Work in Finland for US citizens

US citizens do not need a residence permit in Finland. Please note that if you have been staying for more than three months, you will need to register your right of residence.

Before applying for a residence permit, you must find a job in Finland. After all, to get a permit, you must provide a valid employment contract. Without a job, you won't get a positive response about your residence permit. 

Citizens from USA can work in Finland without a residence permit if you meet one of the following requirements. However, your residence in Finland must be legal. Living without a residence permit is legal in the following situations:

• You have a valid visa (you come from a country whose citizens need a visa to enter Finland).
• You have a Schengen residence permit issued by another country, which allows you to reside in Finland for a short period of time.
• You are a citizen of a visa-free country, in which case you can work in Finland during your visa-free stay.
• You do not need a work permit or any other residence permit if you meet these conditions:

• you have been invited to work in Finland or you have signed a contract to work in Finland and will work for a maximum of 90 days;

And you should also work in one of these positions:

• an interpreter, teacher, specialist, or sports referee or referee; or
• a professional artist, coach, or athlete, or a member of such a person's support team.

US citizens can also perform these tasks without a residence permit if your work lasts 90 days or less:

1. You show a product or work in a movie, and your employer does not have an office in Finland.

2. You are a sailor and work on a ship listed in the Register of merchant ships, or, if you are hired outside of Finland, on a ship that mainly runs between foreign ports.

3. You are a permanent employee of a company operating in another EU/EEA country, and you have arrived in Finland to perform temporary acquisition or subcontracting tasks as specified in the freedom of Service Regulations. You must also have a residence and work permit in the specified country, and these permits must be valid when you finish working in Finland. 

4. You are a member of the personnel of a vehicle owned or controlled by a foreign party, and

• you drive a vehicle whose task is to transport cargo across the border, which must be delivered to a certain destination or taken out of it, or
• your activities in Finland involve regular communication between municipalities, at least one of which is located abroad, and
• you don't live in Finland.

5. You are the leader of a travel group traveling to Finland from abroad, and your employer or contractor does not have an office in Finland. As a travel group leader, you arrive in Finland with the group and also leave the country with the group.

If you intend to continue working even after the end of the 90-day period, you will need to apply for a residence permit.

If you are an asylum seeker, you are eligible to work in Finland:

• if you have applied for international protection, you have a valid travel document that entitles you to cross the border, and you have lived in Finland for three months.
• if you have applied for international protection, but you do not have a valid travel document that entitles you to cross the border, and you have lived in Finland for six months.

Learn more about the right of an asylum seeker to work.

Seasonal work for Americans

Residence permit for seasonal work is to work as a seasonal employee for a period of 3-9 months. You cannot apply for a residence permit in such cases: 

• You come to Finland from a visa-free country to collect wild berries for a maximum of 90 days, and berry picking is not carried out in an employment relationship. If you collect wild berries under an employment contract, you need to apply for a residence permit for a employed person (TTOL).
• You are a citizen of an EU country or Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland. You can work in Finland without a residence permit. If you have been in Finland for more than three months, you must register your right of residence.

People who come to work for less than three months:

1. If you are coming from a country whose citizens must have a visa, apply for a seasonal work visa at the Finnish representative office (embassy or consulate).
2. If you come from a country whose citizens do not need to have a visa, apply for a seasonal work certificate from the Finnish Immigration Service. A seasonal work certificate confirms your right to work. In order for your stay in Finland to be legal, you also need to have visa-free travel days for the entire duration of your certificate. A seasonal work certificate does not extend your visa-free stay in Finland.

But if you come to work for three to six months:

Apply for a seasonal residence permit with the Finnish Immigration Service. In this case, your application will be reviewed in two stages. First, the Department of employment and economic development issues a partial solution. The Finnish Immigration Service then processes the application and decides on the permit.

The duration of the employment relationship determines the duration of the permit granted. You can apply and find more information here.

Work in Finland for US citizens

US citizens do not need a residence permit in Finland. Please note that if you have been staying for more than three months, you will need to register your right of residence.

What is the "registration of the right of residence" in Finland?

If US citizens plan to live and work in Finland for more than 90 days, they must register their stay with the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). This is not a visa or residence permit, but a formal confirmation of the legal right to reside and work in Finland under EU freedom of movement rules.

What documents do US citizens need to register their right of residence?

To register, US citizens will need:

• A valid passport or national ID card

• Employment contract or certificate of employment from a Finnish employer

• A completed application form (submitted online or at a Migri service point)

• A passport photo

• A registration fee payment receipt.

How can citizens from USA register their right of residence in Finland?

Citizens from USA can register their right of residence in two ways:

1. Online application

 👉 Submit the application via Enter Finland 

2. Visit a Migri service point

 👉 Book an appointment and present your original documents in person.

 👉 You’ll receive a registration certificate confirming your status.

How much does registration of right of residence cost for Americans?

The registration fee is:

- €63 when applying online via Enter Finland

- €63 if applying on paper

The fee must be paid before or during the visit to the service point.

How long does it take to register the right of residence for Americans?

The typical processing time is 1–2 weeks after your visit to the Migri office. In busy seasons, it may take slightly longer.

You are allowed to start working immediately once you arrive in Finland, even while the registration is being processed.

