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12/20/11
Inaccuracies regarding social security in Welcome to Finland, a guide for immigrants
An updated version will come out by summer 2012.
The Ministry of the Interior and the ALPO project in September published Welcome to Finland, a guide for immigrants containing information about Finnish society and about public services, employment, education, health care, culture and daily life in Finland. The guide is available at local register offices, police stations and Finnish missions abroad. The guide unfortunately contains certain inaccuracies regarding the social security provided by Kela, potentially leading to confusion about the division of responsibilities between Kela, municipal authorities and the local register offices.
To understand the principle behind the Finnish residence-based social security system, it is important to make a distinction between residence as defined by social security law and residence within the meaning of the population register system. The social security provided by Kela is available to persons who take up permanent residence in Finland. Permanent residence can mean such things as having an employment contract of at least two years, moving back to Finland as a so-called return migrant, or moving in with a family member living in Finland on a permanent basis. In certain situations, social security may be available on an employment basis alone. The cash benefits paid out by Kela, such as the housing allowance, are available only to those covered by the Finnish social security system and meeting specific qualifying criteria.
A personal Kela card can be issued to persons who are covered by the Finnish national health insurance system. This includes anyone either permanently resident in Finland or working in Finland for at least four months. It is not possible to apply specifically for a personal Kela card. The application must concern the coverage under the Finnish social security system. Kela sends a personal Kela card automatically to everyone covered by the Finnish social security or national health insurance system.
The guide fails to point out that, to qualify for maternity allowance payments from Kela, expecting mothers must have been covered by the Finnish social security system for at least 180 days immediately before their due date. Periods of insurance spent in other EU/EEA countries, Switzerland or Israel may count towards the 180-day requirement.
Kela and the ALPO project will review the guide in the next few months. An updated version will be available by summer 2012.
Additional information for customers:
Kela's customer service number for persons moving to or from Finland, tel.020 692 227 Monday to Friday from 8 am to 6 pm.