Guide: What to do if you become unemployed after moving to Finland
Have you recently lost your job or is your employment about to end? This article tells you what you need to do to get unemployment benefits (työttömyystuki) in Finland.
Losing your job can be stressful, especially if you have moved to Finland from another country. You will not get unemployment benefits automatically in Finland. You have to apply for them. Unemployment benefits can be paid to you by Kela or by an unemployment fund (työttömyyskassa) if you belonged to one before your employment ended.
The most important thing is to register as an unemployed jobseeker with the employment services of your municipality of residence (kotikunta) immediately after you become unemployed. This is the first step you have to take to qualify for unemployment benefits. You must also make sure your registration stays active at all times. If you let your status as an unemployed jobseeker expire, you cannot get unemployment benefits.
You can register as a jobseeker via Job Market Finland’s e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish). If you are unable to use the e-service, please contact the employment services of your municipality of residence.
How to find the contact information for your employment area (tyomarkkinatori.fi).
You can get unemployment benefits from either Kela or your unemployment fund (työttömyyskassa). There are two different types of unemployment benefits. You can only get one type of unemployment benefit at a time. You cannot get unemployment benefits from both Kela and your unemployment fund at the same time.
You can get earnings-related unemployment allowance (ansiopäiväraha) if you belong to an unemployment fund (työttömyyskassa) and you meet the work requirement (työssäoloehto). Tätä tukea haetaan kassasta. If you are not a member of an unemployment fund, you can get general social security benefit (yleistuki) from Kela.
In any case, you must first register as an unemployed jobseeker with the employment services and apply for the benefits. You will not get unemployment benefits automatically.
The different roles played by Kela and employment services can be confusing at first. If you become unemployed, employment services will first issue a statement on if you meet the labour market policy prerequisites for unemployment benefits. Kela then checks all other factors that affect the benefit, such as any holiday compensations you may get, how much and what types of income you have, and if you have to complete a qualifying period (odotusaika).
If you are about to move out of Finland and you want to apply for unemployment benefits in another EU country, you can ask Kela to issue you a U1 certificate. Your U1 certificate will show when and for how long you were employed in Finland (periods of employment), and it may affect your right to get benefits in other EU or EEA countries, Switzerland or the United Kingdom.
Do this if you become unemployed
- Register as an unemployed jobseeker with the employment services immediately after your employment ends.
- Apply for general social security benefit from Kela or earnings-related unemployment allowance from your unemployment fund.
- You can apply for the general social security benefit paid by Kela in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish). You can also apply for the benefits by completing the right form and sending it to us by mail or by visiting one of our service points.
- Stay registered as an unemployed jobseeker at all times, even if you get sick.
- If your unemployment continues, submit an unemployment status report in OmaKela every 4 weeks..
- Be ready to answer the phone if Kela calls you. We may be trying to contact you to ask about missing information.
- You will get a notice of Kela’s decision in OmaKela or by post. If you get a negative decision, you can contact Kela for advice.
Frequently asked questions about unemployment benefits
The amount of unemployment benefits you can get depends on if you qualify for earnings-related unemployment allowance (ansiopäiväraha) or the general social security benefit (yleistuki). The amount of earnings-related unemployment allowance you can get depends on how high your pay (wages or salary) was before you became unemployed.
The general social security benefit is EUR 37.21 per day. On average, you may get EUR 800.02 per month.
The general social security benefit (yleistuki) is reduced by
- your earned income (wages and salary)
- your parents’ income if you live with them
- other income that is not wages or salary, such as certain benefits and capital income.
Any wages or salary you earn, for example from part-time work, will reduce the amount of general social security benefit you can get. In that case, you can get adjusted general social security benefit.
If you live with your parents and you do not meet the work requirement, their income may affect your general social security benefit.
Capital income and other types of income you get may reduce the amount of your general social security benefit. They are the types of income that are taken into account in the means testing that applies to the general social security benefit.
Yes, you can. If you work part time and your hours do not exceed 80% of full-time hours, only half of your wages or salary will be deducted from your unemployment benefits.
Kela bases its decision on whether you can get unemployment benefits on a labour policy statement (työvoimapoliittinen lausunto). The statement tells Kela whether you are an unemployed jobseeker and if there is a reason why you should not be paid unemployment benefits. The statement is issued by the employment services or a KEHA Centre, depending on your situation. After Kela gets the statement, Kela will check what other conditions for unemployment benefits apply in your case before you can be paid the benefits.
If you have not completed a vocational qualification or a higher education degree, you must complete a qualifying period (odotusaika) before you can get the general social security benefit. Upper secondary school education (lukio) is not considered a vocational qualification.
The qualifying period is 21 weeks, which is about 5 months.
You do not have to complete a qualifying period if you apply for the general social security benefit immediately after you have been paid earnings-related unemployment allowance (ansiopäiväraha) for the maximum number of days.
If you have completed vocational education or a higher education degree abroad, you must submit a copy of your degree certificate (diploma) or an extract from a register of completed study credits that shows the name of your degree and the scope of your studies to Kela. The documents must be translated into Finnish, Swedish or English.
You can get unemployment benefits only after you have been registered as an unemployed jobseeker with the employment services for at least 7 working days. This is called a waiting period (omavastuuaika). You cannot get unemployment benefits during the waiting period.
If your employer pays out your unused vacation days at the end of your employment (holiday compensations), the payment of your unemployment benefits cannot start right away.
If your employer pays you holiday compensations, they will be periodised. Periodisation means that if you have vacation days left when the employment relationship ends, the compensation paid for these days postpones the start of your unemployment benefits. The periodisation of your holiday compensations will not apply at the same time as your waiting period (omavastuuaika). This means that the waiting period starts after the periodisation of any holiday compensations that may be paid to you by your employer is over.
Holiday compensations you get from abroad will also be periodised. We will ask you to submit, for example, a PD U1 certificate to get the information we need.
Kela can issue you a U1 certificate that shows your periods of employment in Finland. You can ask Kela for a U1 certificate if you move to another EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom and you want to apply for unemployment benefits in that country. The certificate may affect your right to get benefits in your country of destination.
Work you do abroad can count towards the Finnish work requirement (työssäoloehto) when you apply for unemployment benefits in Finland. You will need a U1 certificate showing your periods of employment abroad that is issued by the employment authorities in your country of employment. Kela can also request this information directly from the authorities of the country you worked in.
Your family members can get Kela benefits if Kela determines that they are moving to Finland to live here permanently. When we check if they are living here permanently, one of the factors we will take into account in our assessment is whether we consider you to be living in Finland permanently. Working is another way to qualify for Kela benefits.
More information about when your family members may qualify for Kela benefits
More information
- Moving to Finland
- Unemployment benefits for persons moving to or from Finland
- Unemployment
- General social security benefit
- Job search and employment services (Job Market Finland)
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