Seasonal worker – learn which permit you must apply for

If you are not a resident of an EU Member State, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you must have a seasonal work permit. In Finland, seasonal workers are hired in the horticulture, agriculture, forestry, and hospitality sectors, for example.

See the list detailing what is considered seasonal work.

Checklist for seasonal workers

The duration of your employment determines which permit you must apply for

• If your employment will last less than 3 months
  • Apply for a seasonal work certificate from the Finnish Immigration Service, if you are arriving from a visa-free country.
  • Apply for a seasonal workers’ visa from a Finnish mission, if you need a visa to enter Finland.
• If your employment will last 3 to 9 months
  • Apply for a seasonal work residence permit
  • Submit the application via the Enter Finland online service and visit a Finnish mission to verify your identity. If you cannot use the online service, you can submit your application on paper at a Finnish mission.
  • If your employment lasts more than 6 months, your application is decided on in two stages: first, the Employment and Economic Development Office (TE Office) makes a partial decision, and then the Finnish Immigration Service will process your application.
• If you have a valid seasonal work certificate or a seasonal workers’ visa, and you want to continue seasonal work in Finland
  • Apply for a seasonal work residence permit in the Enter Finland online service and visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service to verify your identity. If you cannot use the online service, complete a paper application and book an appointment at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service.
• If you are changing employers or want to add a new employer to your permit during the validity of your permit, you must apply for the addition of the employer to your permit.
• If your residence permit is based on temporary protection, you do not need to apply for a seasonal work permit. You can do seasonal work in Finland with your temporary protection residence permit. The validity of all temporary protection residence permits has been extended to 4 March 2024.

Start using Enter Finland

• We recommend using the Enter Finland online service for submitting applications. By using Enter Finland, you pay less for your application. In most cases, you will receive a decision faster than if you submit your application on paper.
• Your employer can also register for the service in the Enter Finland for Employers service and supplement your application. This means your employer can speed up the processing of your application. You must authorise your employer to use the service in your own Enter Finland application in order for your employer to supplement your application with the required information.

Track the processing of your application easily online

We process applications from seasonal workers in the order they are submitted. However, we try to consider the start date of the employment when processing the applications.    

We try to process all applications related to the same employer at the same time. 

You can track the processing of your application easily online: 

• When you apply for a seasonal work permit in Enter Finland, you can track its processing in Enter Finland.
• If you have applied for a seasonal work residence permit, you can check the status of your application on our website by asking the Kamu chatbot. Kamu will check the processing status of your application among all other applications with the same type of matter and processing grounds. Read more on the Kamu chatbot page
• We update the status of seasonal work permit application processing on the Seasonal work page weekly during the seasonal work season. 

Further information

• See the frequently asked questions on seasonal work applications
• Read more about seasonal work and the instructions for applying
• More information for employers of seasonal workers