Job search in another EU or EEA country or Switzerland
If you are an unemployed jobseeker looking for work in another EU or EEA country or Switzerland, you can receive unemployment benefit from Finland.
This service is available from 1 January 2025.
As an unemployed jobseeker, you can go to another EU or EEA country or Switzerland to find work and receive unemployment benefits from Finland.
You can receive basic daily allowance paid by Kela or daily unemployment allowance paid by an unemployment fund from Finland. You cannot receive labour market subsidy during the trip.
You can receive unemployment benefits in another country for a maximum of three months. In order for the benefit to be paid, the local employment authority must also accept you as a jobseeker in the country where you are looking for a job.
Act like this
Notify the employment authority in your region well in advance if you intend to look for a job in another country. The employment authority informs the party paying the unemployment benefit, that is, Kela or the unemployment fund, that you are going to another EU or EEA country or Switzerland to look for a job.
Remember to ask for a U2 form from Kela or your unemployment fund well in advance of your departure. Kela or the unemployment fund decides whether the prerequisites for paying unemployment benefit to another country are met.
When you arrive in the destination country, register as a jobseeker with the employment authority of the destination country within seven days. Take the U2 form you have received from Kela or your unemployment fund to the employment authority in the target country. This will also give you a daily allowance for the duration of the trip. If you register later, you will only receive daily allowance from your registration date.
To whom and under what conditions
You can receive unemployment security abroad if
* you are completely unemployed
* you have registered as a jobseeker in the employment services of your region
* you receive basic daily allowance or daily unemployment allowance.
In addition, you must have been unemployed and available to the labour market for at least four weeks before travelling. The employment authority may, at its discretion, shorten this period for a specific reason. The time when you have participated in a service that promotes employment can also be counted in the period of unemployment.