Working in Finland

Work in FinlandGuide for employees and entrepreneurs

interested in Finland

te-services.fi

An

ton

Ivan

ov/S

hu

ttersto

ck

Ministry for Employment and the Economy, 11/2014

Layout: Edita Publishing Ltd | Printed by: Edita Prima Ltd

Illustrations: Pixmac, Shutterstock

PEFC/02-31-135

3

Content1. Welcome! 4

2. Job search and permits 9

• StartyourjobsearchbeforecomingtoFinland 9

• LookingforworkinFinland 9

• Recognitionofforeignqualificationsandtherighttopracticeaprofession 10

• Wanttobecomeanentrepreneur? 10

• Learnaboutpermits 12

• Applyforaresidencepermit 15

3. Moving and settling in to Finland 17

• Findingaplacetolive 17

• Registrationandpersonalidentitycode 17

• Bepatient–everythingtakestime 18

4. On the labour market, at work and in a profession 20

• Workinghoursandtermsofemployment 20

• Salary,wagesandtaxation 20

• Unionizingandproblem-solvingintheworkplace 22

5. Secure living in Finland 24

• RighttoFinnishsocialsecurity 25

• Pensionandunemploymentbenefits 25

• Incomesupport 26

• Integrationservices 26

• Finnisheducationsystem 27

• FinnishandSwedishlanguageandtheirstudy 28

• Finnishcitizenship 28

6. Checklist for foreign employees 30

4

1. Welcome!

You’vemadeanexcellentchoice.Finlandisan

open,equalsociety,whichoffersasecure,diverse

lifeforall.Ourwell-beingisbasedonwork,top-

classeducationandresearch.Successinexportslays

thefoundationforprosperity.Today,two-thirdsof

thegrossdomesticproductcomesfromtheservice

sector.

FinnishwomenwerethefirstinEuropetoreceive

therighttovote.Amajorityofwomenworkout-

sidethehome.Athirdofallsalariedemployeesat

managementlevelarewomen.

Finlandisaleaderintechnologyinmanysec-

tors.Thevalueattachedtoknowledgeandexper-

tisecanbeseenthroughoutsociety.Basiceducation

5

Bus driver Henrietta Koskenmäki, country of origin – Hungary:

“In Finland, even women drive buses. This is rare in my home country, Hungary.”

andmostpost-graduateeducationisfreeofcharge.

Youthsareexpectedtobetrainedinatleastone

profession.

Finnishcompaniesoperateglobally.Likewise,

manyforeigncompaniesoperategloballyoutof

Finland.

Finland’slocationinthenorthofEurope,atthe

crossroadsbetweenEastandWest,hasinfluenced

itshistoryandculturalheritage.Finland’sharshnatu-

ralconditionshaveshapedFinnsandtheircharacter.

Weareseenbymanyasaquiet,determinedpeople.

Ourpopulationisageingrapidly.Thisiswhyfor-

eignjobseekerswillplayanevenmoreimportant

6

Service supervisor Ahmet Akin, country of origin – Turkey:

“Contrary to popular belief, Finnish is not impossible to learn. I gained a command of the language in around seven months. My wife and I spoke English at first, but we started to speak Finnish without even noticing.”

Physician Ilya Baryshnikov, country of origin – Russia:

“I learned how Finns think and their culture through work. I also

made Finnish friends through work”

roleonthefuturejobmarket.Therearejobstobe

found,particularlyintheserviceandhealthcaresec-

tors.Newentrepreneursarealsoneeded.

Theever-changingworkplacerequiresinnova-

tionandthedesireforcontinuousimprovementfrom

eachandeverypersonintheworkforce.Employees

whotacklechallengesanddevelopskillsacrossawide

rangeofsectorswillsucceedonthejobmarket.

Thisguideanswersthequestionsmostfrequently

askedbyimmigrantstoFinland.Thefocushereison

workandtheworkplace.Ouraimistooutlinethe

basicsanddirectthereadertowardmoredetailed

information.

Thecontentsoftheguidewereplannedtogether

withseveralagenciesandorganisations.Applicable

regulationscan,however,changequickly.Theweb-

sitesrecommendedhereshouldbecheckedtofind

themostup-to-dateinformation.

YourmovetoFinlandwillgosmoothlyifyou

learnaboutourcountryandsocietybeforearriv-

ing.LearninghowtospeakFinnishwillimproveyour

chancesforsuccessontheFinnishjobmarket.

Finland in a nutshell 2014

● Population: 5.4 million

● Capital: Helsinki (Population: 600,000)

● 40% of the Finnish population lives in the ten largest cities

● Average family size: 2.8 persons

● Average salary - Men: 3,530 €/month, Women: 2,891 €/month

● Life expectancy – Men: 77.5 years, Women: 83.4 years

● Computers in 88% of all households

● Over 80% of Finns 18-64 years of age speak English

● Finns take approximately 8 million trips abroad each year

● Approximately 7 million foreign tourists in Finland each year

● Libraries visited by 2 million people each year

● Youth math scores among the highest in OECD countries

● Finnish freedom of press and expression number one in the world

● Workforce: 2.7 million people

● Unemployment rate: 8.2%

● Unemployed job seekers: 329,900, 30,000 of whom are foreigners

● Number of foreign nationals residing permanently in Finland: 195,511

● Number of foreign nationals residing temporarily in Finland each year:

100,000–150,000

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An

ton

Ivan

ov/S

hu

ttersto

ck

8

9

An

ton

Ivan

ov/S

hu

ttersto

ck

2. Job search and permits

StartyourjobsearchbeforecomingtoFinland.Be-

ginbydeterminingwhetherFinlandhasanyemploy-

mentmatchingyourprofessionalqualifications.

TheWorkinfinland.fiwebsiteoffersawiderange

ofinformationonworkinginFinland,availablejobs

andself-employment.

