Labour market test
When you recruit employees, you must primarily hire people who are already available in the labour market in Finland or in the EU/EEA area. Assessing the availability of suitable labour is referred to as labour market testing. The purpose of the labour market test mechanism is to support the employment opportunities for labour already in the labour market. If labour is not available in the labour market, recruiting employees from outside the EU and EEA is possible.
When is a labour market test required?
When an employee applies for a residence permit, the Finnish Immigration Service investigates whether any labour suitable for the work in question is available in the labour market in Finland or in the EU/EEA area within a reasonable time, taking into account the regional work permit policies of ELY Centres (ely-keskus.fi).
In applications for a first residence permit, the labour market test procedure concerns all applications for a residence permit for an employed person and applications for a residence permit for seasonal work where the duration of the work is 6–9 months.
In extended permits, labour market tests are not required in the following situations:
- When an employee applies for an extended permit to continue working in the same professional field for which his or her existing and valid residence permit for an employed person was issued.
- When an employee applies for an extended permit to work in a different professional field than the field for which his or her existing and valid residence permit for an employed person was issued and the employee has been working for at least 9 months with the residence permit for an employed person.
A labour market test is always required if an employee who holds a valid residence permit for studies applies for a residence permit for an employed person.
Job Market Finland
You can recruit from outside the EU/EEA area if you cannot find an employee among the labour force already in the labour market. As a rule, the employer is required to publish a job posting about the open position on the Job Market Finland website (tyomarkkinatori.fi) and have it open for at least two weeks. This is the way to establish whether finding an employee in Finland or in the EU/EEA area is possible. You should preferably publish the job advertisement already before the employee submits a residence permit application. Otherwise, there may be a delay in the permit process if we need to request additional information from you.
Publishing a job advertisement on the Job Market Finland website is not necessary if the occupation of your future employee is mentioned in the regional work permit policy of the local ELY Centre (ely-keskus.fi). The regional work permit policies that govern labour market tests are reviewed twice a year by ELY Centres. ELY Centres (Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment) define in their work permit policies the occupations or fields of employment in which the availability of labour is regarded as reduced.
The Finnish Immigration Service uses several information sources to assess the availability of labour in the local labour market, including the regional work permit policies of ELY Centres. Other information sources include:
- The job posting published by the employer on the Job Market Finland website.
- The information provided to the Finnish Immigration Service by the employer about the employee’s terms of employment. This information is given in the section ‘Availability of labour’ when filling in the terms of employment.
- The labour force barometer (tyovoimabarometri.fi) that provides information on labour needs in different sectors.
Labour market test and occupations
When an employee applies for a residence permit for an employed person, his or her right to work will be determined for the professional fields that are indicated in the application documents. When filling in the terms of employment, it is important for the employer to mention all the occupations or professional fields in which the employee will be working. This way, the employee’s right to work can be determined for either one or several specific occupations and professional fields.
The Finnish Immigration Service uses the International Standard Classification of Occupations, ISCO (stat.fi), to describe and categorise occupations. The ISCO framework is used internationally and in Finland to help categorise occupations and jobs, and it is a tool for comparing and assessing jobs, skills requirements and occupations in a consistent way.
When a foreign employee applies for a seasonal work permit for 6–9 months or for a residence permit for an employed person, the employee must be assigned an occupation code from the 4-digit level of the ISCO framework. (For example: 9112 ‘Cleaners and helpers in offices, hotels and other establishments’ and 4224 ‘Hotel receptionists’.) The labour market test is performed based on the 4-digit-level ISCO code that has been indicated as the employee’s main professional field.
Employer, this is what you need to do:
1
Start by looking for an employee in Finland and in the EU and EEA countries. You can publish a job posting on the Job Market Finland website (tyomarkkinatori.fi). See the instructions: How to create a job posting (tyomarkkinatori.fi). If you cannot find an employee among the labour force already in the labour market, you can recruit from outside the EU/EEA area.
Start by looking for an employee in Finland and in the EU and EEA countries. You can publish a job posting on the Job Market Finland website (tyomarkkinatori.fi). See the instructions: How to create a job posting (tyomarkkinatori.fi). If you cannot find an employee among the labour force already in the labour market, you can recruit from outside the EU/EEA area.
