Asylum seeker’s right to work
As an asylum seeker, you are permitted employment only if you have a valid right to work. When you find a job, you must check whether your right to work has begun and whether it is still in force.
You must tell your employer immediately if your right to work is terminated. You may be committing an offence if you are employed but do not have the right to work.
Where can you find information on your right to work?
In the application process, asylum seekers are given a brochure, Asylum seeker's right to work.
The decision you receive will contain information about your right to work.
If you are unsure of your right to work, you can ask the Finnish Immigration Service about your right to work by email. See the instructions on the page Information about right to work.
For what kind of work do you need to have the right to work?
You need to have a valid right to work if you get paid for your work.
Internship
You need to have a valid right to work if you get paid for your work as an intern. Vaikka työnteko-oikeutesi ei olisi voimassa, voit tehdä työtä, josta et saa palkkaa. Such work includes, for example,
- unpaid internship as part of your studies or training organised by Employment and Economic Development Offices and
- voluntary work organised by non-governmental organisations and associations.
Finnish law does not provide for unpaid internships other than as part of studies or training organised by Employment and Economic Development Offices. You should always receive an appropriate salary for your internship or work. Unpaid internships always involve the possible risk of exploitation.
Apprenticeship agreement
You must have a valid right to work when you are working under an apprenticeship agreement and receive a salary or some other compensation for working. An apprenticeship agreement is a fixed-term employment contract during which the employer will provide training for an occupation.
You cannot work as an entrepreneur, a light entrepreneur or a freelancer without a residence permit
According to the Aliens Act, an asylum seeker is allowed to accept gainful employment in Finland. Gainful employment means working in an employment relationship under your employer’s direction and supervision in return of salary or some other compensation. As an asylum seeker, you cannot work as an entrepreneur, a light entrepreneur or a freelancer without a valid residence permit.
You are considered to be a light entrepreneur (‘kevytyrittäjä’ in Finnish) if
- you employ yourself and perform entrepreneurial activities
- you provide services or sell products to your own customers through a platform company or an invoicing service company.
- Such companies include, for example, Foodora, Freska, Uber, Wolt, Ukko and Free.
There is no separate residence permit for freelancers or for light entrepreneurs. You may, however, work as a freelancer or a light entrepreneur if you have a valid residence permit or a municipality of residence in Finland.
If you have applied for asylum in Finland, you cannot get a residence permit for an entrepreneur while staying in Finland when your application is being processed or after receiving a negative decision. This applies to all asylum seekers staying in Finland regardless of when they have submitted their asylum application or received a negative decision on their application.
If you want to apply for a residence permit for an entrepreneur, you need to leave Finland and visit a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate) in your home country or country of permanent residence to apply for the permit. For more information about applying for a residence permit, see the pages Coming to Finland for work and Residence permit application for an entrepreneur.
When does the right to work begin?
You are allowed to find paid employment after either three or six months have passed following your application for asylum.
- The waiting period is three months if you have presented a valid passport or other travel document to the authorities, and it has been verified as genuine.
- The waiting period is six months if you have not presented a travel document.
How does a re-application affect the right to work?
If you submit a re-application you will have to wait another three or six months before you can work again. A re-application is an application submitted by an asylum seeker who has already received a decision on at least one earlier asylum application.
- The waiting period is three months if you have presented a valid passport or other travel document to the authorities, and it has been verified as genuine.
- The waiting period is six months if you have not presented a travel document.
If you submitted a re-application before 1 June 2019, you may continue working.
How long can the employment continue?
When you receive a decision, you must check whether your right to work is still valid. The decision will tell you this.
Was your asylum application accepted?
If your application was accepted, in most cases you may continue to work in Finland. Your residence permit card or decision will tell you whether you have the right to work in Finland.
Was your asylum application rejected?
The decision always contains information about whether your right to work will end or continue.
Right to work if the Finnish Immigration Service has issued a decision on 1 September 2024 or later
If you receive a negative decision, your right to work is valid during the appeal period, which is 30 days from the date on which the decision of the Finnish Immigration Service was served on you.
- If you appeal against the decision to an administrative court, your right to work is valid until the decision of the administrative court has been served on you.
- If the administrative court rejects your appeal in respect of international protection, your right to work ends on the day when the decision of the administrative court is served on you.
- If the administrative court overturns the decision of the Finnish Immigration Service in respect of international protection and returns your application to the Finnish Immigration Service, your right to work will continue at least until the Finnish Immigration Service issues a new decision on the matter. The decision will contain information about your right to work.
- If the administrative court rejects your appeal in respect of international protection but returns the matter to the Finnish Immigration Service for some other reason, your right to work ends when the decision of the administrative court is served on you.
If the Finnish Immigration Service has applied an accelerated procedure to your asylum application or considered your application inadmissible, your right to work ends on the day when the decision of the Finnish Immigration Service is served on you.
If your right to work has ended, it will not begin again if you apply for leave to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court.
- If the Supreme Administrative Court returns your matter to the Finnish Immigration Service or to the administrative court for renewed consideration, your right to work begins again.
- However, your right to work will not begin again if the Finnish Immigration Service has applied an accelerated procedure to your application or considered your application inadmissible and the Supreme Administrative Court returns your matter to the administrative court for renewed consideration. In that case, your right to work has ended on the day when the decision of the Finnish Immigration Service was served on you.
Right to work if the Finnish Immigration Service has issued a decision on 31 August 2024 or earlier
Your right to work is determined under previous legislation. Your right to work will end when the decision is enforceable, that is when you can be removed from the country by law. The decision contains information about when the decision is enforceable and when your right to work ends.
Employers are required by law to verify the right to work
An employer must verify that a foreign employee has the required residence permit for an employed person or that the employee is not required to have a residence permit.
An employer may be committing an offence or a violation if he or she deliberately or negligently employs an employee who does not have the right to work.
Asylum seeker’s right to work is based on the Aliens Act. Under the Act, an asylum seeker does not need a certificate of the right to work. Employers can ask about their employees’ right to work free of charge by sending an email message to the Finnish Immigration Service. See the instructions on the page Information about right to work.
Occupational safety and health authorities monitor the employer’s obligation to verify that a foreign employee has the right to work: Right to work – Occupational safety and health. When needed, contact the authority responsible for the matter in question.
The Finnish Immigration Service cannot take a stand on when an asylum seeker can be removed from the country. The police are responsible for removals from the country.
Residence permit on the basis of work
If you have applied for asylum in Finland and your application is being processed or you have received a negative decision
You cannot get a residence permit in Finland on the basis of work while you are staying in Finland. This applies to all asylum seekers who are staying in Finland regardless of when they have submitted their asylum application or received a negative decision on their application.
If you apply for a residence permit for work while staying in Finland, the Finnish Immigration Service will consider your application inadmissible. This applies to all applications that have not been decided by the Finnish Immigration Service by 31 August 2024 at the latest. If you want to apply for a residence permit in Finland on the basis of work, you need to leave Finland and visit a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate) in your home country or country of permanent residence to apply for the permit. For more information, see the page Coming to Finland for work.
If you have received a residence permit in Finland on the basis of your asylum application or on some other grounds
If you have received a residence permit in Finland on the basis of your asylum application or on some other grounds, you can apply for an extended permit on the basis of work, if you wish. The fact that you have applied for asylum in Finland before has no effect in that case.