�� www.workinfinland.fi

Youcanalsofindinformationonapplyingforjobs,

theFinnishjobmarketandavailablejobsontheEU-

RESportal.TheemploymentagenciesofEU/EEA

memberstatesbelongtotheEURES-EuropeanEm-

ploymentServicesnetwork,whoseadvisersprovide

assistanceininternationaljobsearches.Youcancon-

tactyournearestEURESAdviserforadviceandguid-

ance.ThecontactinformationforAdvisersisfound

intheEURESportal.

�� www.eures.europa.eu

Beproactive.Makeuseofallavailablechannelsin

yourjobsearch.Youmightfindinformationonjobs

inthenewspaper,atarecruitingfairorthroughac-

quaintances.

Notallavailablejobsarepubliclylisted.Ifyouare

sureaboutajobyouareinterestedin,contactthe

employerdirectly.Employerswanttoseetheappli-

cant’sprofessionalskillsandqualificationsbeforehir-

ingthem.Bepreparedtoshowtheprospectiveem-

ployeryouremploymentandeducationalrecords.

Alsobepreparedforthefactthattheprofessional

skillsandqualificationsacquiredinyourhomecoun-

trymaynotbeautomaticallyacceptedontheFinnish

jobmarket.

Manyemployerslookforprospectiveemployees

throughsocialmedia,particularlywhereexpertposi-

tionsareconcerned.Networkingwillgiveyouanad-

vantageasanapplicant.

Ifyouareplanningtostartyourownbusiness,

contactanEmploymentandEconomicDevelopment

Officeadviserasearlyaspossible.Youareeligibleto

receivefinancialassistance(start-upmoney)toensure

incomeduringtheinitialphaseofyourenterprise.

Looking for work in Finland

IfyouareacitizenofanEUorEEAmemberstateor

Switzerland,youmayclaimanunemploymentben-

efitfromyourcountryoforiginwhilstlookingfor

workinFinlandforaperiodofthreemonths.Ifyou

resideinFinlandformorethanthreemonths,you

mustregisteryourrightofresidence.

Inordertoclaimanunemploymentbenefitfrom

yourcountryoforigin,youmusthavebeenunem-

ployedinyourcountryoforiginforatleastfour

weeks.BeforearrivinginFinland,youmustobtaina

U2formfromtheagencyresponsibleforunemploy-

mentbenefitsinyourcountryoforigin.Registeras

ajobseekerwithanemploymentoffice(TEOffice)

withinsevendaysofyourarrivalinFinland.

Freemobilityalsoappliestothefamilymembers

ofEUandEEAcitizens,eveniftheyarenotthem-

selvesEUorEEAcitizens.

TEOfficesprovideinformationonthejobmarket

andavailablejobs.WhendealingwithaTEOffice,

bringalonganofficialformofidentification,your

resumeandemploymentrecords.TEOfficesarelo-

catedinmosttownsandcities.

Youcanalsoreceiveassistancefromnational

telephoneservices,JoblineandEnterpriseFinland,

whichprovideadviceonlookingforjobsorbecom-

inganentrepreneur.Theyalsoprovideguidanceon

howtouseonlineservices.


�� www.te-palvelut.fi/tyolinja

�� www.yrityssuomi.fi/puhelinpalvelu

10

Finnishlibrariesarealsousefulandfreesourcesof

information.Librarypatronsarefreetousetheli-

brarycomputers.

�� www.kirjastot.fi

Recognition of foreign qualifications and the right to practice a profession

TheNationalBoardofEducationdecidesontherec-

ognitionofforeignacademicqualificationswhenap-

plyingforpostsorassignmentsinthepublicsector.

Initsdecisionontherecognitionofacademicquali-

fications,theNationalBoardofEducationspecifies

whatkindofeligibilityyourqualificationswillconfer.

TheNationalBoardofEducationalsoissuesstate-

mentsonforeignvocationalqualifications.Although

thestatementdoesnotconfereligibilityforpublic

sectorpositionsorserveasaprofessionalqualifica-

tion,itdoeshelpinlookingforjobs.Afeeischarged

fordecisionsandstatements.

Aprivateemployerprimarilyassessesthequalifi-

cationsofaprospectiveemployeeusingtheirown

selectioncriteria.Insomecases,arecognitiondeci-

sionisalsoneededintheprivatesector,suchasfor

positionsinaprivatedaycarecentre.

Highereducationandothereducationalinstitu-

tionsdecideontheeligibilityforpost-graduatestud-

iesbasedonaforeigndegreeearnedoraccredita-

tionofstudies.

Thepracticeofsomeprofessionsrequiresanof-

ficialpermit.Thepermitisgrantedbytheadministra-

tiveagencyresponsibleforthefieldinquestion.For

example,therighttopracticeaprofessioninhealth

careisgrantedbytheNationalSupervisoryAuthority

forWelfareandHealthValvira.

�� www.oph.fi/tutkintojentunnustaminen

�� www.minedu.fi

�� www.valvira.fi

The member states of the European Union

are: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic,

Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece,

Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia,

Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta,

Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal,

Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia,

Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Non-EU member states of the European

Economic Area are Iceland, Liechtenstein

and Norway.

Want to become an entrepreneur?

Today,self-employmentappealstopeopleofvary-

ingagesandbackgrounds.Finlandneedsenterpris-

esthatcreatejobs.Evenentrepreneurswithforeign

backgroundsareneeded:thisiswhyaneffortisbe-

ingmadetomakeself-employmentsimpler,more

profitableandmoresecure.

BusinessfreedomistheruleinFinland.However,

someprofessionalfieldsaresubjecttopermitsand

licensing.Inthesefields,practicingaprofessionre-

quirestrainingorqualification.

Anenterprisemayrequireapermitorofficialreg-

istration.Anypersonplanningtopracticeaprofession

orstartabusinessshouldcheckthepermitandregis-

trationrequirementsfortheirfield.

