Sweden grants berry-picking permits to firms rejected by Finland

Sweden has granted 950 work permits to Thai berry pickers this summer, including permits for subsidiaries of Finnish companies facing criminal investigations or convictions in Finland, Yle reports.

Sweden’s Migration Agency says convictions or criminal suspicions in Finland are not sufficient grounds to deny a work permit to a Swedish employer. Responsibility for working conditions rests with the employers.

Finland denied almost all visas for Thai berry pickers this summer, citing convictions or criminal suspicions involving berry companies. Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs said it was required to prevent labour exploitation and human trafficking whenever there were indications of such risks.

In Finland, the most recent conviction in the berry sector was issued in June. Nine Finnish berry companies are also currently facing charges over allegedly bribing Thai labour officials. The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority has proposed millions of euros in penalty payments for four berry companies over an alleged price cartel.

Sweden has also prosecuted berry companies

Hanna Geurtsen, deputy director of Sweden’s Migration Agency, said Sweden was aware of the problems in the berry industry. Swedish berry entrepreneurs have been convicted of aggravated human trafficking involving Thai pickers, leading to changes in legislation and tighter oversight.

The first criminal suspicions involving the berry industry emerged in Sweden and Finland around the same time, in 2022. That year, Sweden issued a record number of visas to Thai pickers, more than 6,500. Finland also issued a record number, almost 4,000.

The summer ended with criminal investigations in Finland involving two companies, Polarica Marjahankinta and Kiantama. Thailand’s embassy also reported problems with wage payments and working conditions in Sweden. Sweden’s Migration Agency said it had found strong evidence of labour exploitation in the industry.

Swedish police launched a criminal investigation following the reports. In 2024, two Swedish berry entrepreneurs were sentenced to two and a half years in prison for aggravated human trafficking. They were also given seven-year bans from conducting business.

Legal proceedings over unpaid wages also took place in Thailand. According to Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT, compensation totalling 3.2 million Swedish kronor, or more than 290,000 euros, had been paid to Thai pickers who were victims of human trafficking by July this year.

Sweden changed its permit procedures

Geurtsen said Sweden had responded to the problems by changing its procedures. Sweden issued no work permits to Thai pickers in 2024, and granted permits to only 89 pickers last year.

A new law came into force in Sweden at the beginning of June. It no longer allows pickers to be employed through a foreign recruitment company.

Pickers are now hired directly by Swedish companies, and work permits are issued under the EU seasonal workers directive.

Subsidiaries of Finnish berry companies also received permits in Sweden. Bothnia Bär, a subsidiary of Marja Bothnia Berries, applied for 121 seasonal work permits in Sweden, and all were granted. The company’s pickers were not granted visas for Finland. Marja Bothnia Berries has said it will appeal the decisions to an administrative court.

Polarica did not apply for visas for its workers in Finland, but all 288 seasonal work permits sought in Sweden by its subsidiary Polarica Skogsbärsinköp AB were approved.

Both companies have been linked in Finland to abuses in the berry industry. Yle asked both companies for interviews and permission to visit their berry camps in Sweden. The chief executive of Marja Bothnia Berries and Bothnia Bär declined both requests, while Polarica did not respond.

Polarica’s former chief executive was sentenced in June to two and a half years in prison for human trafficking offences involving Thai pickers. Polarica Marjahankinta was also ordered to pay a corporate fine and compensation.