Work in Finland International Recruitment Advice Service for Employers
The International Recruitment Advice Service for Employers helps employers with questions related to the recruitment of foreign employees.
Read moreIs your organization hiring an employee from abroad? Read about what you need to consider as an employer.
Once you have found an international worker you want to hire, it is important to consider how their nationality will affect recruitment.
When you hire an international skilled worker who is already in Finland, you must check the employee’s residence permit and right to work. A citizen of the EU, the EEA, or Switzerland does not need a residence permit in Finland and can start work immediately. A citizen of any other country usually needs a residence permit to work in Finland.
International skilled worker often refers to foreign talent. They can be a citizen of an EU or EEA country, Switzerland, or a third country. If an international skilled worker residing in Finland already has a valid residence permit and the right to work, the recruitment process generally proceeds in the same way as for a Finnish citizen. However, as an employer, you are obligated to check your employee’s right to work for the specific task in question. In certain residence permits, such as an employee's residence permit (TTOL) and a residence permit for seasonal work, the right to work may be restricted to a certain sector or employer. Certain professions, such as some healthcare and early childhood education positions, may have a statutory requirement for a specific qualification, training, or right to practice a profession.
All persons who have received a positive decision regarding their residence permit in Finland have a residence permit card. The easiest way to verify the right to work is to use the residence permit card, as it lists any restrictions to the right to work. If the residence permit card does not entitle the person to work in the desired sector, the person must apply for a new residence permit for working in the position.
You can check the scope of a person’s right to work by email from the Finnish Immigration Service.
Citizens of EU and EEA countries and Switzerland have an unrestricted right to work in Finland. However, as an employer, you must ensure that the person has the right to work in Finland. For example, you can check the employee’s nationality from their passport. In addition, you must retain information about your foreign employees and the grounds for their right to work for two years after the employee's employment ends. Certain professions, such as some healthcare and early childhood education positions, may have a statutory requirement for a specific qualification, training, or right to practice a profession.
The EURES network supports employers in hiring new employees from EU or EEA countries or Switzerland by providing free support for finding, pre-selecting and hiring experts. EURES also provides additional information on the EURES Targeted Mobility Scheme, which is financial support for the relocation of an employee.
A person who is not a citizen of an EU or EEA country or Switzerland usually needs an Employee's Residence Permit or some other residence permit entitling them to gainful employment.
The application process for the most common residence permit, i.e. an employee's residence permit (TTOL) may involve consideration of labour availability. In the case of an employee's residence permit, the availability assessment means that the authorities consider whether there are enough employees in Finland and the EU/EEA to fill the job in question. The availability consideration aims to ensure that an employee residence permit is only granted if local job seekers are unable to meet the employer's needs.
If the occupational sector is included in the current work permit policy of the ELY Centre, you do not need to carry out a labour availability assessment and you can hire an employee directly from outside the EU labour market area with an employee’s residence permit (TTOL).
If the profession is not included in the work permit policy, you as the employer must conduct a labor availability assessment when the employee applies for an employee's residence permit (TTOL). In the availability assessment, you must show that you have tried to find workers in EU and EEA countries and Switzerland, but no suitable employee was found. You can show this by creating a the job posting at Job Market Finland for at least two weeks. In the availability report, you must provide an explanation of the job posting you prepared and why the people who applied for the position were not suitable for the position.
The availability assessment and regional work permit policies only apply to the employee's residence permit (TTOL). The availability assessment must be completed before the employee can start the residence permit application process.
Instructions on the different stages of applying for an employee’s residence permit and the consideration of labour availability can be found in the 'Working in Finland – employees’ residence permit process and relocation to Finland from the employer’s perspective (in Finnish)' package.
In the Business E-services section of Job Market Finland, you can publish a job posting and get suggestions for suitable candidates. You can also browse jobseeker profiles without publishing a job posting.
You can find the employment authority's services for employers and entrepreneurs in the Business E-services.
Hiring an international skilled worker involves special obligations that you must take into account as an employer. Read more about the obligations on the Employer’s obligations in international recruitment page.
The International Recruitment Advice Service for Employers helps employers with questions related to the recruitment of foreign employees.
Read moreAs an employer, you can use the national business services provided by Work in Finland for the different stages of international recruitment.