AnyEUorEEAcitizenmayfreelypracticetheir

professioninFinland.Non-EUandnon-EEAcitizens

mustapplyforaresidencepermitforaself-em-

ployedpersonifpracticingaprofessionwillbetheir

primarysourceofincome.

11

Managing director, entrepreneur Khuong Le, country of origin – Malaysia/Vietnam:

“Your nationality has nothing to do with succeeding in business or entrepreneurship. On the contrary, it can actually give you credibility on an international market.”

12

Incasesinvolvingalicensedprofession,EUand

EEAcitizensalsorequiretherequiredpermit.

CentresforEconomicDevelopment,Transportand

theEnvironment(ELYCentres),EnterpriseFinlandand

otherorganisationsinthefieldprovidebusinesscon-

sulting,traininganddetailedinformation.

�� www.yrityssuomi.fi

�� www.ely-keskus.fi

�� www.kauppakamari.fi

�� www.uusyrityskeskus.fi

YoucanalsofindadditionalinformationintheBe-

cominganEntrepreneurinFinlandguide:

www.uusyrityskeskus.fi/

neuvontamateriaalit

TEOfficescangrantstart-upmoneytothosewant-

ingstarttheirownenterprise.Thepurposeofthe

start-upmoneyistoguaranteeincomeduringthe

start-upphase.


Learn about permits

OnceyouaresureaboutmovingtoFinland,acquaint

yourselfwiththepermitsnecessaryforimmigration.

Theworktobeperformed,itsdurationandyourcoun-

tryoforiginallinfluencewhatregulationsapplyand

whatkindofpermitsyouwillneed.

u If you are an EU or EEA citizen,youareentitled

toworkandpracticeaprofessioninFinlandon

anequalbasiswithFinnishcitizens.Youmaybe-

ginworkingandpracticingyourprofessionas

soonasarriveinthecountry.Ifyouwillbeliving

inFinlandformorethanthreemonths,youmust

registeryourrightofresidencewiththePolice.

�� www.poliisi.fi

Allnon-EUcitizenfamilymembersofanEU

citizenresidinginFinlandformorethanthree

monthsmustbeincludedontheEUcitizen’sresi-

dencecardorvalidresidencepermit.

u Non-EU/EEA citizens maynotbeginworkingin

Finlandwithoutaresidencepermit.Whenapply-

ingforaresidencepermit,youmustalreadybe

employed.Inpractice,thismeansthatyouhavea

bindingofferofemploymentfromanemployer.

Thepermitcanbearesidencepermitforanem-

ployedpersonoroneforothertypesofwork.

Thegrantingofaresidencepermitforwork

requires,amongotherthings,thatyouwilllive

onthesalaryyouearnfortheentiredurationof

yourresidencepermit.Anotherrequirementof

theresidencepermitforanemployedpersonis

thattherearenosuitablecandidatesfromthe

EU/EEAforthejobinquestion.

Entrepreneursmustapplyforaresidencepermit

foraself-employedpersonifthetypeofbusinessis

anunlimitedpartnership(avoinyhtiö)orself-pro-

prietorship(toiminimi),orifyouareageneralpart-

nerinalimitedpartnershipcompany(kommandi-

ittiyhtiö).Asapersonpracticingaprofession,your

businessmustbefinanciallyprofitable.

u If the work lasts no more than three months, no

residence permit is requiredin,forexample,the

followingprofessions:

Interpreter, teacher, adviser, athlete, coach, car-

egiver, sports official (referee), professional artist,

seaman, a berry/fruit/special crop/root vegeta-

ble/or vegetable picker, fur farm employee, re-

searcher, product presenter, film crew member,

tour guide, driver of a foreign vehicle, and an

employee performing temporary procurement or

subcontracting work.

13

Personswhorequireavisamusthaveavalid

visaoraSchengenresidencepermitgrantedby

anothercountry.

u Residence permits for other types of work.Ifyou

donotrequirearesidencepermitforemployed

persons,youmayneedaresidencepermitfor

othertypesofwork.Personsrequiringaresidence

permitforothertypesofworkincludespecialists,

employeesofreligiousornon-profitassociations,

trainees,topormiddle-levelcompanyexecutives,

guestteachers,trainersorconsultants.

u A residence permit for persons other than an

employee or those practising a professionmay

includetherightwork.Insuchcases,youwillnot

needaseparateresidencepermitforothertypes

ofwork.Carefullyreadthroughyourresidence

permitdecisiontoseewhatrighttoworkisin-

cludedinit.

u Qualification/degree earned in Finland.Ifyou

havestudiedandearnedaqualification/degree

inFinland,youmayapplyforanewwork-based

residencepermituponfindingajob.

u Long-term resident status.Ifyouareanon-EU

citizenwhohasbeenresidentwithintheEurope-

anUnion,youmaybeeligibleforlong-termresi-

dentstatusinamemberstate.TheEUresidence

permitisgrantedafterresidingintheEUforan

uninterruptedperiodoffiveyears.

u Finnish ancestry.IfyouhaveFinnishancestryor

anotherwisecloseconnectionwithFinland,you

maybeeligibleforaresidencepermit.Receiving

theresidencepermitdoesnotrequireemploy-

mentorstudy.ThisrightappliestoformerFinnish

citizensorthedescendantsofFinnish-bornciti-

zens,suchasIngrianFinns.

u Part-time profession.Youmaypracticeapart-

timeprofessionwitharesidencepermitgranted

onothergrounds.

Receivingthispermitoftenrequiresfulfill-

ingspecialconditionsandrules,whichshouldbe

checkedontheFinnishImmigrationServiceand

MinistryforForeignAffairswebsites(mostrecent

update).

�� www.migri.fi

�� www.formin.fi

TheInfopankkiwebsiteofferspracticaladviceand

informationonmovingtoFinlandandlifeinour

country.Thewebsiteisavailableinseveraldifferent

languages.

