Employers – You want to employ Berry pickers

You want to hire berry pickers from non-EU/EEA countries who need a work permit.

  • Important to know
  • How it works
  • Apply

If you want to see the information aimed at the employee, you can visit the page You want to apply – Berry pickers.

The information on this page is aimed at employers who want to hire berry pickers from non-EU/EEA countries who are employed by a staffing agency.

If the person who will work for you is not employed by a staffing agency, they must instead apply for a residence permit for seasonal work.

You want to employ – Seasonal workers

The requirements for being grated a residence permit also apply to people who will be working in support of berry pickers, for example cooks, mechanics or interpreters.

When you provide information about the employment of a person who will work in support of berry pickers, you must specify what occupational role the person will have in Sweden.

Clients, representatives, staffing agencies – who does what?

As a client, you are the actor who wants to employ berry pickers via a staffing agency abroad. The staffing agency is the berry pickers’ employer, and can be their representative in the application process.

The client starts the application

As a client, you are the one who starts the application for a work permit for the person(s) you want to employ. You do this by filling in the form Information about the employment, and send it to the employee or their representative.

The requirements for being granted a residence permit also apply to people who will work in support of berry pickers. This means that the same conditions are imposed on you as the employer when, for example, you employ a cook, mechanic or interpreter for the berry pickers.

A residence and work permit is tied to a particular occupation and employer. Therefore, you should write the occupation in which the person actually works when you provide information about the employment on the form.

Requirements for you as a client

In addition to the requirements for the employee and staffing agency, as the client you must meet the following requirements in order for the person you want to employ to be able to get a work permit.

You must be able to report all the costs that the employee must bear
For example, there may be costs associated with their travel to Sweden, application fees, food, and accommodation in Sweden.

You must be able to guide the employee
You must be able to report that you can guide the employee in their work and organise practical issues such as transportation, food and accommodation in keeping with industry customs.

You must have informed the employee
You must be able to present documentation that you have informed the employee about the work, the offered terms of employment, and about the right of common access and traffic rules in Sweden.

You must be able to show that you have paid the agency for payroll costs
If you have previously employed berry pickers via a staffing agency.

You must be able to report how you manage to pay the agreed monthly salary/wages
This also applies in the event of poor access to berries or if the employee is unable to pick berries in quantities corresponding to the offered monthly salary/wages.

For example, you can show that there are cash equivalents in banks or equivalent financial institutions, check credits, or guarantees from banks (applies only to banks within the EU/EEA and Switzerland).

This can also be done through a legally binding commitment from another financier or a guarantor’s bond that can show that assets exist. In support of this, for example balance sheets and earnings reports can also be submitted.

You must give the relevant trade union organisation the opportunity to comment on the terms of employment

Requirements for staffing agencies

In addition to the requirements imposed on you as a client, the staffing agency must also meet the following requirements in order for the person you want to employ to be able to get a work permit.

The staffing agency and the employee must sign an employment agreement
The employment agreement must be signed by both parties.

The staffing agency must agree with the employee on terms of employment and salary/wages
The terms of employment and salary/wages must be at least on par with Swedish collective agreements or what is customary in the occupation or industry. The employment must also enable the employee to make a good living. This means that the employee must have a monthly salary/wages amounting to at least 80 per cent of the median salary that was published by Statistics Sweden (SCB) at the time of application.

To make a good living, the employee must receive a monthly salary/wages of at least SEK 29,680. This corresponds to 80 per cent of the current median salary published by Statistics Sweden (SCB) in June of each year.

Read about the current median salary on SCB’s website (in Swedish) External link.

The salary/wages must also be on par with collective agreements or common practice in the relevant occupation or industry. This means that the employee’s salary/wages may need to be higher than 80 per cent of the median salary.

Read more on the page A good living – maintenance requirements for work permits

What counts as a salary?

Salary is what the employer pays to the employee for work performed. Salary is money that is paid regularly. Compensation for inconvenient working hours and overtime pay are also considered salary, if the compensation is recurring and stated in the employment contract.

Benefits, such as free food and accommodation, are not considered salary.

The staffing agency must arrange insurance for the employee
The insurance must be taken out by the time their employment begins.

The staffing agency must be able to show that they have paid salary/wages
If the staffing agency has previously employed berry pickers.

Ensure that the staffing agency has signed an agreement with the employee

The staffing agency must sign an employment agreement with the employee. It must be signed by both parties. The employee must later attach a copy of the agreement to their application.

