Anyone regardless of his or her citizenship may visit a local employment office for information about the Finnish labour market and advice on the procedures for entering the Finnish labour market. Citizens of the European Economic Area (= the EU countries, Norway and Iceland) do not need a work permit; they are also entitled to employment service. Their rights as job seekers, either unemployed or employed, are in principle the same as those in the other EEA countries. 

For further information and advice, please contact Finnish EURES advisers.

How to find a job?

If you are interested in finding work in Finland, you could start by having a look at the open vacancies in these pages (www.mol.fi /AVOIMET TYÖPAIKAT).

Additionally you´ll find more vacancies advertised in the Finnish newspapers, particularly in the Sunday editions. “Helsingin Sanomat” is the most used channel for this purpose ( www.mol.fi/ links). In the advertisements you´ll usually find the contact addresses for many international, well known companies – in case you´d be interested in introducing your self later on.

EURES - services

EURES (European Employment Services) is a network created for placement services for job seekers and employers in the EEA labour market ( http://europa.eu.int/jobs/eures ) . The EURES advisers in the different countries will assist their clients in finding jobs/labour force across the borders. They are specialised in advice and guidance, providing more information on opportunities in other countries.

Before contacting employment services in Finland, you should first contact an EURES adviser in your own country (you´ll find the contact addresses on the EURES home page). Please do not send your CV to the Ministry of Labour!

In the EURES database there are some Finnish advertisements in English. For these vacancies the employers are ready to recruit job seekers from other countries, too. (http://europa.eu.int/jobs/eures).

There are some opportunities for job seekers who do not speak Finnish, mainly as au pairs or as seasonal workers in the summer. If you are interested in coming to Finland as au pair, you may find vacancies in the EURES database or otherwise you may send your application to some of the Finnish EURES advisers . If you are ready to pay your advertisement in Finnish newspapers, you´ll find the addresses via links in the mol.fi pages.

For seasonal work (strawberries!) contact  Kuopio employment office/ EURES.

In the pages EURES INFO there is information on the working and living conditions in Finland, in several languages.

OBS. The EURES services are offered only for EEA citizens regardless of the person’s rights to stay and work in some of the EEA countries.

From outside EEA

Citizens from outside the EEA are subject to different regulations depending on the situation. As a rule they ought to have a job and a work permit for it before they can move to Finland. In individual cases the employment offices give instructions about this, as well as about the rights to employment service for immigrants to Finland and economic benefits in connection with them. 

The public employment offices cannot give placement services for people who need work permits! 

For further information www.mol.fi/Migration Affairs

Note: The Schengen Treaty concerns only travelling – not working in another country.

About studying in Finland there is information available at the Centre for International Mobility www.cimo.fi

Guides Available at Employment Offices
Working in Finland
Arbeiten in Finnland

Last modified 13.5.2002