Employing a seasonal worker

A seasonal worker is a person who lives in a country outside of the EU/EES and Switzerland, and who is staying temporarily in Sweden to do seasonal work in accordance with an agreement on a fixed-term employment.

Seasonal work is linked to a certain time of the year when higher than normal work efforts are required. In Sweden, seasonal work occurs for example in agriculture, forestry, garden industry, the hotel and restaurant industry, travel industry, tourist and reservation services, operation of ski facilities and golf courses, theme parks and the entertainment industry.

Other rules apply for berry-pickers who are employed by companies that are not established in Sweden.

Read more about work permits for berry-pickers

If, as an employer, you rent or provide accommodation to the employee, the following conditions apply

• the rent must be proportionate to the salary and standard of the accommodation. (This means the rent must not be unreasonably high with regard to the standard of the accommodation, nor must it be so high that the tenant needs to have income support for living expenses after the rent has been paid).
• the rent can only be deducted from the seasonal worker's salary if he or she has given written consent to you to do so
• you must give the seasonal worker a written document with the terms of rent
• the accommodation must comply with general health and safety regulations.

Fill out the form Accommodation details – Appendix for seasonal work permit application, form 264011 Pdf, 710.1 kB, opens in new window..

To show that the accommodation requirement is fulfilled, you need to send in a copy of a rental agreement or a certificate for an upcoming contract from the landlord or housing agency. The rental agreement or certificate should contain

• the address of the accommodation
• the rent
• the living area (square meters)
• number of rooms and kitchen/WC
• the terms of the rental contract (period of validity and period of notice)
• the contact details of the landlord and tenant
• the signatures of the landlord and tenant
  
• the number of people, including the employee, who will be sharing the house or apartment
• the type of accommodation (for example house or apartment)

Please note that a live-in arrangement at someone else’s residence is not allowed. A live-in arrangement is a situation where a tenant rents a certain part of a residence while the landlord lives in and uses the rest of the residence.

Certain industries are subject to more stringent control before the Migration Agency can grant a work permit.

You are covered by such requirements if you plan to employ someone to work in one of the following industries:

• Cleaning (81290, 81210)
• Hotel and restaurants (55101, 56)
• Construction (41200, 421, 42990, 43)
• Trade (471–478)
• Agriculture and forestry (0113, 012, 02102)
• Automobile repair (452)
• Service (9602, 9604, 9609)
• Staffing (782)
• Personal Assistance (88101, 88102)'

Read more about more stringent control for certain industries

Once you have provided information about the employment in the e-service, select the trade union that is relevant to the work that the employee will perform.

If the job information about the employment applies to multiple people, you cannot use the e-service and must send the information manually, along with information about the individuals to whom the job pertains. This also applies to trade unions that usually handle statements digitally. When you submit the offer manually, the trade union only needs to provide a statement once.

Once you have provided information about the employment via the e-service, an email with a link will be sent to the person you wish to hire. The employee then submits an application for a work permit via the link.

As an employer, you can track the case by logging in to the e-service.

When a decision has been made, a copy will be sent to you as the employer in Sweden stating whether or not a permit has been granted. If you want to know the reasons for the decision, you need a power of attorney from the employee. The permit applies only for work for the employer and in the role specified in the information about the employment.

People who are granted a permit for three months or more will also be given a residence permit card issued by the embassy or consulate-general. The card must be presented together with a passport upon entry to Sweden and it is proof of the person’s right to be in Sweden. It takes up to four weeks to manufacture and deliver the card.

Read more about a residence permit card

If the Swedish Migra­tion Agency rejects the appli­ca­tion

A decision on a permit for seasonal work can be appealed within three weeks. Information on how to do this can be found in the employee's decision.

When you employ someone from a country outside the EU, you must inform the Swedish Tax Agency. You do this by filling in the form "Notification – Employment of a Foreigner SKV 1160" stating the name, address and period of employment of the person who is going to work for you. The form can be found on the Swedish Tax Agency’s website.

Form for notifying the Swedish Tax Agency External link, opens in new window.

You must save copies of documents that show that the person has the right to be and work in Sweden. The documents must be archived for the entire period of employment and for 12 months thereafter.

You can provide information about the employment using the form Information about the employment, 232511. You then send the information to the person you want to employ.

Information about the employment, form 232511 Pdf, 823.5 kB, opens in new window.