If you become unemployed

Register as a jobseeker at the TE Office immediately if you become unemployed. Also register if you are laid off, your training ends or your wage-subsidised job ends. You will receive unemployment benefit only for the period during which your status as a jobseeker is active.

You are entitled to unemployment benefit if you live in Finland permanently and are entitled to Finnish social security. Even if you do not live permanently in Finland or are not entitled to Finnish social security, you may be entitled to basic unemployment allowance or earnings-related daily allowance. Read more about unemployment benefit on the InfoFinland web page Unemployment benefit.

Register as a jobseeker via the online service of the TE Services, at the nearest TE Office or by phone. The way you register depends on your country of citizenship. You can register by phone if you have already been a customer of the TE Office. In this case, your citizenship does not matter.

The TE Office can assign you to become a client of the employment services in your municipality of residence. In this case, municipal employment services will help in your job search.

If you are a citizen of an EU or EEA country

You can register via the online service of the TE Services if you are a citizen of an EU or EEA country. Log in using your online banking credentials or an identity card with a chip. There is no need for you to call or visit the TE Office unless specifically requested to do so.

If you do not have online banking identifiers or an identity card with a chip, register yourself as a jobseeker at your nearest TE Office.

If you are a citizen of a country other than an EU or EEA country

Register as a jobseeker via the online registration form of the TE Services if you are a citizen of a country other than an EU or EEA country. If you have already been a customer of the TE Office, register by phone. You need a valid residence permit to register as a jobseeker.

If you are unable to fill in the form online, visit the nearest TE Office to register.

When you go to the TE Office take along:

• all your testimonials of service and study certificates
• identity card
• a valid residence permit.

Apply for unemployment benefit from the unemployment fund or Kela

When you have registered as an unemployed job seeker, the TE Office or your municipality’s employment services will review the information you have provided. They will determine whether the conditions for unemployment benefit are met in your situation and make a statement on whether you are entitled to unemployment benefit. They will also forward the statement to the party paying the benefit, i.e. the unemployment fund or Kela. Without this statement, you cannot receive unemployment benefit.

Apply for benefits from the unemployment fund or Kela after you have been unemployed for two weeks. If you belong to an unemployment fund, apply for earnings-related daily allowance from the fund. If you do not belong to a fund, apply for basic unemployment allowance or labour market subsidy from Kela. Read more about different unemployment benefits on the InfoFinland web page Unemployment benefit.

You can receive advice on matters relating to unemployment benefit at your TE Office or via the unemployment benefit counselling of the TE Services:

• in Finnish: 0295 020 701
• in Swedish: 0295 025 510
• in English: 0295 030 713
• in Russian: 0295 020 715

Read also the InfoFinland web page: Unemployment benefit.

If you start working or studying while you are unemployed, please notify the TE Office or your municipality’s employment services. They will advise you on how this will affect your unemployment benefit.

If you travel in Finland or abroad, make sure you can be reached at all times. Give, for example, your phone number and address to the TE Office or your municipality’s employment services and inform them how long you plan to stay at your travel destination.

A trip abroad is not, however, an acceptable reason for turning down a job offered to you.

If you start business activities while you are unemployed, you may receive unemployment benefit for the first 4 months.

You may lose your right to daily unemployment allowance for a prescribed time if your unemployment is due to a self-inflicted reason. This can happen, for example, if:

• you do not apply for a job proposed to you by the TE Office or your municipality’s employment services
• you do not accept a job that is offered to you
• you resign from you work yourself without a solid reason.

The qualifying period length varies from 15 to 90 days. The length depends on the cause of the qualifying period. In some cases, you may lose your right to unemployment benefit for the time being.