�� www.infopankki.fi

Citizen of the EU or EEA or Switzerland

You may work and practice a profession in

Finland on an equal basis with Finnish citi-

zens. You do not require a residence per-

mit, but you are required to register your

right of residency with the Police after liv-

ing in Finland for three months.

Non-EU/EEA citizen

You will require a residence permit issued

by the Finnish Immigration Service in order

to work and practice a profession.

14

Production planning manager Alexander Nenonen, country of origin – Russia:

“I don’t rank nationalities. That’s just as impossible as saying which of your parents you love more: your mother or father.”

15

Apply for a residence permit

Personswhowanttoworkandpracticeaprofession

inFinlandmustsubmittheirresidencepermitappli-

cationstoaFinnishmissionabroad.Insomespecial

cases,theapplicationcanbesubmittedtotheFinn-

ishPolice.Theemployeemustattachtheemployer’s

bindingjoboffertotheirresidencepermitapplica-

tion.PersonswhowillpracticeaprofessioninFin-

landmustattach,forexample,abusinessplanto

theirresidencepermitapplication.

Theemployee’sapplicationisfirstprocessedby

aTE Office.Initspartialdecision,theTEOfficewill

determinewhetherthereislabouravailableinthe

jobmarketareaforthejobinquestionaswellas

whetherthetermsofemploymentcomplywithla-

bourlaws.TheTEOfficewillalsoexaminetheem-

ployer’srequirementsandtheadequacyofthefor-

eigner’sincome.

The Finnish Immigration Serviceinvestigates

whetherthegeneralprerequisitesforgrantingaresi-

dencepermithavebeenmetandthendecideson

grantingone.AFinnishmissionnotifiestheapplicant

ofthedecisioniftheapplicantisabroad.Iftheappli-

cantisalreadyinFinland,theywillbenotifiedbythe

FinnishImmigrationServiceorPolice.

Incasesinvolvingentrepreneurs,thepartialdeci-

sionismadebyaCentreofEconomicDevelopment,

TransportandtheEnvironment(ELYCentre).Inits

decision,theELYCentreassessestheprofitabilityof

theenterpriseaswellastheadequacyofthefor-

eigner’sincome.

Thefirstpermitgrantedisalwaysafixed-term

permit,usuallyoneyearinduration.

Itisgrantedeitherasatemporaryorcontinuous

residencepermit.Acontinuousfixed-termresidence

permitisgrantedfornomorethanfouryearsatatime.

Apermanentresidencepermitisgrantedwhen

apersonhasbeenlivinginFinlandonacontinuous

fixed-termresidencepermitforanuninterruptedpe-

riodoffouryearsandtheprerequisitesforgranting

acontinuousresidencepermitarestillvalid.

Aresidencepermitforanemployedpersonis

usuallygrantedforoneormoreprofessions.Ifyou

havesecondjobinanotherprofessionalfield,you

mayapplyforapermitforbothjobs.Incertaincas-

es,apermitcanalsobespecifictoasingleemployer.

�� www.migri.fi


�� www.ely-keskus.fi

Uponreceivingyourresidencepermit,youmaybe-

ginworkingorstartyourbusinessinFinland.

YouareentitledtoliveandmoveaboutinFinland

aswellasleaveandreturntothecountrywithinthe

periodofvalidityofyourpermit.Yourfamilymayap-

plyforaresidencepermitbasedonfamilyties.

16

17

3. Moving and settling in to Finland

WhenmovingtoFinland,takeadvantageofFinland’s

publicservices.Publicagenciesserveimmigrantsin

Finnish,SwedishandEnglish.

BeforemovingtoFinland,acquaintyourselfwith

customsregulations.Thepersonalandhouseholdef-

fectsofpersonsmovingfromaEUmemberstateto

Finlandareexemptedfromcustomsduty.However,

thisexemptiondoesnotextendtoanyprofessional

orbusinessequipment.

Householdgoodsandpersonaleffectsbeing

broughtintoFinlandfromoutsidetheEUmustbe

declaredtoFinnishCustomsatthepointofentry.

TheimportationofavehicleintoFinlandmustbe

declaredregardlessofwhetheritcomesfromwithin

theEUoroutsideit.

Theimportofanimalsandspecialitygoodsis

onlypermittedundercertainconditions.Ifneeded,

FinnishCustomswillprovideyouwithadditionalin-

formationonimportrestrictions.

�� www.tulli.fi

Finding a place to live

Beginyoursearchforaplacetolivebylooking

throughthehousinglistingsinnewspapersandon-

line.Respondtolistings,askformoreinformationor

makeyourownlisting.

MostFinnsliveinowner-occupiedhousing.Mu-

nicipalities,companies,non-profitorganisationsand

privatecitizensofferrentalflats.

Rentalflatsincitycentresareexpensive.Munici-

palitiesofferaffordablerentalflats,buttheiravaila-

bilityislimited.Owner-occupiedhousingonahome

purchasemortgagemaybe,overtime,amoresensi-

blehousingoptionthanarentalflat.

Theavailabilityandpricesofhousingvaryfrom

placetoplace.

�� www.kunnat.net

�� www.etuovi.com

�� www.oikotie.fi

Registration and personal identity code

Whenforeignersareregisteredinthepopulation

register,theyareassignedamunicipalityofresidence

andFinnishpersonalidentitycode.Theregistered

basicpersonaldataisenteredinthePopulationIn-

formationSystem.

Thisinformationisusedby,forexample,tax,

healthcare,judicialandelectoralauthorities.

Registrationisrequiredbyallpersonssettlingper-

manentlyinFinland.Theapplicantmustbeableto

provethepermanenceoftheirresidency.

EvenforeignerslivinginFinlandforashortperiod

oftimemayreceiveapersonalidentitycode.They

mayneeditforwork,amongotherthings.Theap-

plicantisregisteredasatemporaryresident,butis

notassignedamunicipalityofresidenceinFinland.

