Employ a seafarer

A seafarer is employed to carry out ship work, e.g. as a ship's officer, sailor, marine engineer, or on-board service personnel. Seafarers who are going to work on board a Swedish ship in domestic traffic need a work permit.

Swedish (svenska)
Print

In order for the employee to be granted a work permit as a seafarer, they must meet the requirements for qualifications and certificates, in accordance with the Swedish Transport Agency's rules on qualifications for seafarers.

Requi­re­ments for seafarers

As an employer, you must

  • write an employment contract that is signed by both you and the seafarer.
  • advertise the position for at least 10 days in Sweden and within the EU/EEA and Switzerland.
  • arrange insurance for the employee, which is taken out when their employment begins.
  • give the relevant trade union organisation the opportunity to comment on the terms and conditions of employment
  • have agreed with the seafarer that they will work to such an extent that their salary/wages amount to at least 80 percent of the median salary published by Statistics Sweden that applied at the time of application. Read about current maintenance requirements here

For work lasting less than three months, citizens in some countries must also have a visa. External link, opens in new window.

Requi­re­ments for using the e-service

In order to use the e-service and provide information about the employment, you must

  • have an e-identification
  • know the email address of the person you want to hire.

Foreign busi­ness with a branch in Sweden

If your business is foreign but has a branch in Sweden, it is the branch that must provide information about the employment in the e-service and thus begin the application. They are also responsible for providing additional information about the employment to the Swedish Migration Agency, if necessary.

The trade union that organises employees in the professional field concerned must be given the opportunity to express its opinion on the terms of employment contained in the information about the employment. It is the trade union in question, not the central organisation, that must provide a statement concerning the terms of employment.

Once you have completed the information about the employment the e-service, select the trade union that is relevant to the work that the employee will perform. You submit the information for a statement via the e-service. The trade union reviews the terms of employment and sends its statement to you via the e-service.

If you do not use the e-service, send the form Information about the employment and the union statement form to the trade union organisation that is relevant to the work that the employee is to perform. They will then send their statement back to you.

LO trade unions External link, opens in new window.

SACO trade unions External link, opens in new window.

TCO trade unions External link, opens in new window.

Once the decision has been made, you and the employee will be sent a letter stating whether or not a permit has been granted. If you want to know the reasons for the decision, you will need a power of attorney from the employee. If the person is granted a permit, it will be valid for the same period of time that the engagement is ongoing but never longer than the person’s passport is valid. The permit only allows the person to work for you.

People who are granted a permit for three months or more will also be given a residence permit card which is 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.

If the contract is extended, the employee must apply for an extension of his/her permit. If the person has had a work permit for at least six months and has applied for an extension before the current permit expires, he/she has the right to continue working during the waiting period. A work permit can be granted for maximum two years at a time for a total of four years. If there is still a contract after four years, the person can get a permanent residence permit.

When you hire 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 only need to notify the Swedish Tax Agency when you hire a person for the first time. If you are applying for an extension, you do not need to notify the Swedish Tax Agency.

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 must provide insu­rances

In order for an employee to receive a work permit, the employer must provide health insurance, life insurance, industrial injury insurance and occupational pension insurance for the employee when they begin working.

Health insu­rance

Health insurance is insurance that provides financial support if the insured becomes ill or injured. A health insurance should not be confused with a healthcare insurance, which helps the insured to get faster access to care.

Life insu­rance

Life insurance provides financial security if the insured dies. The money that is then paid out can for example ensure that the family can afford to stay in the house or cooperative home.

Occu­pa­tional injury insu­rance

Occupational injury insurance means that the insuranceholder can receive compensation in the event of unemployment or sick leave for a longer period. The insurance provides compensation if the insuranceholder is injured at work or on the way to or on the way home from the workplace.

Occu­pa­tional pension insu­rance

Occupational pension insurance is an insurance solution to secure an occupational pension. It can be signed by the employer for the benefit of the employee, or signed by the employee, but then paid by the employer. When occupational pension insurance is taken out can vary between different collective agreements.

In order for an employee to extend their work permit, they must have been provided with health insurance, life insurance, industrial injury insurance and occupational pension insurance for the entire period in which they have had a work permit in Sweden. To show that the insurance has been valid throughout the employment period, the document must state the start date of the policies and their terms and conditions.

Someone who has been in Sweden for less than one year does not have the same rights to social benefits as someone who is a resident of Sweden. For this reason, it is important that the person in question has been provided with insurance to cover any costs that may arise in the event of illness or an accident.

As the employer, you must fill in the form Information about the employment and send it together with the statement from the trade union to the employee who then submits them with the application for a work permit.

You must fill in the form called Information about the employment, number 232511. If the offer is for several persons with the same work tasks and conditions of employment, you must also fill in the form called Name List, number 234011, and attach it to the application.

Information about the employment, form 232511 Pdf, 818.4 kB, opens in new window.

Name List, form 234011 (in Swedish) Pdf, 1.2 MB, opens in new window.

In the information about the employment, you must state

  • the company’s registration number
  • the SSYK code
  • the personal details of the person you are hiring
  • how and when you have advertised the job and the reference number or ID number of the advertisement (when new staff are being recruited).

When applying for a work permit, use Statistics Sweden's (SCB) codes according to the Swedish Standard Classification of Occupations (SSYK2012).

You will find the SSYK codes on Statistics Sweden's (SCB’s) website. External link, opens in new window.

Statistics Sweden (SCB) External link, opens in new window.

If you use the e-service, you will be given clear instructions on how to fill in the information about the employment and what other documents you need to submit. It will be easier to do things correctly right from the start which increases your chances of getting a decision faster.

EU-flagga - Medfinansieras av Europeiska unionen

Last updated: