You must have the right to work in Finland
If you are a foreign employee, make sure you have all the necessary permits before you come to Finland. Once in Finland, you will have to prove to your employer that you have the right to work.
Citizens of the Nordic countries
If you are a citizen of Iceland, Norway, Sweden or Denmark, you are free to seek employment and to work in Finland.
If you spend more than 6 months in Finland, you must report your residence to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. You can register your residence at the service point of the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). You can also register online at enterfinland.fi. After that, you must still be authenticated by the Finnish Immigration Service.
Citizens of EU countries, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland
If you are a citizen of a Member State of the European Union, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, you are free to seek employment and to work in Finland.
If you spend more than 3 months in Finland, you must report your residence to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. You can register your residence at the service point of the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). You can also register online at enterfinland.fi. After that, you must still be authenticated by the Finnish Immigration Service.
Ukrainian war refugees
If you have arrived in Finland from Ukraine due to the Russian invasion, you can stay in Finland without a visa and apply for temporary protection or asylum. You can apply for temporary protection in person from the police or the border authority once you are in Finland. The application is free of charge.
Your right to work and study in Finland begins immediately after you register an application for temporary protection with the police or border authority.
If you have a valid reason for a different residence permit, such as family ties to Finland or a job, you can also apply for a residence permit on these grounds.
Read more
Finnish Immigration Service: Temporary protection (in Finnish, Swedish, English and Ukrainian)
Citizens of other countries
If you are not a citizen of the Nordic countries, a Member State of the European Union, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, you will usually need an employee residence permit or another residence permit entitling you to gainful employment. Before you can obtain an employee residence permit, you must have a job in Finland.
You must apply for your first residence permit before you arrive in Finland. You can apply for a permit online in the Enter Finland service at enterfinland.fi.
Once you have submitted your application, you must visit your nearest Finnish embassy, consulate or the office of an external service provider to prove your identity and present the original copies of documents attached to your application. Remember to check your Enter Finland account regularly. If additional information is required for your application, you will be notified through your account.
If you cannot file an online application, you can also bring a paper application form and its appendices to the nearest Finnish mission. You can print the application form from the Finnish Immigration Service website (in Finnish, Swedish, English and Ukrainian).
You must apply for the permit yourself; your employer cannot apply for it on your behalf. The processing of the permit application is subject to a charge. You need to pay the fee when you submit your application for a permit. However, you should never pay anything for a job. Under Finnish law, you cannot be required to pay for a job at any stage.
You can start working once you receive a residence permit entitling you to work, a seasonal work certificate or a seasonal work visa.
Your right to work may come with some restrictions. For example, an employee’s residence permit is restricted to a specific sector. You can work in the occupational sector associated with your job and for which your permit was granted. In addition, you can work in the what are referred to as the “labour shortage sectors”.
Read more
Finnish Immigration Service Application Finder
InfoFinland.fi: Moving to Finland
Extensions and changes to an employee residence permit
If the validity of your residence permit is about to expire and you want to continue living in Finland, you will need a new residence permit. You can apply for an extension in the e-service at enterfinland.fi. Visit the Finnish Immigration Service’s service point if you are asked to prove your identity and present any originals of attached documents.
Remember to apply for an extension permit well before your previous permit expires. Provide your employer with proof of the new application and residence permit once you receive it.
If you don’t apply for an extension permit until your previous permit has expired, your right to work under that permit has also expired.
If you change jobs or roles, it is important to note that your new job or role must generally be in the same occupational sector. If you change sectors, you have to apply for a new residence permit.
Read more
Finnish Immigration Service: Permit extension based on employment
Asylum seekers
If you are an asylum seeker, you can take up gainful employment in Finland either 3 or 6 months after submitting your application for asylum:
- If you have presented a valid passport or other travel document to the authorities, the time limit is 3 months.
- If you have not presented a valid travel document, the time limit is 6 months.