Inthiscase,theapplicantisnotnecessarilyenti-

tledtothesamerightsaspermanentresidents.

Aproperlysubmittedmovingnotificationisre-

quiredforregistration.Youcanregisterinpersonat

yournearestLocalRegisterOffice.Bringyourpass-

portoranationalIDcardwithphotograph,avalid

residencepermit,anymarriage,divorceand/ordeath

certificatesandthebirthcertificatesofanychildren.

ForeignerstemporarilyresidentinFinlandcan

alsoregisterataLocalRegisterOfficeorataxoffice.

ApplicationsmayalsobesubmittedataKela(Social

InsuranceInstitutionofFinland)office.

Bynolaterthan2015,foreignnationalsmayap-

plyforaFinnishpersonalidentitycodeinconnection

withreceivingaresidencepermit.

18

Non-EU/EEA citizen

You are required to submit a change of ad-

dress notification with the Local Register

Office. Your personal data will be entered

in the Finnish Population Register.

When the requirements are met, regis-

tration ensures that persons moving to Fin-

land permanently are assigned a munici-

pality of residence and a Finnish personal

identity number.

�� www.maistraatti.fi

Be patient – everything takes time

Sometimesgettingusedtoanewcountryandits

culturerequiressupport.Multiculturalassociations

andimmigrantorganisationssupportintegrationinto

anewsociety.

Associationsserveasabridgebetweentheold

worldandthenew.Theyprovideadvice,guidance,

trainingandorganiseculturalandrecreationalactivi-

ties.

�� www.ysl.fi

�� www.mosaiikki.info

�� www.mirahouse.fi

GainingacommandoftheFinnishlanguageiskey

tointegration.Particularlyinlargercities,thereisa

widevarietyoflanguageinstructionavailable.

Youcanimproveyourskillsatanadulteducation

centre,uppersecondaryschoolforadults,folkhigh

school,openuniversityorstudyingonlineindepen-

dently.

�� www.kotisuomessa.fi

�� www.ktol.fi

�� www.avoinyliopisto.fi

�� www.kesayliopistot.fi

19

Special librarian Hysni Krasniqi, country of origin – Kosovo:

“Multiculturality enriches a country. I see it in the library. I serve

hundreds of nationalities and don’t see any inequalities whatsoever.

Only those belonging to a religion go to the churches or mosques. Everyone comes to the library, without any preconceptions.”

20

4. On the labour market, at work and in a profession

Thesalary,employmentandoccupationalsafetyre-

quirementsforforeignimmigrantsareequaltothose

forFinns.

AswithFinnishsocietyasawhole,Finland’s

workingcultureisfoundedonequality.Employees

andsupervisorstreateachotherasequals,regard-

lessofposition.

Therulesoftheworkplaceareclear.Employers

arerequiredtoprovideworkandsafeworkingcon-

ditions.Employeesarerequiredtofollowtheirsu-

pervisors’instructionsandperformtheirworkthor-

oughly.

Employersareresponsibleforprovidingpreven-

tiveoccupationalhealthcareintheworkplace.Many

employersalsooffermedicalservicestotheirem-

ployees.

Eachandeveryemployeehasthebasicrightto:

receiveasalaryinaccordancewiththecollective

bargainingagreement;organisetradeunions;asafe

workingenvironment;andequaltreatment.

Makingagreementsandkeepingtothemistypi-

caloftheFinnishworkplace.Beinglateisconsidered

rude.Finnstendtospeakdirectlyandgetrightto

thepointatwork.

Working hours and terms of employment

RegularworkingtimeinFinlandisnomorethan

8hoursadayand40hoursaweek.Withinthe

boundsofapplicablelaws,exceptionstothismay

beagreeduponinacollectivebargainingagreement

betweentradeunionsoranemploymentagreement

betweentheemployerandemployee.

Workingovertimeisonlypossiblewiththecon-

sentoftheemployee.Ahigherhourlywageisusu-

allypaidforanyovertimeworked.

Thenormalworkweekisfivedayslong.The

lengthoftheannualleaveisdeterminedaccording

tothenumberofmonthsworkedorasotherwise

agreed.Theannualleaveforfull-timeemployeesis

generallyaroundonemonthinduration.Eachem-

ployeeisentitledtoatleasttwopaiddaysofleave

foreachmonthworked.

Employmentdetailsarespecifiedinanemploy-

mentagreement,inaccordancewithapplicablelaws

andthecollectivebargainingagreement.Although

anemploymentagreementcanbeoral,awritten

employmentagreementisalwaysrecommended.

Whentheemploymentends,theemployeeisen-

titledtoreceiveaworkcertificate.

Salary, wages and taxation

Thegeneralsalarylevelandminimumsalariesfor

eachfieldarespecifiedinacollectivebargaining

agreementnegotiatedbetweentradeunionsand

employerorganisations.Thesecollectivebargaining

agreementsalsoincludeothertermsofemployment

tobeobservedinemploymentagreements.

WhenworkinginFinland,yougenerallypayyour

taxestotheFinnishstate.

IfyouareworkinginFinlandfornomorethansix

monthsintheserviceofaforeignemployer,youwill

usuallynotberequiredtopaytaxestotheFinnishstate.

Ifyouareworkingasatemporaryemployeefor

aforeignemployer,yourincomewillbetaxedin

Finland,providedthatthetaxconventionwithyour

stateofresidenceallows.

IncometaxinFinlandfallswithintheEuropean

average.TaxrevenuespaidtotheStateandmunici-

palityofresidenceareusedtopayforsocialservices,

suchaspublictransport,daycare,healthcareand

education.

21

Sales engineer Frederico Contente, country of origin – Portugal:

“In my home country, Portugal, a new employee like me gets to use the copy machine, maybe even compile statistics. Here, they had me dealing with the plant manager right away. ‘Here’s the phone – call.’ ‘Me?’”