Finnish labor law defines the rights and obligations of employees and employers. The main regulatory framework includes the following aspects:

1. Labor rights: Employees have the right to safe and healthy working conditions, including the right to rest, vacation, remuneration, social security and occupational health and safety.
2. Minimum wage: As in most Scandinavian countries, there is no legal minimum wage in Finland, but you can expect a net minimum monthly salary of around €1,800 when working in the country.
3. Working hours: Standard working hours in Finland are 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. For working beyond these norms or working at night, weekends or holidays, employees are entitled to additional pay or time off.
4. Vacation: Employees are entitled to vacation time, which depends on the length of their employment. It is usually 2.5 working days per employee per month.
5. Protection against discrimination: Finnish labor law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, age, nationality, religion, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics.
6. Protection of pregnant women and parents: Pregnant women and parents are entitled to parental leave, maternity leave and other social benefits.

When starting a business, you need to choose an organizational and legal form, a company name, and a field of activity. Factors affecting the choice of company form include the number of founders, capital requirements, distribution of responsibilities and decision-making, financing and taxation.

General partnership (toiminimi)

Limited liability company (osakeyhtiö)

Partnership (avoin yhtiö)

Limited partnership (kommandiittiyhtiö)

Cooperative association (osuuskunta)

Property (toiminimi)

The easiest and most popular way to start a business is to work as a sole proprietor using a company name. The decision-making and responsibility in the company belongs to the entrepreneur, and the company can hire employees, just like in other forms of business. For part-time businesses, it is often advantageous to start as a sole proprietorship. Starting a business this way is quick and easy.

Limited liability company (osakeyhtiö)

A limited liability company is the most common form of company in Finland. A limited liability company is suitable for all types of business activities. You can establish a limited liability company on your own or together with other shareholders. The voting rights, profits and liability of a shareholder depend on the number of shares he or she owns.

Partnership (avoin yhtiö)

A partnership is formed when two or more persons agree to do so by signing a partnership agreement. The partners have equal status in all of the company's operations and are personally liable for the company's decisions, obligations and debts.

Limited partnership (kommandiittiyhtiö)

A limited partnership differs from a general partnership in that, in addition to one or more responsible partners, there is at least one sleeper partner, i.e. a member of the partnership who usually acts as an investor.

Cooperative association (osuuskunta)

A cooperative association is an enterprise owned by its members. There can be one or more members. Each member has one vote at the meeting of the cooperative association. The liability of members for the obligations of the cooperative association (e.g. for debts) is limited to their share capital.

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Finland has very high business taxes. In general, entrepreneurs have to pay the following taxes: 

1. VAT if the annual turnover exceeds 10,000 euros: 

• 24% for most goods and services;
• 14% - for food and catering;
• 10% - for medicines, printed materials, passenger transportation and some others.

2. corporate income tax:

• 20% - for joint stock companies and cooperatives;
• 30% - for individual entrepreneurs and partnerships;
• 34% - for individual entrepreneurs and companies, if the income exceeds EUR 30,000.

3. employer's insurance contributions (social and pension insurance, unemployment insurance) - depending on the type of activity and other features, from 18 to 21% of the payroll.  

But there may be other peculiarities. For example, in some municipalities, companies pay corporate property tax.

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Open a company in Finland

A foreigner can open a company in Finland by registering it in the Trade Register of the Finnish Patent and Registration Office, having at least three members of the Board of Directors. In addition to the main foreign founder of the Finnish company, in order to obtain an entrepreneur's residence permit, the Board of Directors must include a Finnish (or European) resident who is a resident of Finland. An applicant for an entrepreneur's residence permit must have a business identifier.

If a foreigner plans to work as a private entrepreneur, he/she must be a resident of the EEA region. The process of obtaining an entrepreneur's residence permit consists of two stages. First, the company's profitability is assessed by the ELY Center (Center for Economic Development, Transport and Environment). Then the Finnish Immigration Service makes its decision.

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The process of registering a company in Finland

1. Draw up a detailed business plan that includes the business idea, competencies, products/services, customers, partners and sources of business financing.
2. Choose the most appropriate form of business entity for your business activities in Finland.
3. Register the company with the Finnish Chamber of Commerce PRH and the three tax registers.
4. The entrepreneur must take out pension insurance or employee pension insurance.

More information is available here: https://www.suomi.fi/company, https://www.ytj.fi/

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Another type of business activity in Finland is the opportunity to become a startup entrepreneur. In order to become a startup entrepreneur, you also need a residence permit.

You must receive a positive eligibility statement from Business Finland before you can apply for a residence permit. We recommend that you check the Business Finland website for information on what type of newly established company can obtain a positive declaration of eligibility.

Apply for a statement of eligibility from Business Finland online at Enter Finland. Only one person in your startup team needs to apply for the application and share it with the rest of the team.

1. Learn Finnish: Finnish language skills can be a big advantage when looking for a job in Finland. Consider learning the language through courses, self-study or immersion in a language environment.
2. Employer-employee relations in the country are based on equality, equality, initiative, straightforwardness and responsibility. Finns do not consider their bosses to be the final authority and expect respect from them.
3. You should start looking for a job in Finland before you leave. We recommend looking for offers from direct employers to avoid encountering scams. Before starting your job search, learn more about the local culture and traditions, and decide on your field of activity. Get acquainted with the regional needs in advance with the help of the Professional Barometer.
4. Dress code: Most Finnish work environments have an informal dress code. Clothing is usually quite conservative and formal, with an emphasis on cleanliness and neat appearance.