Country playbook · FI/NO

Hiring Thai workers in Finland & Norway

Seasonal crews for harvest, wild-berry and fruit picking, fish processing and peak-season tourism - two Nordic routes built for exactly this work.

Farm & harvestWild-berry & fruit pickingFish & seafood processingSeasonal tourism

Finland - max stay

9 months

per 12 mo · 6-9 mo needs labour-market test

Norway - max stay

6 months

per 12 mo · then 6 mo outside

Norway wage floor

NOK 162.90/h

binding agri rate · NOK 204.79 in HoReCa

Qualifying work

Agri · berries · fish

work tied to the time of year

The Nordic season is short and the labour need is huge, and both countries have permit routes designed for it. Finland has run Thai wild-berry pickers for two decades, and since February 2025 they enter as employees with a contract, a wage and occupational-safety supervision. Norway pairs a clean six-month seasonal permit with farm, fruit and fish-processing work. Both routes now turn on whether the employer can show it will meet its obligations, which is exactly the employer-pays model we already run, and both let you bring the same trained crew back season after season.

The visa route

Seasonal work permits - Finland & Norway

These are two separate national routes, not one Nordic permit - but both are purpose-built for seasonal labour, and we run either alongside the Thai DOE job order so the timelines meet the harvest.

Finland - the permit ladder

Under 90 days, the worker takes a seasonal work visa from a Finnish mission. For 3-9 months the employer applies for a residence permit for seasonal work; a job of 6-9 months brings a labour-market test. The maximum is nine months in any 12-month period.

Finland - berry pickers are now employees

Finland used to leave wild-berry pickers in a legal grey zone on tourist visas. An amendment to the Seasonal Workers Act, in force since 17 February 2025, brought them inside it: a real employment relationship, paid to the collective agreement, supervised by the occupational-safety authority. Where no collective agreement applies the floor is 1,463 EUR gross a month in 2026. That is exactly the clean, documented footing we work on.

Norway - the six-month seasonal permit

Norway grants seasonal permits for up to six months in a 12-month period, after which the worker spends six months outside Norway before the next one. The employer files a concrete offer of full-time work, normally 37.5 hours a week, before the worker can apply. Forestry, agriculture and horticulture, fish processing, restaurants and tourism all qualify. Outside agriculture and forestry, NAV must confirm the post cannot be filled from Norway or the EEA.

Pay and conditions match local norms

Finland pays to the sector collective agreement. Norway requires pay and conditions no poorer than normal for the work, and several sectors have binding hourly floors: on the Labour Inspection Authority rates in force since 15 June 2025, seasonal agricultural and horticultural work is NOK 162.90 an hour for the first twelve weeks and NOK 168.40 after that, with hotels and restaurants at NOK 204.79. Both countries are tightly supervised, so an employer-pays, fully-documented route is not just ethical here, it is the only one that survives inspection.

One corridor, both ends

We run the Thai DOE job order in parallel with the Nordic permit, arrange housing for remote farm and fishery sites, and prepare the crew before departure. Because both countries allow repeat seasons, the people you train this year can come back to you the next.

What the pay looks like

The employer pays a normal Finnish or Norwegian seasonal wage; workers never pay a recruitment fee. The Norwegian figures below are the binding hourly floors published by the Labour Inspection Authority, in force since 15 June 2025 and revised periodically; most employers pay above them. Seasonal roles usually include employer-arranged housing near the site.

Role	Gross / month	Notes
Finland - farm & berry picking	Collective-agreement pay	Employment relationship, OSH-supervised
Finland - seasonal tourism	Per sector CBA	Hotels, resorts, service
Norway - farm & fruit picking	From NOK 162.90 / h	NOK 168.40 after 12 weeks
Norway - hotels & restaurants	From NOK 204.79 / h	Over 20, or 18+ with 4 months
Norway - fish / seafood processing	Normal rate for the work	Set in the contract per order

Finland pays in EUR under the sector collective agreement; Norway pays in NOK at the normal rate for the work (≈ 11.6 NOK/€). Actual pay is set in the contract and confirmed per order.

Certification we test for

Seasonal work has no ISO stamp - what matters is stamina, reliability and readiness for remote-site living. We vet on that and show it before arrival, and many of our pickers and line workers return year on year.

Proven stamina for outdoor harvest and processing-line work
Prior seasonal experience - a large share of pickers come back each year
Basic English and a pre-departure briefing on rights, pay and conditions
Health check and readiness for remote farm or fishery accommodation

What you provide

Your side of the checklist

A signed demand letter with roles, headcount and the season window (we draft it)

A job offer at the collective-agreement (Finland) or normal (Norway) wage

The seasonal residence permit or work permit filed (we prepare the pack)

A labour-market test where required - Finland 6-9 months (we confirm)

Employer-arranged housing near the site, to the required standard

A plan to re-book the same crew next season - both countries allow it

Everything else - Thai-side DOE processing, selection, testing, visas, flights, onboarding - is on us.

Sources

Market figures are indicative and current to 2025-2026; visa rules change - we confirm the exact route, timeline and cost for your order in a fixed quote. Company facts (DOE licence, guarantees) are from the S.1968 profile.

This page is written for employers. We do not place job seekers and do not accept applications from candidates: S.1968 Europe is the European representation of S1968 Manpower Co., Ltd., a Thai overseas-employment agency licensed by the Thai Department of Employment (licence Tor.1250/2565), and every worker is recruited under that licence in Thailand.

Guides for this market

Seasonal11 min readHiring seasonal crews in Finland and Norway: why 1,400 applications were refused in 2026Finland granted 123 seasonal permits to Thai applicants in 2026, out of more than 2,100. The refusals were about employers. Here is what the missions read and what a file that passes looks like.Read the guide

Regulation10 min readThe Single Permit recast: what changed in May 2026, and where it has not landed yetNinety-day decisions, the right to change employer, a grace period for unemployment. The deadline passed on 21 May 2026 and in July the Commission sent formal notices to seventeen member states, Poland and Germany among them. What applies where, and what to plan on.Read the guide

Ethics12 min readWho pays for recruitment: what the 2026 rules actually require of the employerThe EU's due-diligence law got much smaller in 2026 and probably does not reach your company. Three other things do. A straight account of which rules apply, what the worker must never be charged, and what it costs you.Read the guide

Process guide10 min readAlready found your Thai worker? What Thailand still requires before departureA Thai worker you found yourself can travel legally, but not by simply boarding a plane. Thailand allows five routes abroad, bars foreign employers from recruiting on its soil, and checks workers at the airport. The two routes that fit a named hire, and what each costs.Read the guide

Other markets we cover

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