In order for the Swedish Migration Agency to assess whether the employment meets the required conditions for a work permit, in addition to name and contact details, an employment agreement should include the following:

  • the employee’s name and address
  • the employer’s name and address
  • information about where the workplace is located
  • title and brief description of work responsibilities
  • form of employment (permanent, fixed-term or probationary)
  • employment start date or time of start
  • notice period, length of probationary period, or end date of employment
  • salary/wages, other salary benefits and how often the salary is to be paid
  • working hours
  • what applies to overtime or additional time work and compensation for such work
  • holiday days or holiday allowance
  • which collective agreement applies, if the employer has signed a collective agreement.

Collect important information

Make sure that you have access to the information about your company and about the employment that you will need to provide on the form Information about the employment.

Information about your company
Company registration number and contact details.

Information about the employer (staffing agency)
Name of the agency and country in which the agency is registered.

Information about the employees
Name and number of employees to which the application relates.

Information about the employment
Occupation, SSYK code for the occupation in question, work responsibilities, form of employment, start date, scope, salary/wages, date of any collective agreement, and insurance company/companies.

Insurance for the employee

In order for the employee to be able to get a work permit, the employer, i.e. the staffing agency, must have taken out medical insurance, life insurance, occupational injury insurance and occupational pension insurance for the employee by the time they start their employment.

People who are in Sweden for less than one year do not have the same right to social welfare benefits as those who reside here. It is therefore very important that the employee also has their own private insurance that can cover any costs that might arise if they fall ill or have an accident.

Medical insurance provides financial support if the insured person falls ill or is injured. Medical insurance should not be confused with healthcare insurance, which helps the insured person to gain faster access to care.

A life insurance policy provides financial security if the insured person dies. For example, the money that is then paid out can help their surviving family be able to afford to stay in their home.

With an occupational injury insurance policy, the policyholder can receive compensation in the event of long-term unemployment or sick leave. The insurance provides compensation if the policyholder has been injured on the job or on the way to or from their workplace. This form of insurance is often referred to in Swedish as “Trygghetsförsäkring vid arbetsskada” and abbreviated to the acronym “TFA”.

Occupational pension insurance is an insurance solution to secure an occupational pension. It can be taken out by the employer for the benefit of the employee, or taken out by the employee but then paid by the employer.

Select which trade union might want to comment

In most cases about residence permits for work, a trade union organisation has the opportunity to comment on the employment. On the form you should therefore fill in the trade union that is relevant to the work that the employee is to perform.

If the trade union refrains from commenting on the terms of employment, the Swedish Migration Agency will decide whether the offered terms of employment correspond to collective agreements or what is customary in the occupation or industry.

You must attach copies of these documents to the application

Make sure that the information on your submitted documents is clearly visible.

  • Proof of sufficient financial means
  • Summary of paid wages
  • Description of how the work is to be organised
  • Accounting of all costs charged to the berry picker
  • Documented and proven transfer to the berry picker
  • Contract between the client in Sweden and the foreign company
  • Registration certificate from the Swedish Companies Registration Office

A copy of power of attorney to act as a representative.

Power of attorney (107011) pdf, 535.1 kB.

Read more about power of attorney

If you will be acting as a representative for an employer, you need to arrange a power of attorney.

Please note that if you are a representative with power of attorney, you are the only person who will have access to the case during the entire application period, because you create the e-application using your e-ID. You will thus be the only one who can complete the employer’s part of the application and respond to any requests for supplementation.

Read more about power of attorney

The berry picker can be granted a work permit for the duration of their assignment in Sweden, but never for longer than their passport is valid.

It is not possible to say exactly how long it takes to receive a decision. There are many things that affect the waiting time, for example whether the application is complete to begin with or whether we need to request more information, or whether we need to check with other authorities when investigating the case.

Here we show statistics on how long it has taken for people who have applied for this permit. The statistics are based on cases decided in the last 12 months.

There are too few decided cases for us to be able to calculate the waiting time.

News

2025-05-23

Median salary to be updated on 17 June

On 17 June, Statistics Sweden (SCB) will update the median salary in Sweden. This will affect the salary level requirement for people applying for a work permit.

2025-04-01

The possibility of changing tracks ends on 1 April

On 1 April, the Swedish Parliaments decision to remove the possibility of changing tracks will come into force. This affects people who have been granted, or applied for, a residence permit on the basis of work after their asylum application has been rejected through a so-called change of track.

2025-03-05

The Swedish Migration Agency's new website has now been launched

On 5 March, the Swedish Migration Agency launched a completely new version of migrationsverket.se, with a new structure and a more user-friendly navigation. The purpose of the new website is primarily to make it easier for visitors to find the information they need.

2025-01-07

New EU Blue Card rules now apply

As of 1 January, new requirements and rules apply for anyone who wants to apply for an EU Blue Card and existing Blue Card holders.

The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for considering applications from people who want to live in Sweden, seek protection or become Swedish citizens. Our work is based on Swedish laws and international conventions, with a focus on legal certainty and effective reception and return.