Work Abroad
The main principle of the EU/EEA countries and bilateral agreements(*) is that the employee is insured in the country of employment. Thus the employee receives social security benefits from the country where the work is performed.
However, when the period of posting is short, it is often preferred to insure posted employees in their home country. Therefore, an exception has been agreed on regarding the insurance of posted workers. An employee working abroad may be covered by Finnish social security for two to five years, depending on the country that the employee is posted to.
A posted worker needs a certificate on coverage by the Finnish social security (e.g. Certificate A1). With the certificate, both the employer and the employee are exempted from payment of contributions in the country of employment and thus avoid double payment of contributions. Consequently, all statutory social security contributions for a person covered by the Finnish social security are paid to Finland.
The employer shall apply for a certificate for the posted worker from the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
In cases such as these, please contact the Finnish Centre for Pensions/Insurance matters during employment abroad, tel. +358 29 411 2816.
Self-employed persons
The principles for employees also apply to self-employed persons. Consequently, self-employed persons are covered by the social security of the country of employment and all social security contributions are paid to that country. All social security benefits are also obtained from the country of employment according to that country’s legislation.
Under certain conditions, a self-employed person working in EU countries may also be covered by Finnish social security and receive a posted self-employed person's certificate (A1) while working temporarily in another EU country. The self-employed person can be covered by the Finnish social security for two years or, on the basis of an exemption, for five years.
A self-employed person is required to have worked as an entrepreneur for at least four months before the work abroad starts. In practice, this is established by checking whether the self-employed person has a valid insurance policy under the Self-Employed Persons' Pensions Act (YEL).
For more information, please read the booklet Posting Abroad.
(*) EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
EEA countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway
In addition, Finland has concluded bilateral social security agreements with the following countries: Australia, Chile, Israel, Canada, Quebec and the United States.
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12.01.2012