Working in Finland: local jobs, remote work and freelancing

For an American in Finland, the right to work is tied to the residence permit. The permit decides whether you may take a local job, run a business, or do neither until something changes. Once you are working, Finnish working life has its own rules on contracts, wages, hours and pensions. This guide follows InfoFinland, the information service of Finnish public authorities.

The right to work comes from your permit

InfoFinland is direct: citizens of countries outside the EU and the Nordic countries usually need a residence permit to work, and the permit may restrict the type of work you may do. Before you accept any work, read what your permit decision says.

How the main permits compare:

| Permit basis | Work rights in practice | |---|---| | Employed person's permit | Work in the field or for the employer specified, as the permit states | | Specialist permit | Work as the specialist the permit was granted for | | Entrepreneur's permit | Work in your own Finnish business | | Family ties | May include the right to work; no separate work permit needed | | Pending first permit | Usually no right to work while it is processed |

If you already hold a permit on other grounds, such as family ties, you may already have the right to work without a separate work-based permit.

### Proving your right to work

Employers must make sure you have the right to work. Show your passport, official travel document or residence permit card. You have the right to keep your passport and permit card yourself; the employer only has the right to see them.

Finding a local job

InfoFinland advises checking in advance whether there is work in your field in Finland and which certificates the Finnish labor market requires. Finnish law requires a specific education, qualification or right to practice for some professions, so licensed fields such as healthcare and teaching need their own recognition process. You can apply for jobs from abroad. Openings appear on job websites, social media and through municipal employment services; searching for "avoimet työpaikat" (open positions) brings up Finnish job sites. Have your CV and application documents ready in English, and in Finnish or Swedish where the role calls for it.

Remote work for a US employer

Many Americans hope to move to Finland and keep a US remote job. Physically working in Finland is still work in Finland, so your residence permit must allow it. Finland's permits are built around a Finnish employer, your own Finnish business, family ties or study. Before moving on the strength of a remote job, check with the Finnish Immigration Service which permit, if any, fits your situation, and get the answer in writing through its official channels.

Two other questions follow a remote job abroad:

• Tax: living in Finland can make you a Finnish tax resident, and Finnish tax on your salary interacts with US filing obligations.
• Social security: the US-Finland totalization agreement determines which country's social security covers you.

Local employment: contracts and pay

### The contract

When you start a job, you usually sign a written employment contract made in two identical copies. Read it before signing. Contracts are usually valid indefinitely, continuing until you resign or the employer dismisses you. A fixed term is allowed when there are justifiable grounds.

A probationary period may be agreed at the start. Either side can end the employment during it, but the employer must have proper grounds, and you are paid a normal wage during probation. InfoFinland notes that working without pay is legal only in employment services' work trials, voluntary work or practical training.

### Wages

Finnish law does not set a single minimum wage. Instead, minimum wages are agreed in collective agreements (työehtosopimus) between employers' organizations and trade unions for each sector. Where there is no collective agreement, the employer and employee agree on pay, and by law it must be normal and reasonable.

Pay goes to your bank account, usually once a month or every two weeks, and you must always receive a payslip. Wages are always taxed. Finland has progressive taxation, so your tax rate depends on income, and it appears on your tax card.

### Working hours

By law, regular working hours may not exceed 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, and an employee is usually entitled to two days off per week. Sectors vary: work can be full-time, part-time, hourly or shift-based. Your contract must state regular working hours, consistent with the Working Hours Act and the collective agreement.

Freelancing and light entrepreneurship

InfoFinland describes light entrepreneurship: you sell your own services, such as translation, cleaning or renovation, without founding a company, and invoice customers through an invoicing service company. The invoicing company bills customers and handles tax payments for you.

Two cautions for Americans:

1. Your residence permit must allow this type of work. For non-EU citizens, self-employment generally needs the entrepreneur's residence permit.
2. Self-employed people must take out self-employed person's pension insurance (YEL) once their business income reaches the threshold the law sets.

Running your own business

If you are a non-EU citizen who wants to work as an entrepreneur in Finland, you need a residence permit. InfoFinland's starting-a-business guidance stresses a solid business plan: your skills, your product, your customers, how and where the company will operate, and how you will organize bookkeeping and finances. Local business development agencies help develop ideas, research markets, calculate profitability and survey financing.

### Pension and unemployment cover

• YEL insurance: self-employed people must take out YEL from an authorized pension provider of their choice. Earnings-related pension builds from both paid work and entrepreneurship.
• Unemployment fund: to be eligible for earnings-related unemployment allowance if the business ends, join an unemployment fund for entrepreneurs; you must have been a member for a required period. Earnings-related allowance is larger than the basic benefit.
• If the business ends: register immediately as an unemployed jobseeker through Työmarkkinatori or your municipality's employment services.

Pensions for employees

Employers must take out earnings-related pension insurance for all employees and pay the premiums, and contributions are deducted from your salary. The more you earn and the longer you work, the larger your pension.

Checklist before you start work

1. Read the work conditions in your permit decision.
2. Get a written contract and check the applicable collective agreement.
3. Order a tax card.
4. Give your employer your Finnish bank account details.
5. Keep every payslip.
6. If self-employed, arrange YEL and consider an entrepreneurs' unemployment fund.

Common questions

Can I work in Finland while my first residence permit is processed? Usually not. While your first residence permit is being processed, you usually have no right to work.

Does Finland have a minimum wage? Not by law. Minimum wages are set in sector collective agreements; without one, pay must be normal and reasonable.

What are standard working hours in Finland? Regular hours may not exceed 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, with usually two days off per week.

Do freelancers in Finland need pension insurance? Self-employed people must take out YEL pension insurance, including light entrepreneurs whose business income reaches the legal threshold.