Are you a citizen of the European Union or a citizen of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland?
As a citizen of an EU country or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you can search for work or work in Finland freely for a maximum period of 3 months. After this, you have to register your right of residence. You do not need any other worker’s residence permit.
The right of residence is registered at the service point of the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). You can also do this electronically at
enterfinland.fi. After that, you must still be authenticated by the Finnish Immigration Service.
The registered right of residence is valid until further notice, unless it is cancelled. Once your right of residence has lasted 5 years, you can be granted a permanent right of residence.
Are you a national of a non-EU country?
If you are not a citizen of the EU or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you usually need a worker’s residence permit other right of residence for employment. Before you can obtain a worker’s residence permit, you must have a job in Finland.
You must apply for the 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 the application, you must visit the nearest Finnish mission to prove your identity and present the original copies of the appendices to the application. You need to visit the mission within three months of filing your application online. The application can only be processed after your visit to the mission. Usually, an appointment must be reserved for the mission in advance.
Remember to check your Enter Finland account regularly. If further clarifications are needed for your application, you will be informed of it on your own account.
The processing of the permit application is subject to a charge. You need to pay the fee when you submit your application for permit.
A worker’s residence permit can be granted if you can support yourself with your work in Finland.
Extension permit
If the validity of your residence permit is about to expire and you want to continue staying in Finland, you will need a new fixed-term residence permit. Apply for an extension residence permit in the Enter Finland service. Visit the Finnish Immigration Service’s service point if you are asked to prove your identity and present the originals of appendices. Visit the service point within three months of submitting the application for extension permit.
Remember to apply for an extension permit in time before the previous permit expires. If you apply for an extension permit only after the previous permit has expired, the right to work covered by the permit has also expired.
Read more:
Asylum seekers
If you are an asylum seeker, you can be employed in Finland three or six months after submitting your application for asylum:
- If you have presented a valid and authenticated travel document to the authorities, the time limit is three months.
- if you have not presented a travel document, the time limit is six months.
Are you a seasonal worker?
If you come to Finland for a specific season for work in agriculture or horticulture, forestry or tourism, for example, you are a seasonal worker. If seasonal work in Finland lasts less than 3 months, you do not need a residence permit, but you need to apply for 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 mission.
- 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.
- You do not need a permit or certificate for picking wild berries. However, you must apply for a visa from a Finnish mission if you enter from a country subject to a visa requirement. Exceptions are Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar, countries within the scope of the Finnish embassy’s operations in Bangkok. Berry pickers can no longer come to Finland from these countries with a tourist visa, as the organisation needs to recruit you in an employment relationship so that you arrive in Finland with a residence permit for an employed person.
- If you come for seasonal work for 3-6 months or for a longer period, you must apply for a seasonal work residence permit from the Finnish Immigration Service.
In Finland, the law prescribes a part of working life matters, but many matters are prescribed by a collective agreement. Collective agreements are made jointly by an employer association and a trade union that represents workers.
The collective labour agreement on seasonal employees in berry, fruit and vegetables farms is the Collective Agreement for Agricultural Industries.
- The collective labour agreement states the conditions of employment of all working in the sector, namely the rules concerning employees and employers.
- All berry, fruit and vegetable farms must abide by the collective labour agreement rules.
- The collective labour agreement is available in Finnish, Swedish, English, Russian and Ukrainian.
- Ask your employer for the collective agreement. According to the law, the collective labour agreement must be present at the workplace so that all employees can read it.
A seasonal worker must separately apply for the right to social security and healthcare from the Social Insurance Institution (Kela).
Are you a posted worker?
A posted worker usually works in a country other than Finland. The employer of the post employee has sent him to perform temporary work for a specific period of time in Finland to work in Finland under a contract as a subcontract, internal company transfer or temporary agency work. Posted workers are governed by the law for posted workers in Finland. Read more about the conditions of employment of posted workers here:
A posted worker must be paid at least a salary in accordance with the Finnish collective agreement.
Read more:
Other useful links for you who come to Finland to work
International House Helsinki provides initial services to those who have moved to Finland. The service is aimed at all immigrants who have recently arrived in the Helsinki region.
International House HelsinkiThe pages of the regional employment services offer an information package for those who come to work in Finland.
To work in FinlandWeb pages of InfoFinland contain practical information for immigrants in 12 different languages.
InfoFinlandYou can find information about permits for those coming to Finland to work at the Finnish Immigration Service’s online service.
Application guideSeasonal workers who come to work in a berry, fruit or vegetable farm can find instructions at the Industrial Union’s online service.
Seasonal workThe brochure of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy and Victim Support Finland explains the conditions of employment applied in Finland. You will also find advice there on how to act if you are being exploited.
Working in Finland