22

Noemployeeshouldeverbetreatedpoorly,un-

derpaid,worktoomanyhoursorworkindangerous

conditionsatwork.

Unionizedemployeeselectaunionrepresentative

fromamongtheirranks.Therepresentativeservesas

aliaisonbetweentheemployeesandemployer.

Iftheemployerandemployeescannotreachan

agreement,thedisputeisbroughtbeforetherepre-

sentative,occupationalsafetyandhealthrepresenta-

tiveoroccupationalsafetyofficerforresolution:If

necessary,theserepresentativeswillturntotheun-

ionforassistance.

Tradeunionsprovideassistanceinsuchmatters

asmakingsalaryclaimsbylegalmeans.Occupation-

alsafetyandhealthauthoritiesalsoprovideguide-

lines.Theoccupationalsafetyofficerhastherightto

conductworkplaceinspections.

TheOccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministra-

tionmayordertheemployertocorrectanyover-

sights,butitdoesnotprovideanyassistanceinle-

galproceedings.APublicLegalAidOfficeshouldbe

contactedforthispurpose.

�� www.tyosuojelu.fi

�� www.oikeus.fi/oikeusapu

Ifaunionmemberbelongstotheunion’sunemploy-

mentfund,theyareentitledtoreceiveahigherdaily

unemploymentallowancethanthebasicallowance

intheeventthattheyareunemployed.Employees

canbelongtoanunemploymentfundwithoutbe-

longingtoatradeunion:InFinland,therearealso

privateunemploymentfundsthatareunaffiliated

withanytradeunion.

Theamountoftaxespaiddependsonyouran-

nualincomeandthenumberofdeductionsyoumay

take.Thehigherthesalary,thehigherthetaxper-

centage.Taxesarewithheldfromthesalaryinac-

cordancewithyourpersonaltaxcard.Theemployer

isresponsibleforthewithholdingtax.

IfforeignersresideinFinlandformorethansix

months,theyarerequiredtopaythesameincome

taxesasFinns.WhenresidinginFinlandfornomore

thansixmonths,a35%taxatsource(flatrate)is

withheld.

Beforethetaxatsourceistakenfromthesalary,

510eurosamonth,or17eurosadaymaybede-

ductedfromthesalary.Thisdeductionmustbemen-

tionedonyourtaxcard.Nootherdeductionsmay

beclaimedonyoursalary.

IfapersoncomesfromanEEAmemberstate

oracountrywithwhichFinlandhasataxconven-

tion,theymayrequesttopayincometaxesinthe

samemannerasFinnishresidentsinsteadofthetax

atsource.

Localtaxofficesprovideadviceandguidanceon

tax-relatedmatters.

�� www.vero.fi

Unionizing and problem-solving in the workplace

AmajorityofFinnishemployeesbelongtoatrade

union.Tradeunionsareorganisedintothreetrade

unionconfederations.Unionmemberspayduesand

receiveunionbenefitsandservicesinreturn.

Ifanyproblemsariseattheworkplace,theymust

bereportedtotheemployer,sothatitcantakethe

necessaryactionstoresolvethesituation.

23

Foreman, Alainblaisi Ngassa, country of origin – Cameroon:

“We Africans are a noisy bunch. When we’re communicating in what we think is

a normal way, our Finnish co-workers think we’re fighting. If I notice that they

seem uncomfortable, I calm things down: No worries - we’re just having a chat.”

24

5. Secure living in Finland

Gerontologist Lutfor Rahman, country of origin – Bangladesh:

“Finland is as beautiful as a picture.”

TheFinnishConstitutionguaranteeseachand

everypersontherighttoreceiveindispensablesub-

sistenceandcare.Thefoundationofthesocialwel-

fareandhealthcaresystemismunicipalsocialwel-

fareandhealthcarepaidforbytheState.

Socialsecurityconsistsofservicesandbenefits.

Someofthemoretypicalsocialservicesaredaycare,

familycounselling,servicesforthedisabledandsub-

stanceabuseservices.Healthservicesincludehealth

stationservices,specialisedmedicalcare,childbirth

anddentalcare.

Althoughmunicipalitiesareresponsibleforsocial

welfareandhealthcareservices,thesearealsoavail-

ablefromprivateproviders.

Someofthemorecommonsocialbenefitsare

sicknessallowance,parentalallowance,childbenefit,

25

Refrigeration technician Enn Kotselainen, country of origin – Estonia:

“Finns can wait patiently for a doctor’s appointment for up to four hours. Estonians would definitely complain.”

childcareallowance,housingallowance,reimburse-

mentformedicinesandunemploymentbenefits.

TheSocialInsuranceInstitutionofFinland(Kela)

overseesallsocialbenefitsincludedinbasicsecurity.

Right to Finnish social security

TherightofpersonsmovingtoFinlandtoFinnishso-

cialsecurityisdeterminedbasedonhowlongthey

willresideinthecountry.Therighttosocialsecurity

canalsobegrantedbasedonworkbeingperformed.

Asarule,allpermanentresidentsofFinlandare

entitledtothesocialbenefitsprovidedbyKela.The

permanenceofresidencyisdeterminedbyKela.

IfthereisnointentionofmovingtoFinlandon

apermanentbasis,accesstosocialsecuritycanalso

begrantedbasedonworkperformedinFinland.

TherighttoFinnishsocialsecuritywillnotbe

grantediftheimmigrantreceivesbenefitsfroman-

othercountrybasedonEUlegislationorasocialse-

curityagreementoriftheyarecoveredbysocialse-

curityinanothercountry.

ImmigrantstoFinlandmustapplytoKelainorder

togainaccesstoFinnishsocialsecurity.

Keladecidesonwhethertograntaccesstosocial

securityandissuesaKelacardtoallpersonsbelong-

ingtotheFinnishhealthinsurancesystem.

