Hiring an employee from abroad 

If the employer has not found a suitable employee in Finland, they can search for labour abroad. The employer can also utilise a labour market area larger than Finland in larger-scale recruitments.

You may need a separate permit to hire an employee from abroad, and an employee from outside the EU or the EEA must have the right to work in Finland. Please also note that your foreign employees are subject to the same employment rights and obligations, terms of employment, occupational safety requirements, and statutory insurances as Finnish employees.

Work in Finland as an aid in international recruitment

Work in Finland's international recruitment advice for employers is a nationwide and centralized service that offers employers general advice regarding international recruitment and work-related immigration.

The service is open Mon–Fri from 9 am to 3 pm. Call +358 295 016 770 to use the telephone service or to request a call-back. You can also send an email to tyonantajaneuvonta@workinfinland.fi.

EURES assists with recruitments from Europe

EURES (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.

EURES experts trained and specialised in European employment services help with recruitment processes in all EU and EEA countries. The unique network employs about 1,000 experts. EURES helps 50,000 jobseekers find work in a different country every year.

EURES experts

• know the European labour market and act as a middleman in recruitment,
• help find a suitable target country and start the recruitment process,
• find a local partner for cooperation,
• assist in participating in job fairs and promote the company's vacancies,
• organise a recruitment event in the target country if needed,
• respond to applicants' enquiries and receive applications,
• make a pre-selection if necessary – the employer always makes the final decision, and
• advise foreign employees in matters related to migration and Finnish working life.

You can find free EURES services at the nearest TE Office.

An employee who is a non-EU country, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland citizen usually needs either an employee's residence permit or another residence permit entitling gainful employment. For help with these questions, please contact the work permit services.

EURES portal and events help with recruitment

European CV database

A great tool for recruitment is the EURES portal with its European vacancies and CV database. Employers can advertise open jobs and browse job seeker resumes in the portal.

Opening a job advertisement

Through the EURES specialists at the TE Office, it is possible for the employer to open a job advertisement directly on the job search pages of another member of the EURES network and expand recruitment outside Finland's borders. Please, contact your nearest EURES specialist to initiate recruitment.

Recruitment events

You can participate in recruitment events organized in Europe together with experts. You can also

• attend a job fair and interview jobseekers,
• leave a job posting with an expert who spreads it to suitable applicants, or
• participate in European Online Job Days online recruitment events.

Participation in fairs is usually free of charge. You pay for your own travel and accommodation.

Please, contact your local EURES specialist. We will help you find the best recruitment events for your company.

Recruiting with the help of Targeted Mobility Schemes

Through financial support, the Targeted Mobility Scheme facilitates the recruitment of experts from another EU country, Norway or Iceland. The project is coordinated by the Swedish Public Employment Service together with EURES members.

Through the project, a company can be granted financial support for the costs of induction training and adaptation to a new country. The amount of support granted to the employer is determined based on the extent of the induction provided to the jobseeker. For employers located in Finland, the subsidy is EUR 1,390-1,750 per employee recruited.

You can get financial support when the following conditions are met:

• The hired employee must be at least 18 years old and a permanent resident of the EU, Norway, or Iceland.
• You must offer the employee arriving in the country job orientation, help to settle in the locality, or language training.
• Your organization has no more than 250 employees and is legally established in an EU country, Norway, or Iceland.
• You enter into an employment contract with the recruit for at least six months, the salary and working conditions are in accordance with national labor legislation, and the employment contract applies to full-time or part-time work, but at least 50% of the full-time working time.
• The position has been publicly open for applications.

Please, note that to apply for support, you must contact your region's EURES specialist.

Jobseekers also can apply for support for work interview trips and settling in as well as for language courses and the costs of recognition of qualifications.   

Application forms

In the application forms, you will find more detailed instructions on what, e.g. the basic orientation or a more extensive orientation must include and which attachments are needed to apply for support. The support is employee-specific, meaning that if there are several employees to be hired, you can receive this amount for each employee. Please note that the project has the right to make changes to the grant amounts.

Please send the application form to BBi Communication Finland Ltd at eures@bbi.se or Allianssi Youth Exchanges at eures@alli.fi.