Working abroad and unemployment security

If you are an unemployed jobseeker in Finland, you can go and seek employment in another EU/EEA or country or Switzerland for three months and claim an earnings-related allowance according to Finnish legislation for that period. For more detailed information about job-seeking trips, you can contact the TE Office.

Before you go

• Notify the employment authority in Finland of your plan to go on a job-seeking trip. The fund will require a statement from the employment authority regarding the trip.
• You should request a U2 form for job-seeking from the fund well in advance of your departure. In order to provide the certificate, the unemployment fund needs your name, any previous family name, personal ID, target country and exact date of departure.
• While you are seeking a job abroad, you will continue to claim your benefit from the Unemployment Fund for Education and Science in Finland. You can most conveniently apply for the benefit on our website through the Openetti online service.

In the target country

• You should register as a jobseeker within seven days of the date on which you left Finland.
• Present your U2 form to the authority in the country in which you are seeking work.
• During your stay, you are obliged to be available for work in the country in which you are seeking employment. For example, you must respond to any job offers, and refusal of work may result in a period during which you are not entitled to unemployment benefits, as if you had refused work in Finland.
• Unemployment Fund for Education and Science needs confirmation from the unemployment authority in your target country that you have registered as a jobseeker and are available for work. This confirmation is provided on form U009. This is a document used between authorities, and the authority in the country in which you are seeking work should send it to us directly on the basis of the information on your U2 form. In the event of any problems, please contact the fund.
• Apply for the allowance online. An earnings-related allowance can only be paid once we have received your application and the U009 confirmation from the authority in the country in which you are seeking work.
• You must return to Finland from job-seeking trip within three months. If you do not return within three months, you cannot receive earnings-related daily allowance until you have accrued one calendar month towards the employment condition. The maximum three-month period may only be exceeded if you have been unable to travel due to sickness or other force majeure.

When you return

• Register immediately as an unemployed jobseeker with the Finnish employment authority. If unemployment continues, you can continue applying for the daily allowance following your regular application rhythm.

Did you forget to request the form in advance?

If you have notified the TE Office and agreed on your job search before your departure, but did not request a U2 form or did not get it in time for your departure, act as follows:

• Register as a jobseeker in the employment office of the country in which you are seeking work and tell them that you are seeking a job under the Regulation on social security.
• Ask the employment authority of the country to request information on your job search from the Unemployment Fund for Education and Science in Finland on the U007 form. Give our full postal address to the authority.
• Send your allowance application to us at the Unemployment Fund for Education and Science as described above.
• In other respects, including the period in which you must return, follow the guidelines described above.

If you do not return

If you do not return to Finland from your job-seeking trip, please contact the Unemployment Fund for Education and Science regarding the transfer of your membership and insurance periods.

Remember to inform your insurance institution that you have been insured against unemployment with the Unemployment Fund for Education and Science in Finland. You can also provide the contact details listed on your U2 form to the insurance institution.

In Finland, you can be credited for periods of insurance and work in other EU/EEA countries or in Switzerland. If you become unemployed before fully meeting the employment and membership conditions required for earnings-related daily allowance in Finland, the conditions may be met based on work performed in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland. For Sweden and Denmark, only periods of insurance and work as a member of an unemployment fund will be considered for earnings-related unemployment security.

All communication between national institutions moves mainly electronically between countries. If necessary, the Unemployment Fund for Education and Science reguest information about your periods of insurance and work in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland (former U1-form) through electronic system.

Periods of insurance and work in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland may be counted towards the employment condition for earnings-related allowance in Finland provided that

• you have accrued at least one month towards the employment condition in Finland immediately before unemployment while being a member of a Finnish unemployment Fund.
• you have joined an unemployment fund within a month of terminating the membership in the unemployment fund of the previous country.

However, working in Finland for one month towards the employment condition is not required, if:

• during your period of work, you have continued to reside in Finland and have become fully unemployed, or
• you qualify for the five-year rule, i.e. you last worked in a Nordic country and you have worked or received an unemployment allowance in Finland within the last five years. If you are a five-year nordic remigrant, you are allowed eight weeks, instead of a month, to join a Finnish unemployment fund.

If your last employment was in Finland, or you qualify for the above-mentioned five-year rule, your earnings in Finland will be used to calculate your earnings-related allowance. If you have resided in Finland while working in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland, your income from the EU/EEA country or Switzerland will be used to calculate your earnings-related allowance.

Determining the place of residence is important when assessing the basis for calculating the amount of daily allowance. You are considered to reside in Finland if you live permanently in Finland, even if you are working in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland.

When determining the place of residence, factors such as your permanent address, how often you visit your country of residence, and where your family lives are considered. Additionally, the nature of your employment is taken into account. The determination of place of residence is always assessed on a case-by-case basis during the processing of your earnings-related daily allowance application, and the unemployment fund cannot give a preemptive decision on your place of residence.

The amount of daily allowance is calculated based on wages earned in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland if it is determined that you resided in Finland during your employment and your work in the other EU/EEA country or Switzerland was not long-term. However, this matter is always assessed on a case-by-case basis, and the fund cannot provide a preemptive decision on which country’s income will be used to calculate the daily allowance amount.

