unavailable from 27 June 2025.
Meanwhile, the Fast-Track Scheme certification application (FT1/2) has been updated so that users can now submit both first time and extension applications, and can select either a Danish or an English version of the form.
European Union
Agreement reached on the revision of the visa suspension mechanism
On 17 June, the European Parliament and the Council reached the provisional political agreement on the revision of the visa suspension mechanism, proposed by the Commission in October 2023.
The EU currently has a visa-free regime with 60 non-EU countries. Nationals of these countries can enter the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa.
The suspension mechanism is a safeguard against the abuse of visa-free travel. This mechanism enables the temporary suspension of the visa exemption in case of a sudden and substantial increase in irregular migration or security risks.
The revised rules include:
- New grounds to suspend visa-free regimes: it will be possible to trigger the visa suspension mechanism not only in case ofsudden and substantial increase in irregular migration, lack of readmission cooperation, or security risks, but also in cases of insufficient alignment with the EU’s visa policy, hybrid threats, the operation of investor citizenship schemes, and the deterioration of the external relations between the EU and visa-free non-EU countries;
- Lower thresholds to trigger the suspension mechanism, to make it easier to act in cases of misuse of visa- free arrangements;
- A swifter and more flexible procedure, to react faster in case of need (for instance in case of security threats or a high increase in arrivals), and to allow more time for remedial actions by the partner country;
- Stronger monitoring and reporting obligations: The Commission will now report to the European Parliament and the Council on any visa-free countries where challenges are identified.
The Regulation must now be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the Council before it enters into force, which will happen 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
Finland
New rules for family reunification residence permits
Amendments to the provisions of the Aliens Act on residence permits issued on the basis of family reunification took effect on 16 June 2025. These changes concern the minimum age of spouses, the financial resources of a minor’s family member, the definition of when a child is considered a minor, and the period of residence required for family reunification.
The amendments to the Aliens Act apply to applications submitted on or after 16 June 2025. The new requirements laid down in the amended Act will do apply to applications that were submitted before the Act entered into force. Further, the new requirements do not apply to applications for extended permits submitted after the Act enters into force in which the applicant applies for a permit based on the same family ties on the basis of which the previous permit was granted.
The new conditions are based on the EU Family Reunification Directive, which defines the minimum conditions for the exercise of the right to family reunification by third-country nationals residing lawfully in the territory of the Member States. Finland has now introduced more extensively the optional additional conditions permitted by the directive.
Note that there is a processing backlog of more than 15,000 applications on the basis of family ties, and the processing times for applications on the basis of family ties has been extended.
New minimum age limit for family reunification
A spouse can now get a residence permit only if the applicant and their spouse are at least 21 years old.
The minimum age requirement must be met when the residence permit becomes valid. This requirement does not apply to a sponsor who is a Finnish citizen. However, the spouse of a Finnish citizen must be aged 21 or over. This means, for example, that a permit may be granted to the 21-year-old spouse of a 20-year-old Finnish citizen.
In addition, if the spouses have children in their joint custody, a residence permit application as the child’s parent or guardian can be submitted even though the parent is under 21 years of age.
New period of residence requirement when the sponsor is a beneficiary of international protection
With certain exceptions, sponsors who have been granted international protection and whose family members apply for a residence permit must have been living in Finland with a residence permit for at least two years when the family member’s application is submitted.
This requirement applies to applications submitted by so-called new family members of a person who has been granted refugee status, family members of a person who has been granted subsidiary protection, and other relatives of a person who has been granted refugee status or subsidiary protection.
If the sponsor has come to Finland as an asylum seeker and has been granted protection status, the calculation of the residence period begins from the date on which the first residence permit was issued to the sponsor. If the sponsor is a quota refugee or has been granted protection status in connection with a decision on a permit on the basis of family ties, the two-year residence period starts from the date on which the sponsor arrives in Finland after their permit has been issued.
The period of residence requirement does not apply to established family members of a person who has been granted refugee status or the family members or other relatives of a person receiving temporary protection.
An established (or ‘old’) family member of a sponsor who has been granted asylum means a family member with whom the sponsor had started living with as a family before the sponsor’s arrival in Finland. An old family member of a quota refugee means a family member with whom the sponsor had started living with as a family before the sponsor was admitted into Finland’s refugee quota.
If the sponsor has been granted refugee status in connection with a decision on a permit on the basis of family ties, persons with whom the sponsor had started living with as a family before refugee status was granted will be regarded as old family members.
Changes to the financial resource requirement for family members of a minor who has been granted international protection
From now on, the requirement for sufficient financial resources will not apply to a family member if the sponsor is an unaccompanied minor who is living in Finland as a refugee. If a minor sponsor has received temporary or subsidiary protection, their family members must have sufficient financial resources. This requirement for financial resources also applies to other relatives of a minor who has been granted international protection, with certain exceptions.
As a rule, the requirement for sufficient financial resources applies when a minor refugee lives in Finland with one of their parents or guardians. The requirement for sufficient financial resources does not apply to old family members if the residence permit application based on family ties was submitted within three months of the date on which the sponsor was informed of the decision to grant them refugee status.
Derogating from the requirement for sufficient financial resources continues to be possible in individual cases if there are exceptionally serious grounds or if the derogation is in the best interest of the child.
Changes to the definition of when a sponsor who has been granted international protection is considered a minor in applications based on family ties
The provision on defining when a child is considered a minor is now aligned with the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union. If the sponsor is an unaccompanied minor who has been granted subsidiary protection, granting a residence permit for a family member requires that the sponsor was a minor on the day when the family member’s residence permit application was submitted. The same requirement also applies to situations where the sponsor is a parent or guardian who has been granted this protection and the applicant is their child.