2
Check whether you have a mandate which is required for representing your company in the Enter Finland For Employers online service. For instructions on how to apply for a mandate, see the page Enter Finland for Employers (migri.fi). Once you have the required mandate, create an employer’s user account on Enter Finland for Employers (enterfinland.fi). After your employee has submitted a residence permit application through Enter Finland, complete and submit the employee’s terms of employment through your Enter Finland for Employers account.
Check whether you have a mandate which is required for representing your company in the Enter Finland For Employers online service. For instructions on how to apply for a mandate, see the page Enter Finland for Employers (migri.fi). Once you have the required mandate, create an employer’s user account on Enter Finland for Employers (enterfinland.fi). After your employee has submitted a residence permit application through Enter Finland, complete and submit the employee’s terms of employment through your Enter Finland for Employers account.
3
When you fill in the terms of employment, you need to determine the main professional field of your employee and any additional fields, too. State your employee’s main duties and possible additional duties as well. Please use the Classification of Occupations tool (stat.fi) on the Statistics Finland website to help determine the professional fields and duties.
When you fill in the terms of employment, you need to determine the main professional field of your employee and any additional fields, too. State your employee’s main duties and possible additional duties as well. Please use the Classification of Occupations tool (stat.fi) on the Statistics Finland website to help determine the professional fields and duties.
4
Check the regional work permit policy (ely-keskus.fi) on the website of the ELY Centres. Which regional policy you should follow depends on the location where your employee will work. ELY Centres (Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment) define in which fields of employment the availability of labour is regarded as reduced. If the local ELY Centre has established that the availability of labour is reduced in the field in question, you do not need to publish a job posting on the Job Market Finland website.
Check the regional work permit policy (ely-keskus.fi) on the website of the ELY Centres. Which regional policy you should follow depends on the location where your employee will work. ELY Centres (Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment) define in which fields of employment the availability of labour is regarded as reduced. If the local ELY Centre has established that the availability of labour is reduced in the field in question, you do not need to publish a job posting on the Job Market Finland website.
5
When the professional field for which you are recruiting is not exempt from labour market testing according to the ELY Centre's regional work permit policy, you must establish whether an employee suitable for the work in question is available in the Finnish or EU and EEA labour market.
Publish a job posting on the website Job Market Finland (tyomarkkinatori.fi) for at least two weeks. See the instructions: How to create a job posting (tyomarkkinatori.fi).
When you fill in and submit the terms of employment of the employee who applies for a residence permit, you will also be asked for certain details that are relevant to the labour market test:
- Is labour market testing required for the professional field in question?
- Has the position been open on the Job Market Finland website for at least two weeks during the past three months?
- What is the ID of the job advertisement? You will find the ID in the job posting that you published on the Job Market Finland website.
- How many people applied for the job while the job advertisement was open?
- If there were applicants, did you select one of them? If there were applicants but you did not hire any of them, you must explain why not.
- Were professional qualifications required in the job advertisement? If qualifications were required, submit a document as proof of the employee’s professional qualifications to the Finnish Immigration Service. The document can be a certificate of employment or a degree certificate, for example.
For further instructions on how to complete and submit the terms of employment, see the page Instructions for employers on filling in the terms of employment.
When the professional field for which you are recruiting is not exempt from labour market testing according to the ELY Centre's regional work permit policy, you must establish whether an employee suitable for the work in question is available in the Finnish or EU and EEA labour market.
Publish a job posting on the website Job Market Finland (tyomarkkinatori.fi) for at least two weeks. See the instructions: How to create a job posting (tyomarkkinatori.fi).
When you fill in and submit the terms of employment of the employee who applies for a residence permit, you will also be asked for certain details that are relevant to the labour market test:
- Is labour market testing required for the professional field in question?
- Has the position been open on the Job Market Finland website for at least two weeks during the past three months?
- What is the ID of the job advertisement? You will find the ID in the job posting that you published on the Job Market Finland website.
- How many people applied for the job while the job advertisement was open?
- If there were applicants, did you select one of them? If there were applicants but you did not hire any of them, you must explain why not.
- Were professional qualifications required in the job advertisement? If qualifications were required, submit a document as proof of the employee’s professional qualifications to the Finnish Immigration Service. The document can be a certificate of employment or a degree certificate, for example.
For further instructions on how to complete and submit the terms of employment, see the page Instructions for employers on filling in the terms of employment.