Questions and answers: Corona and worker mobility

The purpose of restricting cross-border traffic is to significantly reduce travel.

Return traffic to Finland

Return traffic to Finland is permitted to Finnish citizens and their family members, citizens of other EU and Schengen countries who are residing in Finland and their family members, and third country nationals residing in Finland with a residence permit.

Other necessary traffic

Cross-border traffic at Finland’s borders will be restricted from 19 March to 13 April 2020 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Only necessary travel for work and other necessary traffic to Finland is allowed. The restriction applies to citizens of the EU/EEA and third-country nationals at internal and external borders.

Finnish Border Guard guidelines for border traffic

 

At the moment, Finnish missions do not accept visa and residence permit applications, but the situation will be reassessed if necessary. Passports related to visa applications currently under consideration will be returned and the applications will not be processed. Applications for residence permits that have already been submitted will be forwarded to the Finnish Immigration Service for processing. Interviews related to residence permit applications have been suspended for the time being.

Priority in permit processing conducted by the Finnish Immigration Service, TE Offices and ELY Centres will be given to work considered necessary for the security of supply, health care and the functioning of the labour market. The authorities will provide further information on the matter later.

Cross-border traffic is not restricted for those who are healthcare professionals or researchers, elderly care professionals, border personnel, goods transport personnel, diplomats, staff of international organisations, military personnel and humanitarian aid workers, or employees performing vital duties.

Similarly, border crossing may be permitted on a case-by-case basis at the border authorities’ discretion if the work in question is considered necessary for the security of supply or the functioning of the labour market.

Finnish Border Guard guidelines for border traffic 

Decisions regarding necessary traffic are made at each border crossing point based on their overall consideration of each individual case. Necessary travel for work or other necessary traffic is still permitted and continues at internal borders. Although necessary cross-border traffic is not prevented, the reduction in air and sea traffic has made it significantly more difficult for foreign workers to enter Finland from abroad.

The main rule is to restrict unnecessary travel. However, third-country nationals who have been granted a residence permit and are entering Finland for the first time may enter Finland until 31 March 2020 if they are already travelling to Finland or starting their travel to Finland and have agreed on housing arrangements in Finland before travelling. After 31 March, persons with a residence permit entering Finland for the first time may not enter Finland unless the travel is considered necessary.

As a rule, no. Seasonal work is not currently defined as necessary travel for work, or other necessary traffic. However, if the work in question is considered necessary for the security of supply or the functioning of the labour market, entry may be permitted based on the overall consideration of each individual case by the border authority.

The Finnish authorities will later assess whether entry into Finland of foreign seasonal workers is possible from the public health perspective.

Only from Sweden and Norway.

Finnish Border Guard guidelines for border traffic

According to Government policy, Finns and permanent residents in Finland returning from abroad will be placed in quarantine-like conditions for two weeks. The employer and the employee will agree on the quarantine arrangements. Quarantine does not apply to persons who do not permanently live in Finland and whose entry into Finland is deemed necessary as described above.

Transport connections to Finland have been significantly reduced in recent weeks. Further reductions in transport connections are expected in the near future. 

No. The current legislation does not allow reimbursement of the application processing fee.

No. The current legislation does not allow reimbursement of the application processing fee.

The residence permit will remain in effect for the duration of the layoff. An extended permit may be granted on condition that the employee has had secure means of subsistence while the previous permit was in effect. More information on working and unemployment benefits while laid off  is available the websites of Kela and the TE Office.

More information on the Finnish Immigration Service’s website

• Frequently asked questions about the coronavirus situation on the website of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela)
• Current information on the TE Services website
• TE Services: If you are laid off
• TE Services: Instructions for employers regarding layoffs (in Finnish)

 

For now, the Talent Boost action programme will focus on measures taken in Finland. We are monitoring the situation and will adjust measures as necessary.

Pilot projects that were to be implemented abroad to boost international recruitment and attract international talent will be postponed. The international recruitment pilot projects of EURES that were in their early stages will be postponed.  However, EURES experts may continue to contact companies that have job vacancies and prepare assessments of situations in companies. Efforts will be made to complete the ongoing recruitment and coaching programmes online.

Companies and other employers are encouraged to use instruments such as Talent Explorer financing to recruit international experts living in Finland. Action to promote diversity in working life is taken through the Successful Multicultural Company campaign, the Talent Boost metrics and the Global Talent communications campaign.

The emergency conditions do not affect immigrants with valid residence permits. The Finnish Immigration Service and the TE Offices and ELY Centres that make partial decisions are now prioritising work-based residence permit applications considered essential for security of supply or the functioning of the labour market. Applications for extended permits will also be processed. The processing of other employed persons’ residence permit applications will be postponed until 13 April 2020.

At the moment, the Centre for Economic Development in Uusimaa (ELY Centre) where partial decisions regarding residence permits for entrepreneurs are centrally processed, only processes permits for entrepreneurs who work as health care professionals, care workers for the elderly, in goods transport, or in other duties considered essential (for example for the security of supply). Applications for extended permits will also be processed. Granting of residence permits for entrepreneurs is always based on an overall consideration of each individual case, which involves the ELY Centre making an assessment of the conditions for profitable business and income security. The effects of the coronavirus on business activities will be taken into account when a partial decision is made. In the assessment, more weight may be given to accounting information for a period before the acute impact of the coronavirus on business activities. Future outlook will also be assessed.