When the Finnish Immigration Service decides on your asylum application, it will tell you whether your right to work is still valid. If you are not sure about your right to work, you can ask about it from the Finnish Immigration Service by email. You can find the email address and instructions on the Finnish Immigration Service website.
Read more
Finnish Immigration Service: Right to work for asylum seekers
InfoFinland.fi: Right to work in Finland
Students
If you have a student residence permit in Finland, you can engage in paid work for an average of 30 hours per week in any field. The number of hours per week may be exceeded in some weeks, as long as it is an average of 30 hours per week at the end of the year.
If your degree includes work placements or a final project, you can complete them without restrictions.
Read more
Finnish Immigration Service: Residence permit application for studies
Seasonal workers
If you come to Finland for a specific season for work in sectors such as agriculture, horticulture, forestry, or tourism, you are a seasonal worker. The duration of seasonal work can be up to 9 months in a 12-month period.
In Finland, the law regulates some aspects of working life, but many matters are governed by collective agreements (known as “työehtosopimus” in Finnish, commonly abbreviated as TES). Collective agreements are made jointly by an employer association and a trade union that represents workers.
The terms and conditions of employment in the collective agreement for rural industries apply to seasonal work performed in employment relationships, such as on berry, fruit, and vegetable farms. In Finland, harvesters of wild berries and other natural products are also generally employed and are subject to the terms and conditions of employment for rural industries.
The terms and conditions of employment for rural industries are available in the Finnish Industrial Union’s Teollisuusliitto app in Finnish, Swedish, English, Ukrainian, Russian, and Thai. Among other things, the Teollisuusliitto app also provides information on the terms and conditions of employment in the horticultural and forestry sectors in several languages. You can download the app to your phone via this link or from the Google or Apple app stores.
Residence permits for seasonal workers
If you are a citizen of an EU or EEA country and you come to Finland for seasonal work, you do not need a work permit.
If you are not a citizen of an EU or EEA country and you come to Finland for seasonal work that lasts less than 3 months, you do not need a residence permit. However, you will need to apply for a seasonal work visa or a seasonal work certificate:
- If you come to work for less than 3 months from a country subject to a visa requirement, you must apply for a seasonal work visa from a Finnish embassy or consulate.
- If you come to work for less than 3 months from a visa-exempt country, you must apply for a seasonal work certificate from the Finnish Immigration Service. Please note that you must have visa-exempt days available during the validity of the certificate.
If you are not a citizen of an EU or EEA country and you come to Finland for seasonal work that lasts 3–9 months, you must apply for a residence permit for seasonal work from the Finnish Immigration Service. If your employment lasts longer than 9 months, you must apply for an employee residence permit.
If you have previously been employed in seasonal work in Finland, this may affect your new seasonal work permit. When calculating the length of your seasonal work, the Immigration Service will also take into account any previous period of seasonal work that falls within the 12 months preceding the expiry of the permit you are applying for.
If you want to add a new seasonal employer to your current seasonal work permit, you can submit an application to the Finnish Immigration Service to add an employer.
Seasonal workers must apply separately to the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Finnish abbreviation “Kela”) for the right to health care in Finland. More detailed instructions are available in Kela’s online service.
Detailed instructions on permits required for seasonal workers
Finnish Immigration Service: Seasonal work
Wild berry pickers
In Finland, harvesters of wild berries and other natural products are generally employed, which means they are subject to the same regulations as other seasonal workers. However, if you sell berries you have picked to a berry business and you are not an employee of that company, i.e. you are not in an employment relationship, you are subject to the Berry Act. You can find information about your rights under the Berry Act in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s online service in Finnish, Swedish, English, Thai, Ukrainian, and Russian.
Posted workers
A posted worker usually works in a country other than Finland. A posted worker is sent to Finland by their employer for a fixed period to perform temporary work there as a subcontractor, an internal company transfer, or a temporary agency worker.
A posted worker must be paid at least the wage specified in the Finnish collective agreement.