Work in Finland provides advisory, expert, and development services, in addition to which you can be granted funding for the development of international recruitment processes. Work in Finland also organises recruitment events for employers. Learn more about Work in Finland’s employer services and current recruitment events on the Work in Finland website. Work in Finland provides services free of charge.
You can get support from the European Job Mobility Network (EURES) for the recruitment of EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals.
Job Market Finland provides information on international recruitment. In the Business E-services section of Job Market Finland, you can publish a job posting for international recruitment and get suggestions for suitable candidates. You can also browse jobseeker profiles without publishing a job posting.
You can find the employment authority's services for employers and entrepreneurs in the Business E-services.
A wide range of services are available to support international recruitment that can help for example in the planning of recruitment and in supporting an employee to get settled after their move.
Before getting started, you should consider whether your company needs to prepare in some manner for international recruitment and the internationalisation of the work community. This may mean changing the operating models or management practices of recruitment and induction, the translation of instructions and documents into different languages, or providing coaching to personnel on working in a diverse work community.
It is also worth considering how your company can build an employer brand that will attract international skilled workers. The competition for the best workers is global. A strong employer brand and versatile recruitment competence are essential if you want to stimulate the interest of international skilled workers. IMAGO coaching offers concrete tools and practical tips for strengthening the employer brand, successful recruitment, and building a diverse work community. Coaching is free of charge.
You can apply for the training in spring 2025 when registration for the service opens.
When you are planning to recruit from abroad for the first time, you should use the services available to you. For example, Work in Finland recruitment coaching provides your company with skills for international recruitment.
The training is intended for employers who are recruiting international skilled worker for the first time. During coaching, you will learn how your company can recruit from abroad and what practical measures this involves. You will also be provided support in selecting a suitable recruitment method and partners and a target country. The coaching is free of charge, and participation will no obligate you to start recruitment.
You can apply for the training in spring 2025 when registration for the service opens.
When you are ready to start international recruitment, you can submit a job posting for international recruitment to Job Market Finland. If you are looking for suitable candidates from the EU, the EEA, or Switzerland, allow the automatic sharing of your Job Market Finland recruitment notification to the EURES portal.
If you submit a job posting in English and select English as the working language, the job posting will be automatically transferred to the Work in Finland website. This way, you can get the best possible visibility for your posting on public international recruitment platforms used by job seekers interested in Finland.
You can get support for international recruitment from Work in Finland's employer counselling free of charge. The national advisory service will help you with all practical questions related to the recruitment of foreign labour and with helping workers relocate and get settled.
The KEHA Centre and Business Finland are responsible for Work in Finland activities, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is responsible for its steering.
The International Recruitment Advice Service for Employers helps employers with questions related to the recruitment of foreign employees.
Read moreWhen recruiting employees who are not familiar with Finnish working life or who are not proficient in Finnish or Swedish, you must pay particular attention to the ethical nature of recruitment.
A good starting point for international recruitment is that it can be viewed in the same way as other recruitments. It is a good idea to invest in the job seeker experience and up-to-date communications to ensure you maintain a good employer image. This will then continue to help attract the best skilled workers to your organisation.
When you expand recruitment outside Finland, this also increases the risks of exploitation in the recruitment process. To minimise the risks of exploitation as an employer, you should carefully familiarise yourself with the recruitment process. For example, collecting a recruitment fee from a job seeker is part of the recruitment process in some countries. You must ensure that the job seeker has not at any point in the recruitment process had to pay for getting recruited to Finland.
When you utilise the services of established and reliable international recruitment actors, you minimise any risks of exploitation. For example, EURES, the European employment service operating in the EU and EEA, consists of European public employment service specialists who provide their services free of charge to both employers and job seekers. The EURES network also includes private recruitment companies that can manage the entire recruitment process on your behalf.
The further away from Finland and the Finnish working culture the person's country of origin, the greater the risks of exploitation. If you are recruiting independently directly from outside Finland, as an employer, it is your duty to tell the job seeker as truthfully as possible about your organisation, work tasks and working in Finland so that the applicant can make a decision on accepting the workplace and moving to Finland that is as informed as possible. If you select a recruitment partner, you should familiarise yourself with the partner carefully in advance. Work in Finland maintains a list of reliable recruitment partners.
