Unemployment benefit for people going abroad
Unemployment security and internationalisation form a complex whole. When you move from one country to another, it affects how you can receive earnings-related benefits.
Only unemployed persons living in Finland are paid Finnish unemployment benefits. An exception is a situation where an unemployed jobseeker is on a 3-month job-seeking trip in an EU/EEA country.
When you want to go to another country to look for a job or work, it is important to contact the authorities responsible for unemployment insurance both in Finland and in the destination country before you leave.
The authorities in the destination country will tell you what your situation is there if you become unemployed. The Finnish authorities will tell you what your situation will be when you return.
In Finland, you can find out more about the provisions concerning unemployment insurance from the Unemployment Fund for Higher Educated Employees Erko or the Finnish Centre for Pensions or Kela.
It is important to note that you will lose your work requirement if you are absent from the labour market for more than 6 months without an acceptable reason. This also applies, for example, to situations where a spouse is employed abroad and the other spouse joins without being employed or without an acceptable reason (e.g. caring for a child under the age of 3, full-time studies) to be absent from the labour market.
When you return to Finland from abroad, your entitlement to Finnish social security is usually determined on the basis of the duration of your stay:
- If you intend to move abroad for a maximum of 6 months, you are usually covered by Finnish social security during your stay abroad. In this case, it is usually worthwhile maintaining the unemployment fund membership in Finland. In this case, you can receive earnings-related daily allowance in Finland after you return from abroad, if the other conditions are met.
- If you are going abroad for more than 6 months, your move will be considered to be permanent, in which case your right to social security coverage in Finland will, in most cases, expire at the time of your move.
For individual questions about working abroad and unemployment security, you should contact our unemployment fund Erko.