�� www.kela.fi

Pension and unemployment security

TherearetwopensionsystemsinFinland:theearn-

ings-relatedpensionandanationalpensionscheme,

whichguaranteesaminimumlevelofincome.Each

employeehasearnings-relatedpension,accident

andunemploymentinsurance.

Unemploymentinsurancecontributionsareused

tofundearnings-basedunemploymentinsurance.

Earnings-relatedpensionsareprovidedby

privatepensioninstitutionsandtheFinnishCentre

forPensions.Privateinsuranceinstitutionsandthe

FederationofAccidentInsuranceInstitutionsare

responsiblefortheprovisionofaccidentinsurance.

�� www.etk.fi

Socialsecurityandunemploymentinsuranceare

jointlyfundedbyemployers,employeesandthe

State.Employerscollecttheiremployees’contribu-

tionfromtheirsalary.

Thebasicincomeofanunemployedjobseekeris

securedwithadailyunemploymentallowanceorla-

bourmarketsubsidy.Thedailyunemploymentallow-

anceispaideitherasabasicunemploymentallow-

anceorearnings-relatedallowance.

Inordertobeeligibleforthedailyunemploy-

mentallowance,youmust:beunemployed;register

asajobseekerwithaTEOffice;belookingforfull-

26

timeemployment;andfulfiltheemploymentcondi-

tion(i.e.youworkedforasufficientperiodoftime

beforebecomingunemployed).

Inordertoreceiveanearnings-relatedallowance,

youmustbelongtoanunemploymentfund.The

amountoftheallowancedependsonthesalaryyou

receivedbeforebecomingunemployed.

Iftheemploymentconditionisnotfulfilled,an

unemployedjobseekermaystillbeentitledtoala-

bourmarketsubsidy.Inordertoreceivealabour

marketsubsidy,youmustbepermanentlyresident

inFinland.

Thebasicdailyallowanceandlabourmarketsub-

sidyarepaidbyKelaandtheearnings-relatedallow-

ancebyanunemploymentfund.


�� www.kela.fi

Income support

Incomesupportisthefinaltypeofincomesecurity.

Itisgrantedtohouseholdswhichdonothavesuf-

ficientincomeorassetstocoverbasicdailyneeds.

Incomesupportisgrantedonaneedsbasis,usually

onemonthatatime.

Theamountofincomesupportgrantedcovers

anycostsexceedingtherecipient’sincome.Income

supportisprovidedbythesocialwelfareofficeof

themunicipalityofresidence.


Integration services

Anunemployedjobseekerisentitledtoapersonal

integrationplan,whichisdraftedtogetherwiththe

municipalityandaTEOffice.

Theplanmayincludeintegrationtraining.This

involvescoursesinFinnishorSwedish,courseson

othersubjects,on-the-jobtrainingandvocational

guidance.

Insomecases,anintegrationplanwillalsoin-

cludestudiesgearedtowardcompletingacompre-

hensiveschooloruppersecondaryeducationora

vocationalqualificationaswellassupplementalstud-

iesatuniversitylevel.

IntegrationtrainingcoursesinFinnishorSwedish

helpimmigrantsgainaccesstotheworkplaceand

furthereducation.

Iftheprofessionalqualificationsacquiredbyan

immigrantintheirhomecountrydonotmeetFinn-

ishrequirements,theycanbeupdatedwithsupple-

mentarytraining.

Thedurationofintegrationtrainingdependson

thegoalsset.Theplanisvalidfornomorethan3

yearsoruntilthejobseekerisemployedontheopen

jobmarket.

Kelamayalsograntintegrationsupporttoajob-

seekercommittedtotheplan.Thistypeofsupportis

grantedonthesamebasisaslabourmarketsupport

andinthesameamount.

Thejobseekerhastheopportunitytoreceivevo-

cationallabourtraining.Thisisprovidedatvocation-

aladulteducationcentres,highereducationinstitu-

tionsandprivateeducationalinstitutions.Trainingis

freeofchargetostudents.Applicationsforlabour

markettrainingaresubmittedtoaTEOffice.

�� www.te-palvelut.fi


27

Coach Kevin Collet, country of origin – France:

“I was seriously motivated to learn Finnish. I wanted to understand not only Finnish culture, but also my girlfriend’s parents.”

Finnish education system

TheFinnisheducationsystemconsistsof:uanine-yearcompulsoryeducationuapost-compulsoryeducationatvocationalandgeneraluppersecondaryschools

uhighereducation,whichisprovidedatuniversi-tiesofappliedsciencesanduniversities.

Basiceducationisfree,comprehensiveeducation.

Oncethechildhascompletedtheentirebasicedu-

cationsyllabus,theyhavefulfilledtheireducational

obligation.

Post-compulsoryeducationincludesageneralor

vocationaluppersecondaryeducation.Thethree-

yeargeneraleducationcurriculumprovidesabasic

uppersecondaryeducationandpreparesstudents

foruniversity.Afteruppersecondaryschool,students

mayapplyforbasicvocationaleducationorhigher

educationstudies.

Personsearningavocationalqualificationpossess

basicvocationalskillsandtheprofessionalcompe-

tenceneededintheworkplace.

Furthervocationalandspecialistvocationalquali-

ficationsaresupplementary.Theymaybecomplet-

edascompetence-basedqualifications.Preparatory

trainingisprovidedforthequalifications.

Universitiesplaceanemphasisonacademicre-

searchandtheinstructionbasedonit.Universities

ofappliedsciencesofferapracticaleducationthat

meetstheneedsoftheworkplace.

InFinland,avocationalqualificationmayalsobe

earnedbymeansofanapprenticeship.Apprentice-

shipsarebasedonafixed-termemploymentrela-

tionshipbetweenanemployerandastudent,during

whichthestudentreceiveson-the-jobtraining.

