Working in an internship abroad

Are you planning on working abroad? Before you begin applying for work abroad, evaluate your language skills, expertise, and the employment situation of your field in your destination country.

EURES helps you find a job abroad 

EURES (European Employment Service) supports free movement between its Member States. In addition to EU countries, EURES covers Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland.  

Free movement gives all citizens in the region the right to work in another Member State. As a Finnish citizen, you have the same rights and obligations when working in the EU and Switzerland as the nationals of those countries. You must register your residence in the new country, but no separate residence permit is required. 

If you want to work in an EU or EEA country or Switzerland and are looking for information about open jobs in the country, education and training, or the labour market, check out the EURES online service.

EURES advisers provide guidance on international job searches and help you prepare a country-specific CV and cover letter. In addition, you receive support from EURES member and partner organisations throughout the job search. The service is free of charge. 

The EURES portal is a recruitment site for the EU. In addition to open jobs, it also contains a wide range of useful information on matters such as living and working in other EU countries and the contact details of EURES advisers in different EU countries.

You can also register in the EURES portal and create a job seeker profile and a CV there. You can publish your job seeker profile on the CV database where the employers registered in the service can find it. If an employer considers you to be a suitable candidate for a vacancy in their organisation, they can contact you and offer you the job. You can transfer your job applicant profile data from Job Market Finland directly to the EURES portal. 

Usually the job posting will specify what kind of an application the employer is looking for. The content of cover letters and CVs elsewhere in Europe is usually very similar to what is required in Finland. However, note that there may be some practical differences. In Germany, for example, it is common to attach copies of certificates to job applications.  

You can ask the EURES advisers in the destination country about country-specific practices; you can find their contact details in the EURES portal. You can also find country-specific tips for drafting a cover letter and a CV in the Living and working conditions section of the EURES portal. You can also read the country-specific information on job search processes in the ‘Ready to make the move?’ guide which is available on the website of the European Commission. You can download the guide in PDF format or order a print version.  

It is a good idea to use the Europass CV template as the basis for the CV. Europass has been developed with international recruitment in mind and easily gives the employer an overview of your professional skills and competence.

Targeted Mobility Schemes provide financial support for promoting labour mobility in the EU. There are several projects, which are currently coordinated by the Swedish and German employment services and EURES.  
 
You can receive a mobility subsidy e.g. if you have a job or a job interview in another EU country, Norway, or Iceland, and you need financial support for travel or relocation costs.  

EURES Targeted Mobility Scheme support for mobility in Europe

The European Online Job Day (EOJD) events are virtual recruitment fairs. They are organised by different EURES member states. Participation is free of charge for you. At the events, you can search for vacancies, chat with employers, watch videos and even participate in a job interview. You can also create a profile on the event platform. At EOJD events, you can easily find job opportunities abroad and hear about living and working in different countries. For more information on the events, contact an EURES adviser or the event platform.

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Job seeking trip to an EU or EEA country or Switzerland 

As an unemployed job seeker, you are allowed to go to another EU or EEA member state or Switzerland for three months to look for work and still retain your entitlement to the unemployment benefit you receive in Finland. During your job seeking trip, you can receive earnings-related unemployment allowance or basic unemployment allowance. In other words, you cannot receive the labour market subsidy during the trip. 

To be able to receive unemployment benefits while you are abroad, your unemployment before your trip must have lasted for at least four weeks. The employment official may, at its discretion, shorten this period for a special reason, for example if you have already agreed on a job interview or your spouse has got a job in the destination country. Your unemployment period can also be calculated to include the time that you have participated in a service that promotes employment. 

Please report your travel dates to your local employment official in good time before your departure. The official will inform the payer of the unemployment security that you will be leaving to look for work in another EU or EEA member state or Switzerland. 

Remember to order a U2 form from Kela or your unemployment fund well in advance of your departure, as you will need to take this to the employment official of your destination country. KELA or your unemployment fund will determine whether the prerequisites for transferring the unemployment allowance that falls within their domain are met. 

After you have arrived at your destination country, remember to register as a job seeker with the local employment official within seven days. This will allow you to receive your allowance for the duration of your trip. If you register later, you will only receive money from your registration date. You can search for your future country of employment on the European Commission’s website.

During the job seeking process, you are required to comply with the obligations and supervision methods that have been mandated by the labour officials of your destination country. 

Your unemployment allowance is paid by KELA or an unemployment fund. During your job seeking trip, you can apply for unemployment allowance online as usual, or you can post your unemployment period notice to the payer.  

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Register as an unemployed job seeker after the trip  

Once you return to Finland, notify your local employment official immediately. Your unemployment security may change if you do not return to Finland and you do not notify the official at the latest on the return date mentioned in the U2 form. This means that you would not receive any unemployment allowance before you have been employed or participated in labour market training in Finland for four weeks. You may be entitled to receive labour market support. 

For more detailed instructions, contact the employment official, Kela, or the unemployment fund.  

If you are not a citizen of an EU or EEA member state or Switzerland, contact the employment official and the payer of your unemployment benefit. 

For more information, contact your local EURES adviser.

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This website is part of the European Commission's Your Europe portal. Did you find what you were looking for? Give feedback! (europa.eu)

 

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