If you return to Finland after having worked in a country other than an EU/EEA country or Switzerland (i.e. ‘third countries’), you cannot be credited for your periods of insurance and work abroad. You may be entitled to earnings-related daily allowance if you have returned to Finland from a country outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland, if:

• You have met the employment condition and your daily allowance amount was calculated in Finland before leaving for abroad. After returning to Finland, you can receive the same previously calculated daily allowance, provided there has been no interruption in your membership with the unemployment fund, and you have not been absent from the labor market for more than 6 months without an acceptable reason.
• You have worked abroad for such a short period that within the 28-month assessment period, there are at least 12 calendar months that meet the employment condition from work performed in Finland or another EU/EEA country or Switzerland.

In other cases, you can receive earnings-related daily allowance only after you have re-fulfilled the employment condition as a member of the unemployment fund after returning from a third country.

However, if you have been posted abroad by a Finnish employer, your unemployment security will be considered the same as if you had been working in Finland.

If you are leaving Finland to work in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland, you should contact the fund before your departure for detailed advice on continuing your membership. You should also contact the unemployment fund if you continue to live in Finland, but your country of employment is another EU/EEA country or Switzerland.

If you will be working for a Finnish employer as a posted worker, you will still be covered by the Finnish unemployment security system. In this case, you should remain a member of the unemployment fund during the entire time you work abroad. You must also obtain certificate A1 from the Finnish Centre for Pensions in advance.

In Sweden and Denmark, unless you are a posted worker, you need to join a local unemployment fund to be eligible for earnings-related unemployment allowance. Contact a local unemployment fund for further advice. It is advisable to request advice before the start of employment, as the time of transferring the fund membership may be critical to the entitlement for an allowance.

Other EU/EEA countries and Switzerland have general unemployment insurance that does not normally require any specific action from you during your employment. If you are not a posted worker, you will be covered by the unemployment insurance of your country of employment.

You need to have an unemployment insurance generally in the country you are working. This means that generally you need to take out your unemployment insurance there where you are working.

It is advisable to apply for the insurance decision well in advance, and we recommend that you also contact the unemployment fund in good time if you plan to work remotely from abroad.

Please note! If you are a civil servant and work remotely from Finland for a foreign employer in an EU/EEA contry or Switzerland, you work will be insured in the coyntry of your civil service. If you have a civil service position in one country and an employment relationship in another, the social insurance contributions for both your civil service and employment are paid to the country of your civil service. This applies also to short-term or part-time public civil service/employment relationships. If you work for a foreign employer as a civil servant, please contact the Unemployment Fund for Education and Science so we can provide further guidance on how to proceed with your membership.

Funds do not make any insurance decisions. Insurance decisions are made by:

• Finnish Centre for Pensions (Eläketurvakeskus): EU/EEA countries and social security agreement countries Australia, Chile, South-Korea, India, Israel, Canada, China, Quebec, USA and Japan
• The social Insurance institution of Finland (KELA): Other countries (for example, Russia)

So, if you are working remotely from Finland for an employer abroad, you can apply for the insurance decision from the Finnish Centre for Pensions (Eläketurvakeskus) or Kela. If your work is insured in Finland, social insurance contributions must be paid to Finland, and the work can count towards the employment condition in Finland, provided all other requirements are met. In order for the work to count towards the employment condition, you must be a member of an unemployment fund in Finland.

If remotely performed work insured in Finland is up to 80% part-time work, you may also be eligible for adjusted daily allowance from Finland, provided all other requirements are met.

It is important to ensure that your employer makes the payments to Finland as agreed, as once you receive an insurance decision regarding Finnish social security, the employer is obligated to pay the contributions to Finland. This is not a voluntary choice in such cases.

If you have worked in another EU/EEA country or Switzerlandand then remain in that country as an unemployed jobseeker, your entitlement to an earnings-related allowance will be determined according to the local legislation. However, you will be able to get credit for your periods of insurance and work from Finland, if necessary. In this case, the Unemployment Fund for Education and Science will provide the payer of the unemployment allowance with a certificate on your periods of insurance and work in Finland (former U1- form). Information is generally exchanged electronically between the authorities of EU/EEA countries or Switzerland through the JINA system.

Check with the authorities of the country where you are working to see if you need a certificate when you start working or only if you potentially become unemployed. The authorities of the country where you are working can send a form request to the Unemployment Fund for Education and Science through the electronic JINA system.

If you have worked in a non-EU/EEA country or Switzerland and then become unemployed, your entitlement to an earnings-related allowance will be determined according to the legislation of the country in which you have been working. It is unlikely that your previous employment in Finland will be accepted as the basis for any unemployment benefit.

A frontier worker refers to a person who works or has worked in an EU/EEA country other than their country of residence, or Switzerland.

If a frontier worker continues to be in an employment relationship but is laid off, works part-time, or is called to work when required, for example, the unemployment allowance is paid by the country of employment. Frontier workers must register as jobseekers in their country of employment.

If a frontier worker has been working in an EU/EEA country other than their country of residence and then becomes fully unemployed, the unemployment allowance is paid by the country of residence. For this reason, frontier workers must register as jobseekers in their country of residence. They may also register as jobseekers in their country of employment, but, as a rule, the unemployment allowance is paid by an institution in the country of residence.

Frontier workers can also be credited for their periods of insurance and work in their former country of employment, such as Finland.

The UK and the EU have concluded a partnership agreement, effective from January 1, 2021, lasting for 15 years. As a result of this agreement, the transfer of employment and insurance periods between the UK and the EU will continue.