Work in Finland
If you plan to work in Finland, you will usually need a residence permit that is granted by Finland. In most cases, you are not allowed to start working before you have a valid residence permit.
The right to work associated with a residence permit may be unrestricted, meaning that you are allowed to work in any field without restrictions. With some permits, the right to work may be restricted in some way.
Check your residence permit card and the residence permit decision given to you to find out whether you have the right to work in Finland.
Due to certain amendments to the Aliens Act made on 15 April 2022 and 23 February 2023, the legal provision printed on your residence permit card regarding the grounds for your right to work is not necessarily in accordance with current legislation on the right to work. You do not need to apply for a new residence permit card because of this. Instead, you can use the following table to check which new legal provisions correspond to the old provisions: Table of correspondence between old and new legal provisions on the right to work (pdf).
Restricted right to work
The grounds for your residence permit will determine the amount of work you are allowed to do, the professional field in which you may work or the employer for whom you may work, as well as the tasks that you are allowed to perform. In some of the roles listed below you can only work for a restricted period of time. If the duration of your work exceeds the time limit set for that particular type of work, you need to apply for a residence permit for an employed person.
For further information on your right to work, select the link that applies to you:
- Specialist
- Au pair
- Working holiday
- Seasonal work
- Employee of a religious community or a non-profit association
- Internship through an exchange programme
- Internship
- Intra-corporate transfer (ICT)
- Intra-corporate transfer (mobile ICT)
- Work in the field of culture or arts
- Work in the field of mass media
- International organisations and cooperation between states
- Preparation of a company’s arrival in Finland and supervision of orders
- Delivery of a machine or a system
- Athlete, coach or trainer
- EU Blue Card
- Top and middle management
- Visiting consultant or instructor
The residence permit for studies allows you to work without restrictions if your work is related to your degree. This means practical training or diploma work as part of the degree. In addition, you may work in paid employment for a maximum of 30 hours per week. The number of working hours can be exceeded some weeks, as long as the average working hours are no more than 30 hours per week at the end of the year.
If you have completed a degree in Finland, you can apply for a residence permit to look for work.
If you already have a job or if you have set up a company, you can apply for one of these permits:
For further information on your right to work, select the link that applies to you:
- Established intimate relationship
Rajoittamaton työnteko-oikeus
- permanent residence permit
- a long-term resident’s EU residence permit issued to a third-country national by Finland
- continuous residence permit:
- residence permit for an entrepreneur
- residence permit for a start-up entrepreneur
- residence permit on the basis of a degree completed in Finland
- residence permit on the basis of research completed in Finland
- residence permit on the basis of remigration
- residence permit on compassionate grounds
- residence permit on the basis of family ties
- 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 for a researcher (under national legislation or pursuant to EU Directive)
- residence permit to look for work.
To check which legal provision your right to work is based on, see this table: Table of correspondence between old and new legal provisions on the right to work (pdf).
EU citizens working in Finland
If you are a citizen of an EU Member State or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you are allowed to start working immediately after arriving in Finland. You do not need a residence permit in Finland. However, if you are staying in Finland for over three months at a time, you need to register your right of residence.
Entrepreneurship
If you wish to come to Finland to run your own business, you need to apply for a residence permit for an entrepreneur. If the main purpose of your stay in Finland is something else than entrepreneurship (such as family ties, studies or employment), you may still engage in business activities even though your residence permit is not the residence permit for an entrepreneur, as long as the main purpose of your stay in Finland is not entrepreneurship.
Pursuing a trade means that you are self-employed and do not have an employer. You can be, for instance, a freelancer or work through an invoicing service company (as a ‘light entrepreneur’, 'kevytyrittäjä' in Finnish). Being an entrepreneur means working for a company that you own. To check the criteria for entrepreneurship, see the application page for the residence permit for entrepreneurs.
When can I apply for a residence permit on the basis of entrepreneurship and on the basis of pursuing a trade?
You can apply for a residence permit for an entrepreneur if entrepreneurship is the reason why you are staying in Finland. In that case, your income needs to come from your business. Read more about the residence permit for an entrepreneur.
In some cases, pursuing a trade without your own company may be the grounds for your permit if you are applying for a residence permit on the basis of performing a specific task. If this is possible, it is mentioned on the application page concerning the permit in question. You can use the Application Finder to find an application that suits your job.
Right to pursue a trade and engage in business activities when they are not the grounds for your residence permit
For more detailed instructions on pursuing a trade, see the website Suomi.fi.
Freelance work means that you are working independently, usually for several contractors, without having an employment relationship.
You are considered a light entrepreneur (in Finnish: 'kevytyrittäjä') if you employ yourself and perform entrepreneurial activities. You provide services or sell products to your own customers through a platform company (such as Foodora, Freska, Uber, Wolt).
If you intend to work in Finland as a freelancer or as a light entrepreneur, you will usually need a residence permit for an entrepreneur.
If your residence permit has been granted on some other grounds, you may work as a freelancer or light entrepreneur but the reason why you are residing in Finland must still remain the same as when the permit was granted.
Apply for a residence permit for an employed person only if you perform work in an employment relationship under the employer’s direction and supervision.
If you have studied and completed a degree or qualification in Finland or completed your research work in Finland and wish to work here as an entrepreneur or as a light entrepreneur or freelancer, you can apply for a residence permit on the basis of a degree completed in Finland or for a residence permit on the basis of research completed in Finland.
Working when you have a residence permit granted by a country other than Finland
In general, you are not allowed to work in Finland for long periods with a residence permit issued by some other country than Finland. You can read more on the page Right to work without a residence permit.
If you have a residence permit granted by an EU Member State other than Finland on the basis of intra-corporate transfer (ICT permit), you are allowed to work in Finland for a maximum of 90 days. In that case, the host entity in Finland must submit a mobility notification for short-term mobility. You can read more on the page Mobility notification for persons with ICT residence permit.
If you have either a residence permit, a right of residence or a D visa granted by an EU Member State other than Finland or by Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland for at least one year, you cannot be granted a permit for seasonal work in Finland.