4. Passport: A valid passport with:
5. Invitation Letter: An official invitation from the company or person on official company paper is a must. Invitation letter must contain:
6. Certificate of Employment: An employement certificate specifying the date of recruitment, position held in the company, salary details, the purpose of travel and leave approval.
7. Medical Insurance: Travel medical insurance covering the entire period of intended stay, valis for all schengen states and covering any expenses which might arise in connection with repatriation for medical reasons, urgent medical attention .emergency hospital treatment or death during the stay .the minimum coverage must be 30.000 EUR.
8. Tickets: Round trip ticket reservations, primary reservation is mandatory.
9. Accomodation: Hotel booking confirmation or any other proof of accomodation(primary reservation)
Movement certificate: This document is required in case you are:
Other documents that the embassy may require.
Foreign people who want to invest in Sweden and stay temporarily for that purpose can also apply for a business visa which is valid for multiple entries. With this visa they can travel back and forth to run their business for stays of up to 90 days during a 180 day period for up to five years. People who stay in sweden for less than 3 months for the purpose of business they don’t have to take a residence permit they can get a business visa.
Business Visa for Sweden: Schengen Business Visits
A business visit to Sweden is made on a Schengen short-stay visa, not a work permit. The distinction matters more than most travellers realise, because doing actual work on a business visa is a breach that follows you into every later application.
What a business visa allows
A Schengen short-stay visa permits stays of up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period across the Schengen area as a whole, not 90 days per country. Companies with staff travelling frequently across Europe hit this limit sooner than they expect, because time spent in Germany or the Netherlands counts against the same allowance as time in Sweden.
Permitted activities generally include meetings, negotiations, conferences, trade fairs, training and site visits. Not permitted is taking up employment, being paid by a Swedish entity, or performing productive work for a Swedish business. Where the purpose is genuinely to work, the correct route is a work permit or, for a transfer within a corporate group, an ICT permit.
What you need to apply
- A passport valid well beyond the intended stay, with sufficient blank pages
- An invitation letter from the Swedish company or organisation, stating the purpose, the dates and who bears the costs
- Evidence of your employment and position with the sending company
- Proof of sufficient funds for the stay
- Confirmed accommodation and travel arrangements
- Travel medical insurance valid across the Schengen area, meeting the required minimum coverage
- Evidence of ties to your home country, which is what answers the question of whether you will return
Applications are made to the Swedish embassy or consulate, in many countries through an outsourced visa application centre.
Why business visas are refused
Refusals rarely turn on paperwork being absent. They turn on it being unconvincing:
- An invitation letter that is vague about the purpose or does not clearly identify the inviting company
- Insufficient evidence of ties to the home country, so the officer is not satisfied you intend to leave
- Financial evidence that does not match the length or nature of the trip
- A stated purpose that reads as work rather than a business visit
- Previous overstays or breaches anywhere in the Schengen area
For companies bringing colleagues or clients to Sweden regularly, the invitation letter is worth getting right once and reusing. A weak invitation is the most common single cause of an otherwise sound application failing.
For employers
If you invite people to Sweden regularly, or if visits keep turning into something closer to work, review whether the business visa route still fits. Companies frequently discover late that what they treated as a series of business visits should have been a work permit or an ICT permit, and the consequences of that fall on the employee and the employer alike.
Frequently asked questions
How long can I stay in Sweden on a business visa?
Up to 90 days in any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area rather than per country.
Can I work on a business visa?
No. Meetings, negotiations, conferences and training are permitted. Employment or productive work for a Swedish business is not, and requires a work permit.
Do I need an invitation letter?
In practice yes. It should state the purpose, the dates, the relationship between the parties and who is covering costs.
What if my visa is refused?
Refusals set out the grounds and there is a route to appeal. Often the more practical course is a properly prepared fresh application addressing the stated reason, but that depends on the grounds given.
Does time in other Schengen countries count?
Yes. The 90 days is shared across the entire Schengen area, which is the rule frequent business travellers most often breach without realising.
We prepare business visa applications
Sweden Relocators AB prepares Schengen business visa applications for individuals and for companies bringing staff, clients and partners to Sweden, including invitation letters that stand up to scrutiny. Where a business visit is really the start of something longer, we will say so before you apply rather than after a refusal.
Call +46 72 327 62 76, message the same number on WhatsApp, or email info@swedenrelocators.se. For Danish business visits see our partner company Nordic Relocators.
General information, not individual legal advice. Visa requirements vary by nationality and by the mission handling your application. Last reviewed 26 August 2026.