Adulteducationisofferedforalllevelsofeduca-

tion.ItispossibletocompleteanEnglish-language

degreeprogrammeathighereducationinstitutions.

CIMO,anadvisoryandserviceorganisationforinter-

nationalmobilityandco-operation,offersexchange,

trainingandscholarshipprogrammes.

Itispossibletoreceivestudentfinancialaid(opin-

totuki)tofinancestudies.Thisfinancialaidincludes

astudygrant(opintoraha),ahousingsupplement

(asumislisä)andagovernmentguaranteeforstudent

loans(opintolainanvaltiontakaus).Undercertain

conditions,studentfinancialaidisalsoofferedto

foreignnationals.

Independentstudycanalsobefinancedbyan

unemploymentbenefit.Receivingthebenefitre-

quires,forexample,thatyouareafull-timestudent

andtheTEOfficehasconfirmedyourneedforedu-

cation.


�� www.oph.fi

�� www.opintoluotsi.fi

�� www.kela.fi/opintotukikeskus

�� www.cimo.fi



28

Business communications teacher Louise Stansfield, country of origin – England:

“Because it’s possible to get along in Finland speaking English, many immigrants don’t bother to learn Finnish. That’s a shame. Knowing how to speak the local language is the key to integration.”

Finnish and Swedish language and their study

TherearetwoofficiallanguagesinFinland:Finnishand

Swedish.Finnish,whichisaFinno-Ugriclanguage,dif-

fersfromIndo-Europeanlanguages.Swedishisthe

mothertongueof5%oftheFinnishpopulation.Lap-

land,whichislocatedinthefarnorthofFinland,is

hometoapproximately4,000Sami,someofwhom

speaktheSamilanguageastheirmothertongue.

InFinland,therearenumerousvoluntaryeduca-

tioninstitutions,folkhighschoolsandadulteduca-

tioncentres.Thestudiestheyofferareelectiveand

oftenrelatedtohobbies.Theyalsoprovidecourses

inFinnishandSwedishforimmigrants.

�� www.studyinfinland.fi

�� www.finnishcourses.fi

Finnish citizenship

ForeignersmaybegrantedFinnishcitizenship,provid-

edthattheymeettherequirementsforcitizenship.

Citizenshipmaybegrantedevenifyoudonot

meetalloftherequirements.Ontheotherhand,

citizenshipcanevenbedeniedifyoumeetallofthe

mandatoryrequirements.

Certaingroups,suchasformerFinnishcitizens,

cangainFinnishcitizenshipbydeclaration.

AstheFinnishstateacceptsmultiplenationalities,

foreignnationalsdonotneedtorelinquishtheircur-

rentnationalityinordertobecomeaFinnishcitizen.

YoumustapplyforFinnishcitizenshipinwriting

fromtheFinnishImmigrationService.Yourapplica-

tionwillbereceivedbythePoliceinyourmunicipal-

ityofresidence.

�� www.migri.fi


29

Senior youth welfare instructor Dilbar Uotinen, country of origin – Uzbekistan:

“If an immigrant wants to be accepted, she herself has to be accepting. It’s a good idea to leave your preconceptions at home. The right combination of your own culture and a foreign one is multiculturality at its best.”

30

7. Checklist for foreign employees moving to Finland

Before moving

u Ifyoudon’thaveajob,beginlookingimmediately

TheWorkinfinland.fiwebsiteoffersawiderangeof

informationonworkinginFinland,availablejobs

andentrepreneurship.Foradditionalinformation,

checkouttheEURESportal


�� www.eures.europa.eu


uGeteligibilityforyourqualificationsinFinland�� www.oph.fi/tutkintojentunnustaminen


uDeterminewhetheryourprofessionisregulatedandyouwillrequireprofessionalpracticerights

fromfield-specificauthorities

�� www.oph.fi/tutkintojentunnustaminen

uEnsurethatyouhaveallthenecessarypermitsanddocumentsinorder.

ApplyforaresidencepermitataFinnishmission.If

youareanEUorEEAcitizen,youmayfreelyresidein

Finlandforthreemonthswithoutaresidencepermit.

�� www.formin.fi


�� www.migri.fi

�� www.europa.eu

uCheckcustomsregulations�� www.tulli.fi

After arriving in Finland

uLookforhousing�� www.kunnat.net

�� www.etuovi.com

�� www.oikotie.fi

uSubmitachange-of-addressnotificationand register

�� www.maistraatti.fi


uObtainataxcardfromthetaxoffice�� www.vero.fi

uOpenabankaccount

u Ifyouarehavingproblemsatyourplaceofem-ploymentimmediatelycontactyourtradeunion,

theOccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministra-

tionorthePublicLegalAidOffice.

Akava,theConfederationofUnionsforProfessionals

andManagerialStaffinFinland

�� www.akava.fi

CentralOrganisationofFinnishTradeUnions(SAK)

�� www.sak.fi

FinnishConfederationofSalariedEmployees(STTK)

�� www.sttk.fi

OccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministration

�� www.tyosuojelu.fi

PublicLegalAidOffice

�� www.oikeus.fi/oikeusapu

31

Reasons for coming to Finland:

• magnificent pristine nature• functional public services• safe and equal society and workplace• fascinating culture and honest, down-to-earth people

uStudytheFinnishlanguage.

Classesandcourses:

�� www.kansalaisopistot.fi

�� www.finnishcourses.fi

�� www.avoinyliopisto.fi

�� www.kesayliopistot.fi

Independentstudymaterialsonline:

�� www.kotisuomessa.fi

u Integrationsupport�� www.infopankki.fi

u Ifyouarehavinganyincomeproblems,contactKelaortherelevantagencyinyourmunicipality

ofresidence.

�� www.kela.fi


uWhenthetimeisright,applyforFinnishcitizenship�� www.migri.fi


An

ton

Ivan

ov/S

hu

ttersto

ck

te-services.fi

Working in Finland

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