Social security

You can be entitled to Kela benefits both on the basis of permanent residence in Finland and employment in Finland. Your social security coverage is mainly affected by the country you come from and for how long you plan to work in Finland.

If you come to Finland as an employee, Kela determines whether your residence in Finland can be considered permanent also on the basis of your employment. An open-ended contract of employment or a fixed-term contract of employment of at least 2 years can be taken into account as an indication of a permanent move to Finland.

In case your eligibility for residence-based social security benefits will be created on the basis of employment, the eligibility will terminate when the employment ends.

You can become entitled to social security coverage in Finland on the basis of employment even if you are not permanently resident here. However, for instance general housing allowance is not payable to employees coming from a country outside the EU area who are not considered to be permanently resident in the country.

For more precise information, please see:

Kela.fi: Social security coverage for employees and self-employed persons

In Finland, the employer must take out social security insurance for its workers. Both the employer and the worker pay for social security. In 2020 the employee’s share of the contribution is 7.15% of the wage (for employees under 53 or over 62) or 8.65% (for employees between 53 and 62). In addition, there is the employee´s share of the unemployment insurance contribution, which is 1,25%. So the total percentages are 8,4% or 9,9% (latter for employees between 53 and 62). The employer withholds the employee’s share of the contribution in connection with paying out the wage. More information is is provided by the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

Information on family members' eligibility for social security benefits in Finland can be found at Kela.fi: Social security coverage for family members

Usually family members of employees are entitled to the same KELA-benefits as is the employed one. Social security matters are quite complex and many different factors have affect the decision concerning social security benefits. Therefore, it is advisable to contact the local KELA office.