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How to apply for entitlement to medical care

You can ask Kela to determine if you are entitled to medical care when

  • you move to Finland
  • you work in Finland but live in another country.
  1. Enclose additional documents in support of the application as necessary.
  2. Send your application online:
    • Save the application and attachments on your device.
    • If the application or attachments are on paper you can photograph or scan them.
    • Log in to the e-service. It is only available in Finnish and Swedish. Go to Messages (Viestit).
    • Choose the files from your device and press Send (Lähetä).
    • When you send your application online you don’t need to sign it.

      Another option is to send the application by mail:

    • Sign the application and send it with the supporting documents to Kela, Centre for International Affairs, PO Box 78, 00381 Helsinki.
  3. A written decision on your application will be sent to you by post. You can also view the decision in OmaKela.
  • If you apply for a benefit for the first time after moving to Finland and your entitlement to benefits provided by Kela has not yet been determined, you should notify your move to Finland via OmaKela. You can also complete and submit the form Moving to Finland (Y 77e, PDF).

  • If you have been denied a benefit and your circumstances change, you can apply for the benefit again. A change in circumstances can be, for instance, more working hours or higher pay so that the minimum entitlement criteria are met. Also in that case you should notify your move to Finland in OmaKela or include the notification Moving to Finland (Y 77e, PDF) with your application.

  • Pension recipient: If you do not receive a pension from Finland but from another EU or EEA country or Switzerland, enclose certificate S1 or E 121 with the application. Request the certificate from the health insurance institution of the country that pays you a pension. If you receive a pension from another Nordic country, Great Britain or Northern Ireland, the certificate is not needed.

  • Employee posted to Finland: Enclose a certificate S1 (certificate of entitlement to healthcare) issued by the sending country with your application. However, you do not need to enclose a certificate S1 if the sending country is another Nordic country, Great Britain or Northern Ireland.

  • If your entitlement to medical care is based on employment in Finland, Kela can check the data that the employer has reported about your employment from the national incomes register. The national incomes register does not include data on employments that have ended before 2019. If you wish that Kela determines your entitlement to medical care afterwards for the period of employment in Finland, you must submit the contract of employment to Kela if your employment ended before 1 January 2019.

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Last modified 22/4/2021