Starting in January, you may be charged a fee if you do not attend an integration meeting for which interpretation is scheduled
From 1 January 2025 onwards, if you fail to attend an appointment with municipal or employment authority integration services and do not notify them in advance, you may be charged a fee for unused interpretation services.
As a customer of the municipal or employment official integration services, you may be provided with an interpreter for appointments where you cannot communicate in Finnish, Swedish, or another mutually understood language.
Always notify the relevant official in advance if you are unable to attend a scheduled appointment. The official will assess whether your reason for cancelling is acceptable.
This regulation applies to the assessment of service needs for skills development and integration, the preparation of integration plans with the employment authority, and general guidance and advisory services provided by the municipality.
Fee collection
As a customer of integration services, an interpreter may be arranged for your appointments.
The municipality and employment official incur additional costs for booking interpreters when appointments are not cancelled in advance. Therefore, it is crucial to inform the official promptly if you need to reschedule or cancel an appointment to avoid being billed for the unused interpretation service.
The maximum fee in 2025 is €56.70. The fee may be charged once per missed appointment.
You can provide the municipality or employment official with an explanation for your failure to attend the scheduled appointment. If you receive an invoice for unused interpretation services, the invoice will specify the deadline for submitting your explanation and where to send it.
Acceptable reasons
The fee may only be charged if there is no acceptable reason for failing to attend or cancel the appointment. An acceptable reason for cancellation can be, for example, sudden illness or an accident. Delays or cancellations of pre-arranged transport that prevent you from attending the appointment are also acceptable reasons.
If you miss an appointment and fail to cancel it in advance, you are required to provide the municipality or employment official with proof that you had an acceptable reason. This will determine whether the fee can be waived or reimbursed.
Appointments related to integration-promoting services are often scheduled by employment officials or municipal specialists, and clients are required to attend them. You may also be charged a fee for failing to cancel an appointment you specifically requested that requires interpretation.
No fee will be charged to clients under the age of 18.