No matter where you recruit from around the world, the appropriate induction of employees to work tasks and their inclusion in the work community are part of a responsible recruitment process. Good induction training and a warm reception will help you influence the employee’s willingness to continue working in your organisation. Ensuring the responsibility of international recruitment can only be a win-win situation.
The International Recruitment Advice Service for Employers helps employers with questions related to the recruitment of foreign employees.
Read moreWhen you publish your job posting in English, the number of potential applicants increases. These instructions will help you attract skilled employees to your job vacancies.
If proficiency in a language other than Finnish or Swedish is sufficient for the open position, you should create the job posting in English. At Job Market Finland, you can select a job posting form tailored for international recruitment. The form has English as the default language for the posting and work. When you create the job posting in English, you will get the best possible visibility for the position both among international job seekers already living in Finland and talents living abroad. Job postings in which the language of the posting and the work language are English will also appear on the Work in Finland Find a job in Finland page.
In general, the recommendations for job postings in Finnish also apply to English language job postings for international employees. In the job posting, it is advisable to give detailed information about the content of the position, the competence required for the position and what you offer to an employee as an employer. When attracting talent from abroad to Finland, you should also talk slightly more about the organisation and give a general description of the area where the workplace is located. You can use various marketing materials that present Finland when creating a job posting. They are publicly available on the Finland Toolbox website.
Job postings can be imported to Job Market Finland using an application programming interface (API). The interface allows you to create and manage your own job postings at Job Market Finland.
Would you like to receive proposals directly from jobseekers who are suitable for your vacancy? At Job Market Finland, you can create a job posting and receive applications from jobseekers who meet the needs of your workplace. Jobseeker users can also find your job postings when browsing for vacancies or job recommendations.
To create a job posting on Job Market Finland, follow the instructions below.
The keywords vocabulary is based on a Europe-wide occupation and competence ontology that unfortunately does not contain all of Finland's well-known professions or related competences. Do not allow this to prevent you creating a job posting, but select job titles and competence terminology that are as suitable as possible. You can read these titles and terminology on the ESCO professional terminology website.
Functions related to business activities require a person to have a specific role in the company or community. If you are not in such a role but want to use the Job Market Finland, you need Suomi.fi e-Authorizations.
Please select your situation below and check what authorisation you need. Below you can also find instructions for obtaining authorisation. Job Market Finland is not part of the authorisation process; it is a function between the authorising company and the authorised person in Suomi.fi.
Please remember that the authorisation must be removed separately if, for example, the person you have authorised changes jobs and you no longer want them to represent your organisation in Job Market Finland. You can remove the authorisation in the Suomi.fi e-Authorizations service.
You do not need separate authorisation to use Job Market Finland. You can use all the facilities of our service on behalf of your company.
If you wish, you can give another person authorisation to represent your company at the Job Market Finland. There are four different types of authorisation and they are intended for different functions - you can give a company representative full authorisation or limit a person's authority at the Job Market Finland. Authorisations are given through the Suomi.fi e-Authorizations service. You will find the instructions below.
A person entitled to sign for a company must give you authorisation to use the Job Market Finland.
The Enterprise Finland telephone service provides advice on Suomi.fi authorisation.
The International Recruitment Advice Service for Employers helps employers with questions related to the recruitment of foreign employees.
Read moreWhen you hire an international skilled worker either one already in Finland or one from abroad, you as an employer have an obligation to ensure their right to work, to provide a notification of their recruitment, and keep a record of this information.
As an employer, you must check that your employee has the right to reside and work in Finland. You can check your employee’s right to reside and work by checking their passport if they are a citizen of an EU or EEA country or Switzerland, or by checking their residence permit card if they are from some other country. Remember to ensure that the right to work is valid throughout the employment relationship.
An employee’s residence permit (TTOL) may contain sector-specific restrictions, so make sure that your employee has the right to work in the position in question.
If you hire a person who is not a citizen of an EU or EEA country or Switzerland, or a family member of an EU or EEA country citizen or a Swiss citizen, you must notify the Finnish Immigration Service of their hiring. Notify the Finnish Immigration Service without delay giving the name of the person, the duration of the employment relationship, their pay and the applicable collective agreement.
