Government of Finland : Social security rights for workers coming to Finland from outside the EU

Press release

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health

30.12.2013 14.15

People coming to work in Finland from countries outside the EU, third countries as they are termed, will in future have to the right to residence-based social security benefits on the basis of their employment in Finland. Eligibility for social security benefits requires that the person has worked in Finland for a minimum of a continuous period of four months. It is estimated that the change will affect some 1,500 people annually. Until now, workers from countries outside the EU have been covered by health insurance, but they have not had the right to Finnish social security cover unless they were permanent residents of Finland.

People coming to work in Finland from countries outside the EU will be eligible in future also for unemployment benefit if they satisfy all the conditions set for the recipients of the unemployment benefit in Finland. To be eligible for unemployment benefit the person must have been registered as an unemployed job seeker and been employed for at least six months before becoming unemployed. In practice, the change will affect at most some few hundred people annually. The change does not apply to labour market support, which still requires permanent residence in Finland.

In addition, more detailed regulations have been enacted with respect to when Finnish social security cover will be terminated in different situations. If the right tosocial security benefits has been created on the basis of a job, it will also terminate when the job or entrepreneurial activity ends.

The changes are used to implement the EU's Single Permit Directive, according to which workers coming from third countries must be treated equally with the citizens of other EU countries. These changes are also based on the proposals of the so-called Solmu IV working group who examined residence-based social security.

The President of Finland passed the legislation concerning the matter on Monday, 30 th of December. These laws relate to the implementation of the EU's Single Permit Directive and will become effective from 1st January 2014.

Further information

Katriina Alaviuhkola, Ministerial Counsellor for Legal Affairs, tel. [phone], [e-mail]
Esko Salo, Ministerial Counsellor for Legal Affairs (Unemployment Security), tel. [phone], [e-mail]