A job seeking trip means that you can search for a job in another EU/EEA country while being fully unemployed and receive unemployment benefits from Finland for three months.

If you have been registered as a jobseeker at the TE Office for at least four weeks and are interested about job seeking trip, arrange your departure with the TE Office. After this, inform us at the unemployment fund and we will issue you the necessary U2 form for your job search. You must register as a jobseeker with the authority in the destination country within seven days from the date you left Finland. Detailed instructions on the job search trip can be found on our website here.

You can receive unemployment benefits for three months during the job-seeking trip if you have arranged the trip with the TE Office and also meet the other conditions for receiving benefits. If you do not find employment during the job-seeking trip, you must return to Finland and register with the TE Office within three months from your departure date.

Contact us at the unemployment fund if you have questions about the job-seeking trip or other overseas employment situations. You can reach us, for example, by sending a message via Openetti.

Examples of job-seeking trips

• Rasmus went to Spain to search for a job on 1.1.2024. He registered as a jobseeker in Spain on 2.1.2024 and receives unemployment benefits from Finland for three months. He does not find a job in Spain. After returning to Finland, Rasmus still receives unemployment benefits from Finland because he registered again as a jobseeker with the TE Office within three months from his departure date. He also meets other conditions for receiving benefits.
• Ulla went to Norway to search for a job on 1.1.2024. She registered as a jobseeker in Norway on 2.1.2024 and receives unemployment benefits from Finland. Ulla gets a full-time job in Norway on 1.2.2024 and informs us at the unemployment fund and the TE Office. Payment of unemployment benefits from Finland ends on 31.1.2024.