Residence permit application for seasonal work

You must apply for your first residence permit for seasonal work abroad before arriving in Finland.

If you already have a certificate or a visa for seasonal work and want to continue doing seasonal work in Finland directly after your certificate or visa for seasonal work expires, you can apply for a residence permit for seasonal work in Finland. In that case, apply for a first residence permit for seasonal work before your certificate or visa expires.

Applying for an extended permit for seasonal work is possible only if you have a valid residence permit for seasonal work and you intend to continue doing seasonal work directly after your previous residence permit for seasonal work expires. You must have sufficient financial resources for the entire time your extended permit is valid. If there are any gaps between your employment relationships, you must leave Finland. In that case, you must apply for a seasonal work permit abroad for the period when you will continue working.

You can be granted permits for seasonal work for a maximum of 9 months during a 12-month period.

You will receive a decision on your residence permit application for seasonal work within 90 days of submitting your correctly filled-in application and all documents required by the Seasonal Workers Act to the Finnish Immigration Service.

As a seasonal worker, you are only allowed to work for the employer whose name is marked on your residence permit. If you want to add a new employer of seasonal workers to a valid residence permit for seasonal work, you can apply for the addition of a new employer.

Family members of seasonal workers cannot get a residence permit in Finland on the basis of family ties.

Expected processing times:

Processing times
Electronic application fee

first permit: 380 € / extended permit: 170 €
Paper application fee

first permit: 480 € / extended permit 430 €

This is what you should do:

Make sure you meet the requirements for a residence permit for seasonal work.

Requirements for a residence permit for seasonal work:

The types of seasonal work to which the Seasonal Workers Act is applied include, for instance, agricultural and garden work, forestry and work in the tourism sector. For more information, see the page What counts as seasonal work?

Please note that you can be granted seasonal work permits for a maximum of 9 months during a 12-month period.

You must have confirmed employment before you may apply for a residence permit. If you have been offered work by an employer, the employer needs to confirm that you will really be hired. This is usually done in the form of an employment contract.

If you wish to apply for a residence permit for seasonal work to work for more than one employer, you must fill in the necessary information and submit attachments about all the employers.

If your employment relationship is valid for 6 to 9 months, the Finnish Immigration Service will first establish, among other things, whether any labour suitable for the work in question is available in Finland or within the EU/EEA within a reasonable time. Following this, the Finnish Immigration Service makes its decision.

If you are requesting for a certificate for seasonal work, you need to be able to earn your living in Finland through gainful employment throughout the time your certificate for seasonal work is valid.

Your wages must meet at least the minimum set in accordance with the collective agreement applicable to your employment contract.

If there is no collective agreement for the job, your gross wages must be at least 1,430 euros per month in 2025. This sum meets the condition regarding previous employment (in Finnish: ‘työssäoloehto’) under the Unemployment Security Act (1290/2002).

Your living conditions must meet the generally recognised health and safety requirements applied to housing in Finland. The apartment must be warm, and it must have good fire safety and adequate sanitary facilities. There must also be warm water for washing and a sufficient sleeping area. Read more on the page Accommodation for seasonal workers.

Make sure you have all the necessary attachments. Have the attachments translated and legalised if needed.

Attachments:

Information about the terms of employment

Your employer must supplement your application with information about your terms of employment.

If you apply for a permit in Enter Finland, you can give your employer permission to supplement your application in Enter Finland for Employers. This will speed up the processing of your application.
If it is not possible to use Enter Finland, submit the supplement form TY6_plus, filled in and signed by your employer, together with your application.

If you are employed by a temporary-work agency, the contract between the temporary-work agency and the user company must also be attached to the application.

A valid passport issued by your country of nationality. For more information, see the page Passports and other travel documents. Show the passport when you visit a service point to prove your identity.
- Your passport must still be valid for three months after your residence permit for seasonal work has ended.
A copy of the passport page containing personal data and of all passport pages containing markings (such as stamps, visas or residence permits).
A passport photo complying with the photo guidelines issued by the police, or a photograph retrieval code you received from a photo shop
- The passport photo must be no more than 6 months old.
Document showing that you are legally staying in the country where you submit the application
The form MP_1, if you are in Finland when you submit your residence permit application.

Fill in the application:

1

Fill in the application and add the necessary documents.

You can fill in the application online in Enter Finland (enterfinland.fi). The fee for an online application is lower than for a paper application.

If you cannot use Enter Finland, fill in a paper application. You will find a link to the application at the bottom of the page.

You can only apply for your first residence permit for seasonal work abroad. If you already have a certificate or a visa for seasonal work and want to continue doing seasonal work in Finland directly after your certificate or visa for seasonal work expires, you can apply for a first residence permit for seasonal work also in Finland.

2

Pay for your application in the online service Enter Finland or at the service point that you will visit to prove your identity.

3

Prove your identity.

If you applied for your residence permit abroad, book an appointment to visit a Finnish mission (finlandabroad.fi). Read more on the page Proving your identity abroad.

If you applied for your residence permit in Finland, book an appointment to a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service. Read more on the page Book an appointment at a service point.

4

Wait for the decision. The Finnish Immigration Service will contact you if necessary.

5

Read what happens after you have applied.

Right to work

You cannot start working before you are granted a residence permit for seasonal work.

A residence permit for seasonal work is always bound to a specific employer. This means that you are only allowed to work for the employer whose name is marked on your residence permit. If you want to add a new employer of seasonal workers to a valid residence permit for seasonal work, you can apply for the addition of a new employer. Read more on the page New employer.

If you are applying for a first residence permit for seasonal work while your certificate or visa for seasonal work is still valid, or if you are applying for an extended permit, check whether you have the right to work while your application is being processed. Read more on the page Working while your extended permit application is being processed.