Changing jobs
The grounds for your residence permit determine the amount of work you are allowed to do, the field in which you may work and the duties you are allowed to perform. If you have an unrestricted right to work, you may change jobs freely. Read below about when you can change jobs freely and when there are restrictions involved.
If you are about to change jobs but do not know if you need to apply for a new residence permit, you can use the Application Finder to find out.
Changing jobs when you have a residence permit for an employed person ('TTOL')
You are free to change jobs without applying for a new residence permit if you meet all of the following conditions:
- You have been granted a residence permit for an employed person for a certain field of work.
- Your permit is valid.
- Your new job will be in the same field of work as your old job.
You may also have more than one job in the same field of work.
If your new job is in another field, you must apply for a new residence permit for an employed person. Your right to work in the new field of work begins after you have been granted a new residence permit.
If you wish to perform different duties in more than one field of work but keep working for the same employer, you must apply for a new permit that covers all these fields of work.
If you have more than one job, you can submit an application for a residence permit for an employed person that covers several employers and several fields of work. In that case, each employer must fill in the terms of employment that are required for the application.
- If you submit your application online in Enter Finland, only one of your employers can use Enter Finland for Employers to submit the terms of employment. The other employers must fill in the Terms of employment' paper form, which you need to add to your application.
- If you submit a paper application, all employers must fill in the ‘Terms of employment’ paper form, and you need to add the forms as attachments to your application.
If you have been granted a residence permit for an employed person ('TTOL') and the permit is bound to a specific employer, you are only allowed to work for that employer. If you want to change jobs, you need to apply for a new residence permit for an employed person. You are allowed to start working for the new employer only after a new residence permit has been issued.
To find out if your residence permit for an employed person is bound to a specific employer, check your residence permit decision or your residence permit card. They contain the field of work and the name of the employer for which your permit has been granted.
Changing jobs when you have some other work-based residence permit than the 'TTOL' permit
If you have been granted a residence permit for a specific task, such as a residence permit for a specialist, and you wish to start doing similar work for another employer, a new residence permit is usually not required. In that case, you may change jobs if your residence permit is valid and your new work is similar to the work for which your permit was granted. However, you are usually required to apply for a new permit on the basis of your new work if your job description changes. In that case, you are not allowed to start in the new job before you have a new residence permit.
If you have been granted a residence permit for a specific task in the service of a specific employer but you want to change jobs, you are usually required to apply for a new residence permit. In that case, your right to work in the new job begins only after you have been granted a new residence permit. One example of situations in which this is required is if you have a residence permit on the basis of intra-corporate transfer.
If you have a seasonal work permit and you wish to start working for a new employer, see the page New employer.
Changing jobs when you have some other residence permit
- Permanent residence permit
- a long-term resident’s EU residence permit issued to a third-country national by Finland
- continuous residence permit on other grounds than work or self-employment
- residence permit on the basis of family ties
- residence permit application for remigration
- residence permit on the basis of temporary protection or other humanitarian immigration
- residence permit for a victim of human trafficking
- residence permit issued because you cannot be removed from Finland
- residence permit application for studies (restricted right to work)
- residence permit for person with a degree completed in Finland
- residence permit for person with a research completed in Finland
- residence permit for students and reseachers to look for work or to start a business