You want to apply Seasonal workers

You want to apply for a work permit because you have been offered seasonal employment in Sweden.

  • Important to know
  • How it works
  • Apply

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA, you will in most cases need a permit to work in Sweden.

Seasonal work is a fixed-term employment for work that can only be carried out during a certain part of the year due to weather and other natural changes. Seasonal work is common in agriculture, horticulture, hotels and restaurants, golf and ski resorts, tourism, and in amusement and theme park operations, for example.

To be granted a permit as a seasonal worker, your employment must meet all the requirements. You cannot combine two or more jobs in order to meet the requirements.

These requirements must be met in order for you to be granted a work permit as a seasonal worker:

You must have a valid passport

You must be a resident of, and currently be in, a non-EU country

You must have an employment contract
The employment contract must be signed by both you and your employer.

You must have access to an appropriate standard of housing

You must have, or have applied for, a comprehensive health insurance policy
The comprehensive health insurance must be valid for the entire time you will be in Sweden and cover the cost of urgent and other medical care, hospitalisation, and emergency dental care. It must also cover the cost of medical repatriation, if you need to return to your country of origin for health reasons.

You must be able to prove your qualifications to practise the profession in Sweden
Applies if the work relates to a regulated profession.

You must intend to leave Sweden when your permit expires

Your employment must enable you to make a good living

You must work to such an extent that your salary or wages total at least SEK 13,000 a month.

There must be no other reasons to reject your application

Your application may be rejected if you have previously been granted a seasonal work permit and did not comply with the conditions of the permit, or if your employer has previously failed to comply with their legal obligations to their employees.

Make sure that your employer has the correct information about you
Your employer needs information about your name, date of birth, citizenship and email address. They will use this information when they start your application for a work permit.
It is important that you have access to the email address that you give to your employer until you have received a decision about your application. The Swedish Migration Agency will use this email address when we contact you.

Translate documents
All submitted documents should be in Swedish or English. If you have translated your documents, the translation should be certified. You must also include a copy of the document in its original language.

Plan which embassy to visit to present your passport
You may need to present your passport at an embassy before you can receive a decision. In the application, you must therefore state which embassy you want to visit. Not all Swedish embassies and consulates-general handle migration cases, so it is important to check which one you should contact:

You must attach copies of these documents to your application

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

Correctly made copies of your passport
You can never be granted a permit for longer than your passport is valid.
Read more about what the passport copies must show

Employment contract
It must be signed by both you and your employer.

Pay slips
If you worked for the same employer during the previous season, you must submit copies of all your pay slips from that job.

Documentation of comprehensive health insurance
It must state the insurance company with which you have taken out the insurance and the period during which the insurance is valid. The insurance must cover treatment in Sweden.

Rental agreement or certificate of an impending agreement
Rental agreement or certificate of an impending agreement from the landlord, property owner, or housing agency. If you sublet your housing, you must also submit documents showing that this arrangement has been approved by your landlord, tenant-owner association, or local rent tribunal.

The rental agreement or certificate of approved subletting arrangement should contain

  • address of the housing
  • rent
  • living area (in square meters)
  • number of rooms and kitchen/toilet
  • period of validity and notice period of the rental agreement
  • contact details for the landlord and the tenant
  • signatures of the landlord and the tenant
  • information about the number of people who will be sharing the housing
  • information about the type of housing (e.g. freestanding house, flat, or dormitory).

Documents proving that you are qualified to practise the profession
If your application relates to a regulated profession.

A representative can apply for you, if you grant them power of attorney. In that case, the person who applies for you must attach a copy of the power of attorney to your application.

Power of attorney (107011) Pdf, 1.1 MB.

Read more about power of attorney

Other rules apply if you are a citizen of the EU/EEA or Switzerland, or if you have long-term resident status in another EU country.

EU/EEA citizens with right of residence

If you are an EU/EEA citizen, you have the right to live in another EU/EEA country if you fulfil the requirements for right of residence through work, your own company, your studies, or by having sufficient funds to support yourself. If you have right of residence, you do not need to apply for a residence permit to live in Sweden.

EU/EEA citizens

Swiss citizens

If you are a citizen of Switzerland, you can move to Sweden to work, study, start your own business, or live on your own funds. If you want to remain in Sweden for longer than three months, you must apply for a residence permit for Swiss citizens.

You want to apply – Swiss citizens

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country

If you have long-term resident status in another EU country, you can move to Sweden to work, study or live on your own funds. If you plan to stay longer than three months, you need to apply for a residence permit for long-term residents.

You want to apply – Long-term residents in another EU country

If you have been offered seasonal employment for a period of less than 90 days, you may need an entry visa to enter Sweden. This depends on your country of citizenship.

