You also need a permit from the Swedish Armed Forces if MSR is to be carried out in Swedish territorial waters, or if the research cruise includes a visit to a Swedish port. The Coast Guard is responsible for forwarding applications for permission to enter (also called diplomatic clearance) to the Swedish Armed Forces when state vessels seek access to Sweden's territorial waters (0-12NM).

Application forms

The application consists of several forms, depending on where the MSR is to be carried out:

Application fee

The application fee for marine scientific research is SEK 5,200.

  • The fee only applies to applications for permission to carry out marine scientific research in Swedish territorial waters. If the research is to be carried out only in the Swedish economic zone (12–200 NM), no application fee is charged.
  • You must pay the fee when you submit the application.

Please note: The Coast Guard will not start processing the application until the payment documentation has been received.

You must pay the application fee to the Coast Guard's bank giro account:

Account holder: Kustbevakningen

IBAN: SE38 1200 0000 0128 1011 1928

BIC/SWIFT: DABASESX

Reference: state the name of the vessel, the name of the research cruise (cruise name) and the date of the research cruise as the reference

Receipt: proof of payment must be attached to the application

The application fee was introduced in 2025 under Chapter 7, Section 1, point 10 of the ordinance on fees for examination and supervision under the Environmental Code (förordningen om avgifter för prövning och tillsyn enligt miljöbalken).

When and how must the application be submitted?

You must submit the MSR application no later than six weeks before the planned start of the research. You must submit the signed application as a PDF, together with the completed Excel file (.xlsx) as a separate attachment, through the embassy of the applicant's country in Sweden. The embassy then sends the application to registrator@kustbevakningen.se.