For employers of seasonal workers
Seasonal workers who are coming to Finland to do seasonal work must apply for a permit for it. The term 'seasonal work permit' refers to a seasonal work visa, a certificate for seasonal work or a residence permit for seasonal work. The duration of a seasonal worker's employment affects which seasonal work permit he or she should apply for.
Read the information for seasonal workers about different seasonal work permits. The page describes the different situations in which a person can apply for a seasonal work permit.
Seasonal work refers to work in agriculture and tourism that is tied to a certain time of the year. The maximum duration of seasonal work is nine months within a 12-month period.
Not all work that is seasonal is considered seasonal work. For more information, see the page What counts as seasonal work?
- A seasonal work permit to work for one or more employers
- Duration of seasonal work
- Starting work
- Continuing to work
- Income requirement
- Criteria for granting a seasonal work permit
- Employer's duty to cooperate
- Refusal of a seasonal work permit for reasons attributable to the employer
- Employees under 18 years of age
- When a seasonal worker with a valid seasonal work permit wants to work for a new employer
- Payment for the certificate for seasonal work.
- See the instructions for supplementing the terms of employment
- Subscribe to our newsletter for employers of seasonal workers
A seasonal work permit to work for one or more employers
Seasonal workers may only work for the employers whose names have been marked on their seasonal work permit. If your employee intends to work for more than one employer at the same time, he or she must submit a TY6_plus form on all the employers.
An employee with a valid seasonal work permit must apply for
- the addition of a new employer if the employee intends to work for an employer who is not marked on his or her seasonal work permit and the duration of the employment will not exceed the period of validity of the existing seasonal work permit, or
- a new certificate for seasonal work or a residence permit for seasonal work if the employee intends to work for an employer who is not marked on his or her seasonal work permit and the duration of the employment will exceed the period of validity of the existing seasonal work permit.
Read more about the right to work with a visa for seasonal work (um.fi).
Duration of seasonal work
A permit for seasonal work may be granted for 9 months within a 12-month period. Take this into account if your employee has already worked with a seasonal work permit in Finland.
The 12-month period is calculated backwards from the end date of the applied permit.
An example: An applicant applies for a certificate for seasonal work. According to the supplement form TY6_plus, the seasonal work will begin on 15 March 2022 and end on 12 June 2022. The applicant has already had a residence permit for seasonal work between 13 May 2021 and 13 October 2021.
In this case, the 12-month period is 13 June 2021–12 June 2022, which covers a 12-month period that precedes the date when the new employment ends.
The new employment relationship is valid from 15 March 2022 to 12 June 2022=90 days
The previous residence permit for seasonal work was valid from 13 June 2021: 13 June 2021–13 October 2021=123 days
The total number of seasonal work days during the 12-month period: 213 days (90 days+123 days)
The total number of seasonal work days does not exceed 275 days (9 months), which means that the certificate can be issued for the applied period.
Starting work
An employee may not start working until he or she has been granted a certificate or residence permit for seasonal work. A pending application alone does not give the applicant the right to work.
Read more about employer's obligations.
Continuing to work
An employee with a residence permit for seasonal work may continue to work during the processing of the application for an extended permit:
- If he or she applies for a residence permit for seasonal work or a residence permit for an employed person and
- he or she intends to continue working for the same employer and
- he or she submits the application for an extended permit before the expiry of the first residence permit for seasonal work.
An employee with a seasonal work visa or a certificate for seasonal work may continue to work during the processing of the application for an extended permit if
- he or she has been working in Finland with a seasonal work visa or certificate for seasonal work and applies for a first residence permit for seasonal work and
- he or she intends to continue working in Finland for the same employer and
- he or she submits the application for a residence permit for seasonal work in Finland before the expiry of the seasonal work visa or certificate for seasonal work.
When an employee has held a seasonal work visa or certificate for seasonal work, he or she cannot apply for an extended permit but must apply for the first residence permit for seasonal work.
An employee cannot continue to work during the processing of the residence permit application:
- The employee is in Finland with a certificate or visa for seasonal work and will start working for a new employer.
- The employee must apply for a residence permit for seasonal work or for a residence permit for an employed person and wait for the decision before he or she can start working for a new employer.
- The employee is in Finland with a certificate or visa for seasonal work and is applying for a residence permit for an employed person.
- Even if the employee continues to work for the same employer, his or her right to work ends when the seasonal work visa or certificate expires. The right to work does not begin again before the residence permit is granted to the employee.
- There is an interruption in the employee's employment relationship and the employment does not continue immediately after the previous employment relationship ends.
- The employee must leave Finland and apply for a new residence permit for seasonal work or a residence permit for an employed person from abroad.
Income requirement
The employee must be able to support himself or herself during the period of validity of the seasonal work permit with the income he or she receives from his or her gainful employment.
