See our instructions for seasonal workers and employers of seasonal workers
Foreign nationals who arrive in Finland to do seasonal work need a seasonal work permit, unless they are citizens of an EU Member State or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. Employers in Finland hire seasonal workers for jobs in sectors such as horticulture, agriculture, forestry, tourism and hospitality industry. Picking of wild berries is also considered to be seasonal work.
If you are coming to Finland to do seasonal work or are looking to hire seasonal workers, you will find useful instructions in this customer bulletin.
Choice of permit depends on duration of seasonal work
The following permits are seasonal work permits:
- Visa for seasonal work (um.fi): A person from a country whose citizens need a visa for Finland and who will do seasonal work in Finland for a maximum of 90 days must apply for a visa for seasonal work. Applications for seasonal work visas are processed and decided on by the Finnish missions. For more information on visas, see the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (um.fi).
- Certificate for seasonal work: Citizens of visa-exempt countries who will do seasonal work in Finland for a maximum of 90 days must apply for a certificate for seasonal work. The Finnish Immigration Service grants the certificates. Check if you need a visa for Finland on the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (um.fi).
- Residence permit for seasonal work: Seasonal workers wishing to do seasonal work in Finland for 3–9 months must apply for a residence permit for seasonal work. The application must be submitted to the Finnish Immigration Service. Seasonal work that lasts 6–9 months requires labour market testing. Labour market testing means that the availability of labour already in the labour market must be assessed first.
Good to know as a seasonal worker
Holders of a residence permit on the basis of temporary protection in Finland are allowed to do seasonal work in Finland. For more detailed instructions on temporary protection and seasonal work, see the page Frequently asked questions.
If you already hold a valid certificate for seasonal work or a valid visa for seasonal work and you wish to continue doing seasonal work in Finland, apply for a residence permit for seasonal work in the Enter Finland online service and visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service to prove your identity. If you are unable to use Enter Finland, fill in a paper form and book an appointment for visiting a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service.
You only have the right to work for the employer whose name is stated in your seasonal work permit. If you change jobs or wish to add a new employer while your permit is still valid, apply for the addition of a new employer. For more information, see the page Working for a new employer while your seasonal work permit is valid.
Use Enter Finland to apply online
We recommend submitting an online application in the online service Enter Finland. The processing fee for an online application is lower, and you will usually receive a decision on an online application more quickly than on a paper application.
Your employer can create a user account in the Enter Finland for Employers online service and supplement your application there. This will speed up the processing of your application. When you fill in your online application, remember to give your employer permission to use the online service so that your employer can supplement your application with the required information.
Good to know as an employer of seasonal workers
When hiring a seasonal worker, always check the employee’s right to work before they start working. Remember also that seasonal work permits are tied to a specific employer. Your employee can start working for your company once the employee's right to work concerning that particular job becomes valid. To verify that your employee has the right to work, check the employee’s passport, residence permit card, documents on temporary protection or other relevant documents, such as the employee’s certificate for seasonal work.
Seasonal work and temporary protection
If your employee is a citizen of Ukraine, find out first if the employee holds a valid residence permit for temporary protection in Finland. Temporary protection provides an unrestricted right to work, meaning that the permit holder is allowed to find employment in any sector.
Please note that a residence permit on the basis of temporary protection can be granted for only one EU Member State at a time. If a person who has been granted temporary protection in another EU country applies for temporary protection in Finland, the decision on the application may be negative. When a negative decision is issued, the right to work ends immediately. Read more in our customer bulletin: Temporary protection can only be received in one EU country at a time.
For more detailed instructions on temporary protection and seasonal work, see the page Frequently asked questions.
Use Enter Finland for Employers to submit terms of employment
As an employer, you must always supplement your seasonal worker’s application with information about the employer, the employee and the terms of employment. You will benefit from using Enter Finland for Employers to provide the required information: your employee will receive the decision more quickly since the Finnish Immigration Service can utilise automation to support the processing.
Using Enter Finland for Employers to supplement the application will shorten the overall processing time, and your employee will receive a decision sooner.
If you are unable to use the online service, you can fill in the supplement form TY6_plus. Because paper forms require manual processing and are significantly more time-consuming to process, we recommend using the online service whenever possible.