You can enter the information electronically into the Enter Finland for Employers online service. If you cannot use the online service, submit the information using the paper form titled Employee announcement.
In addition, you must notify the shop steward, elected representative, and occupational safety and health representative at the workplace of the name of the person and the applicable collective agreement.
You do not need to report the employment relationship information to the Finnish Immigration Service again if you have participated as an employer in applying for a residence permit for a person and submitted the information as part of the application process.
As an employer, you must keep records on all your foreign employees and the grounds for their right to work. The occupational safety and health authority enforces the right of foreigners to work in Finland, and you must be able to present this information if necessary. For example, you can take a copy of an employee’s passport if they are a citizen of an EU or EEA country or Switzerland or a copy of their residence permit card if they are a citizen of some other country.
You can find more information on the employer’s obligations on the Foreign employee page of the Occupational Safety and Health authority's website Työsuojelu.fi.
The International Recruitment Advice Service for Employers helps employers with questions related to the recruitment of foreign employees.
Read moreCitizens of countries other than EU and EEA countries and Switzerland need a residence permit and a right to work in Finland. Usually, the right to reside and work is granted with a residence permit issued by Finland. An application for a residence permit can only be initiated by the employee themselves. The application process for the first residence permit must usually begin abroad. Family members who may move with the employee must also apply for residence permits. Citizens of EU and EEA countries and Switzerland have an unrestricted right to work in Finland.
The employee will apply for a residence permit electronically via the Enter Finland online service or by submitting a paper application to a Finnish diplomatic mission abroad. If the application has been submitted electronically, the applicant must visit the Finnish mission or a Finland Visa Application centre to prove their identity, give their fingerprints and present the original copies of the appendices to their application. This may require travel to another country if there is no diplomatic mission or visa application centre in the applicant’s country of residence.
As an employer, you must complete the agreed terms of employment and other necessary attachments to the employee’s residence permit application. You can enter the information in the Enter Finland for Employers online service. If the employee has applied for a residence permit using a paper form or you cannot use the Enter Finland service yourself, fill in a paper Terms of Employment form and send it to the employee. The employee attaches the form to their application.
If an employee is applying for an extension to their permit in the Enter Finland online service, they do not need to visit a service point to prove their identity if they have used strong electronic identification.
You can monitor the progress of the application in the Enter Finland service.
A specialist may fast track their first residence permit application to the Finnish Immigration Service. The Immigration Service can issue a decision on the residence permit application within two weeks. A residence permit can only be fast-tracked while the applicant is abroad and in cases where an employee comes to work in Finland as a specialist, start-up entrepreneur or in senior or middle management.
If an employee applies for a residence permit in the Enter Finland online service, you can agree with them on who will pay the processing fee for the residence permit application. If an employee fast-tracks their residence permit application to the Finnish Immigration Service, the employee must pay the processing fee themselves.
Working in Finland will require compliance with Finnish legislation. A foreign employee has the same rights as a Finnish employee, i.e. the terms of employment, such as pay and working hours, must comply with Finnish laws and collective agreements.
The International Recruitment Advice Service for Employers helps employers with questions related to the recruitment of foreign employees.
Read moreEURES (European Employment Services) is a comprehensive European cooperation network and a high-quality public service that brings employees and employers together in all of Europe. The activities of the EURES network coordinated by the European Commission are based on free movement.
EURES advisers specialise in European employment services and assist in recruitments in all EU and EEA countries and Switzerland. The EURES network employs about 1,000 advisers.
The Finnish EURES network operates as a national coordination office as part of the KEHA Centre. The national coordination office is responsible for maintaining the national EURES Finland network. EURES consists of public employment services and private members providing support and services for the different stages of recruitment. Public employment services are free of charge, whereas services provided by private members may be subject to a fee.
Find the contact details of EURES advisers on the EURES portal.
In the Business E-services section of Job Market Finland, you can publish a job posting and get suggestions for suitable candidates. You can also browse jobseeker profiles without publishing a job posting.
You can find the employment authority's services for employers and entrepreneurs in the Business E-services.
Companies and third-sector organisations can apply to join the EURES network providing international recruitment and employment services.
The International Recruitment Advice Service for Employers helps employers with questions related to the recruitment of foreign employees.