Unemployment benefits

Jobseekers can stay abroad without losing their right to unemployment benefits under the following conditions:

  • by registering as a jobseeker in another EU/EEA country or in Switzerland, or
  • by looking for work in Finland and remaining a registered jobseeker in Finland throughout their stay abroad.

Payment of unemployment benefits to recipients looking for work in another EU/EEA country or in Switzerland

An unemployed jobseeker who leaves Finland to look for work in another EU/EEA country or in Switzerland may retain the entitlement to basic unemployment allowance from Kela or to unemployment allowance from the unemployment fund for a maximum of three months.


In order to qualify for unemployment allowance while looking for work in an EU country,

  • you must have been registered in Finland for at least 4 weeks as an unemployed job seeker (the requirement can be reduced with the consent of the employment and economic development office)
  • you must register within 7 days with the local employment office of the country in which you seek employment
  • you fulfil the obligations concerning job-seeking and payment of unemployment benefits in the country where you look for a job and in Finland

Before leaving Finland, you should contact the employment and economic development office to ensure that you meet the requirements for seeking employment abroad. After that, Kela gives recipients of basic unemployment allowance a U2 or E303 form, which is needed when looking for work. Recipients of earnings-related unemployment allowance receive the form from the unemployment fund that pays the benefit. When you receive earnings-related unemployment allowance further information is provided by your unemployment fund.

You use the U2 form to register as a jobseeker in the country to which you are travelling to look for work. The organisation (Kela or the unemployment fund) that issued the form pays the benefit to you as if you were a jobseeker in Finland.
If you return to Finland within 3 months, payment of your unemployment benefit from Finland can continue uninterrupted. If your return is delayed, you will lose your entitlement to unemployment allowance.

Payment of unemployment benefits from Finland during temporary stay abroad

Persons who are registered as unemployed jobseekers in Finland may stay abroad without losing their entitlement to the unemployment benefit. One requirement is that the jobseeker is considered to still be permanently resident in Finland. Furthermore, the jobseeker has to be able to return swiftly to Finland despite the stay abroad if the person is offered a job or a job interview. As a rule, a person is considered to be permanently resident in Finland if the intended stay abroad lasts for up to one year. For instance, it is thus possible to stay abroad for three months while maintaining the entitlement to labour market subsidy.

Residence in Finland is not a requirement for the payment of the basic unemployment allowance to an EU/EEA country or to Switzerland.

Insurance periods from other EU/EEA countries or from Switzerland (U1 form)

If you have worked in Finland and move to an EU/EEA country or to Switzerland, you can use your employment history in Finland to obtain entitlement to unemployment benefits. You can usually use the U1 form to prove that you have an employment history in Finland. In Finland the form is issued by the unemployment fund or by Kela, if you are not member of a fund.

More information

Updated 04/11/13