Following the legislative amendment, only unaccompanied minors who have been granted asylum and the children of a parent or guardian who has been granted asylum will have special status when defining if they should be considered minors. If a sponsor who has been granted asylum arrived in Finland as an unaccompanied minor, a residence permit may only be granted to their family member if the sponsor was a minor on the day when the sponsor submitted the asylum application on the basis of which the sponsor was granted asylum. Granting a residence permit to the child of a person who has been granted asylum requires that the child was a minor on the day when the sponsor submitted the application on the basis of which asylum was granted.
In both cases, the application for a residence permit on the basis of family ties must also in the future be submitted within three months of the day when the sponsor was informed of the decision to grant them asylum.
Pakistani student residence permits will temporarily be processed at VFS Doha
To facilitate a swift identification process for Pakistani students facing issues with entering United Arab Emirates, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Finland accepts student residence permit applications at VFS Doha, Qatarfrom 9July until 6 August 2025.
This special arrangement only applies tostudent residence permit applicants. Family members of student applicants and any other applicants are to continue to schedule their identification appointments as normal at VFS Abu Dhabi.
Key points of the temporary arrangement:
- Student applicants, who are on the VFS Abu Dhabi waiting list, have automatically been scheduled an identification appointment at VFS Doha and will be contacted by email by the Embassy of Finland in Abu Dhabi.
- Students who have already secured an appointment at VFS Abu Dhabi, but want to reschedule to VFS Doha, can contact the Embassy of Finland in Abu Dhabi by email by Friday 11 July 11 2025to inquire about student appointment slots at VFS Doha. If there are available slots, they will be contacted by email with further instructions.
- The offered appointment slot at VFS Doha cannot be rescheduled due to the high volumes and limited slots. Those who do not accept the offered slot at VFS Doha, will need to book a new appointment at VFS Abu Dhabi.
- Residence permit cards will be delivered to the embassy of Finland in Abu Dhabi for the applicants who have completed identification at VFS Doha. The Embassy of Finland in Abu Dhabi will contact applicants when their residence permit card has arrived, and they will be instructed on the card delivery options.
To guarantee a smooth and quick identification visit at VFS Doha,the residence permit application fee should be paid online at Enter Finland before the identification appointment.
In addition, the MFA strongly advises applicants not to apply for a D visa. If D visa is requested, the applicant will need to provide their passport to the Embassy of Finland in Abu Dhabi for the D visa sticker printing.
Appointment bookings for VFS Doha after 11 July 2025will not be accepted.
Sweden
New median wage affects work permit applications
Every year, Statistics Sweden (SCB) updates the median salary in Sweden, i.e. the middle salary in a group of salaries sorted in order from the lowest to the highest. As of 17 June 2025, the median salary has increased to SEK 37,100 (previously SEK 35,600).
To obtain a work permit in Sweden, applicants are required to earn a monthly salary of at least 80 percent of the median salary published by SCB. Those who submit an application from 17 June 2025 must therefore have a salary of at least SEK 29,680 (previously SEK 28,480).
Applications submitted before 17 June 2025 will be considered on the basis of the median salary that applied at the time of application submission.
The following do not need to meet the requirement to make a good living:
- EU/EEA citizens and their family members
- EU Blue Card applicants
- ICT permit applicants
- seasonal workers
- athletes and coaches
- au pairs
- trainees/interns through an international exchange programme
- trainees/interns in higher education
- researchers.
New work permit agreement between Migration Board and Sports Federation
The Swedish Migration Board and the Swedish Sports Federation have revised and updated the existing agreement on work permits for elite athletes and coaches. As a consequence, effective 1 September 2025, the subsistence requirement for elite athletes and coaches is increased and the salary level is linked to the current price base amount.
The agreement between the Swedish Migration Board and the Swedish Sports Federation regulates the conditions for the permit required to work as professional athletes and coaches for people from countries outside the EU. The previous agreement between the parties dates back to 2008.
A key requirement is that the applicant must be able to support himself in Sweden. The new agreement stipulates that the monthly salary must amount to at least one third of the price base amount applicable at the time of application. This means an increase in the minimum remuneration from the current SEK 14,300 per month, which has been applicable since 2014. The new minimum remuneration is SEK 19,600 per month. The remuneration is linked to the price base amount and will change immediately.
United Kingdom
Changes to for Global Talent visa endorsement applications
The Home Office has completed an open procurement process and awarded Tech Nation the contract as the endorsing body for the digital technology pathway of the Global Talent visa. This contract will last for at least three years.
Following this decision, UK Visas and Immigration has announced that there will be minor changes to application process for endorsement from 4 August 2025.
Applying for endorsement on or before 3 August 2025
Applicants must complete both of these:
- the ‘Global Talent endorsement – stage 1’ form on GOV.UK
- the application form on the Tech Nation website.
The application will be rejected if the applicant complete one form but not the other before 11:59pm on 3 August 2025.
Applying for endorsement on or after 4 August 2025
Applicants only need to complete the ‘Global Talent – stage 1’ form on GOV.UK.
Applicants will no longer need to complete the application form on the Tech Nation website. The Tech Nation form will be removed and replaced by an expanded stage 1 endorsement form to simplify the process and ensure consistency across the Global Talent visa.
The criteria for endorsement will remain the same, though the Home Office reserve the right, in conjunction with Tech Nation, to change the qualifying criteria in future.