Countries whose citizens need an entry visa for travel to Sweden External link.

You want to apply – Visiting Sweden for up to 90 days (entry visa)

When you come to Sweden for seasonal work, you must be able to live in housing of an appropriate standard.

Housing of an appropriate standard has

  • continuous heating
  • continuous access to hot and cold water for housework and personal hygiene
  • wastewater sewerage
  • access to a toilet and washbasin, as well as a bath or shower
  • electricity for household consumption
  • a stove, sink, refrigerator, storage areas, and food preparation areas
  • access to storage areas within the property
  • the possibility of washing clothes, either inside the property or within a reasonable distance from it.

The housing must not have deficiencies in terms of the solidity of the building, fire safety, or sanitary conditions.

No, in order to be granted a seasonal work permit, you cannot live in someone else's home. This means that you cannot live at a relative's home during the time you are going to work in Sweden. To meet the requirement, you must rent your housing as the primary leaseholder, sublet it, or own it.

If you have or have applied for a seasonal work permit, you must notify the Swedish Migration Agency if you move to different housing.

If you do not report that you have moved to different housing, this may lead to

  • rejection of your application for a permit or extended permit
  • revocation of your permit
  • in the worst case, punishment in the form of a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of six months.

You can notify us that you have moved to different housing by filling in and submitting the form:

Report change of address (266511) Pdf, 777 kB.

You must clearly state your name and your case number. You must also attach a new rental agreement.

Send the form and rental agreement to

The Swedish Migration Agency
Box 3100
903 03 Umeå

Your employer can rent housing to you. Your employer can also help you to find housing.

If your employer rents you housing or helps you find housing, special requirements apply:

  • The rent must not be unreasonably high in relation to the standard of the housing or to your salary/wages. The Swedish Migration Agency therefore compares your rent with the rent for similar housing in the place where you will be working.
  • As a general rule, the rent may not be deducted directly from your salary/wages.
  • Your employer must provide you with a document stating the terms and conditions of your tenancy.
  • The housing must comply with general health and safety regulations.

The rent may only be deducted directly from your salary/wages if you have given your employer written consent to do so in advance.

The Swedish Migration Agency assesses applications on an individual basis, and the conditions for granting an application must be met in each individual case. As a representative, it is therefore important that you submit an application for each person who is applying for a seasonal work permit and attach all the documents required for each individual.

Yes, if you, as an individual, want to work as a berry picker for a Swedish employer, you must apply for a seasonal work permit.

However, other rules apply to berry pickers who are employed by companies that are not established in Sweden.

You want to apply – Berry pickers

You can be granted a seasonal work permit for a maximum of six months in a twelve-month period. You may be granted one long or several consecutive short permits during this period.

You can never be granted a permit for longer than your passport is valid.

The permit can be extended.

Fee: SEK 2,000.

It is not possible to say exactly how long you will need to wait for a decision. There are many things that affect the waiting time, for example whether your 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 your case.

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

Complete applications

75% of recently decided cases have been decided within:3 months

Incomplete applications

75% of recently decided cases have been decided within:3 months

You may take a job with a different employer. Your new employer must offer you seasonal work and must have advertised the position.

If you apply before your previous permit expires, you can continue working while the Swedish Migration Agency processes your new application.

Even if you change employers, you cannot be granted permission to work for more than six months in a twelve-month period.

If you are applying for a permit for the first time, you must do so from outside the EU, otherwise your application may be rejected.

On the other hand, if you have a seasonal work permit and get a new job or change employer, you can apply for a new seasonal work permit while still in Sweden.

If your application is rejected, you must leave Sweden

If you are currently in Sweden and your application is rejected, you must prepare to leave the country. If you do not leave Sweden voluntarily, you may need to regularly report to the Swedish Migration Agency in a process known as supervision, or be placed in a detention centre run by the Swedish Migration Agency. Your case may also be handed over to the police.

News

2025-07-23

Extended passports become invalid on 1 October

As of 1 October 2025, Swedish authorities will no longer accept passports that have had their period of validity extended by inserting a stamp or sticker into the passport. If you have such a national passport, you should apply for a new one.

2025-05-20

What counts as a salary?

One of the requirements for being granted a work permit is that the salary must enable you to make a good living. A new ruling from the Migration Court of Appeal clarifies what counts as a salary.

2025-04-01

From 1 April, the possibility of changing tracks will end

On 1 April, the Swedish Parliament’s decision to remove the possibility of changing tracks will come into force. This affects those who have been granted, or applied for, a work permit after an asylum application has been rejected. Your co-applicant family members will also be affected.

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.