The salary must comply with the collective agreement that is valid when the employee works in the company. Therefore, remember to report a salary that complies with the valid collective agreement. In 2024, the salary must be at least EUR 1,399 per month to meet the income requirement. This sum meets the conditions regarding daily allowance and previous employment under the Unemployment Security Act (1290/2002).
Criteria for granting a seasonal work permit
To be granted a seasonal work permit, the employee must have a valid employment contract or a binding job offer. The employer must either fill in the employee’s terms of employment online in Enter Finland for Employers or fill in the supplement form TY6_plus that the applicant attaches to his or her application. The terms of employment must meet the minimum level laid down in the relevant collective agreement and in Finnish legislation. Please make sure that you are using the most recent version of the supplement form TY6_plus (pdf).
In addition, the employer must assure that the seasonal worker is provided with appropriate accommodation that ensures an adequate standard of living if the employer is responsible for providing accommodation. The living conditions must meet the generally recognised health and safety requirements applied to housing in Finland. The accommodation must be warm, fire-safe and equipped with adequate sanitary facilities, including hot water for having a wash and sufficient space for sleeping.
As an employer, you must submit the above information to the Finnish Immigration Service in Enter Finland for Employers. You can speed up the processing of an employee's application by carefully supplementing the information on the terms of employment.
If you cannot use Enter Finland for Employers, use the form TY6_plus to report the terms of employment. If you use the form, download it from the website Migri.fi. You can always find the latest version of the form on our website.
- If you, for example, use a TY6_plus form that you have saved to your computer earlier, it may have become outdated. If the form is outdated, we need to ask for additional information from you separately, which will lead to a longer processing time.
The terms and conditions of the employment contract or binding job offer must be the same as the terms of employment that you report to the Finnish Immigration Service.
Employer's duty to cooperate
Under the Seasonal Workers Act, the employer has a duty to cooperate. In accordance with this duty, as an employer, you must provide the Finnish Immigration Service with all relevant information needed
- for granting a seasonal work permit
- for extending or renewing the seasonal work permit.
You must assure that the terms of seasonal work comply with the provisions in force and with the applicable collective agreement.
Refusal of a seasonal work permit for reasons attributable to the employer
A seasonal work permit may be refused if it has been applied for by an employer who has been sanctioned
- for an infringement of employer obligations
- illegal work; or
- serious neglect of the obligations under the Seasonal Workers Act.
The permit may also be refused if
- the employer has failed to comply with his obligations related to social security, taxation, workers' rights, working conditions or terms of employment based on law or collective agreement
- the employer's company has been declared bankrupt or the employer's company has no economic activity or
- the employer has failed to comply with the obligation to cooperate laid down in the Seasonal Workers Act.
Employees under 18 years of age
If you are hiring persons under the age of 18, take account of the Young Workers Act (finlex.fi) and the conditions laid down in it. The law has restrictions on, for example:
- when a minor employee can personally make a contract of employment
- how many hours a week he or she can work
- what kind of work he or she can do.
If an employee turns 18 before his or her employment starts, the Young Workers' Act will not be applied.
When a seasonal worker with a valid seasonal work permit wants to work for a new employer
A seasonal worker must apply for the addition of a new employer if he or she intends to work for an employer who is not marked on his or her seasonal work permit.
If a seasonal worker is applying for the addition of you as his or her new employer:
- Fill in and sign the form TY6_plus and send it to the seasonal worker.
- Include the information on the terms of employment and of the appropriate accommodation on the supplement form TY6_plus. A person who has the authority to sign on behalf of the company must sign the supplement form.
- Read the more detailed instructions for supplementing the terms of employment.
- If you represent a temporary-work agency, also attach to the application the contract between the temporary-work agency and the user company. The contract must contain information about the parties of the contract, the period of validity of the contract and the work duties in the work location.
The seasonal worker must apply for the addition of a new employer by using the same account in Enter Finland that he or she used when applying for the previous seasonal work permit. If the seasonal worker arrived in Finland with a visa for seasonal work or applied for his or her current seasonal work permit on paper, he or she must apply for the addition of a new employer using the paper form KAUSI_lisatyonantaja (pdf).
Read more about when the right to work begins when a seasonal worker applies for the addition of a new employer.
As soon as the Finnish Immigration Service has processed the application, the seasonal worker will get a certificate of the addition of a new employer
- via Enter Finland if he or she submitted an online application, or
- by post if he or she applied for the addition of a new employer with a paper application.
Read the more detailed instructions on the addition of a new employer.
If the seasonal worker has a residence permit for seasonal work that is valid for 6–9 months, he or she can apply for the addition of a new employer only if the new work is in the same professional field and the duration of the new work is 6–9 months. The professional field of the residence permit for seasonal work can be checked from the partial decision.
Payment for the certificate for seasonal work
If you cannot pay for your employee's certificate for seasonal work in the online service Enter Finland for Employers, you can pay it by a bank transfer directly into the account of the Finnish Immigration Service:
- FI59 8129 9710 0117 35 or
- FI86 1804 3000 0154 04.