New agreement on working holiday arrangements enable Finnish youth to work temporarily in Japan – enters into force at the beginning of August

A new agreement on working holiday arrangements, adopted by the Finnish Parliament last autumn, will make it easier for young people aged 18–30 in the partner countries to familiarise themselves with the other country and work on a temporary basis to finance their stay.

The reciprocal agreement will give Finnish and Japanese nationals aged 18 to 30 a chance to familiarise themselves with the culture and society of the other country. They can work on a temporary basis in order to fund their travels. The working holiday agreement allows them to stay and work in the other country for up to one year.

Finland already has working holiday agreements with Australia (2002) and New Zealand (2004). It is estimated that based on the working holiday agreement, Finnish young people apply for and are granted almost one thousand permits to Australia, while hundreds of permits are granted to New Zealand each year. The number of applications to Finland from Australia and New Zealand is, however, lower.

The working holiday agreement between Finland and Japan was signed in May 2022 and the Act on bringing the agreement into force was adopted by Parliament in November 2022. Since then, both countries have taken the necessary measures to launch the arrangement, and the agreement will enter into force on 1 August 2023. 

The Government issued a decree on the entry into force on 14 July 2023. 

The Finnish Immigration Service processes permits based on a working holiday agreement concerning Finland. When applying for a permit based on a working holiday agreement concerning Japan, the applicant should turn to the Japanese authorities.

Inquiries:
Katri Niskanen, Chief Specialist, tel. +358 295 047 373 (present on 14.7.)
Jarmo Tiukkanen, Government Counsellor, tel. +358 295 047 355 ((present on 17.7. ->)