The A1 certificate is for work in an EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the UK. The A1 certificate shows which country’s social security the person who has been issued the certificate is covered by, and in which country the employer must pay the statutory social insurance contributions for that work. 

The A1 certificate is a standard form issued by each country in its own official language. In Finland, the certificate is issued in Finnish or Swedish. Since the certificate is standard in structure, you can compare the A1 certificates issued in different languages with each other, using the instructions on this page.  

Section 1: Personal data of the certificate holder 

Section 1 presents the personal data of the certificate holder, that is, the holder’s date of birth, personal identification number, names, address in the country of residence and address in the country of work. 

Section 2: Member State whose laws apply 

Point 2.1 states the country whose social security is applied to the certificate holder, that is, the country which issued the certificate.  

Points 2.2 and 2.3 show the certificate’s period of validity (starting date and ending date). During the time that the certificate is valid, the employer or the self-employed person must pay the social insurance contributions in the country stated in point 2.1. The A1 certificate is always granted for a fixed period of time. On a certificate for work in two or more countries, also point 2.5 may be ticked. In that case, the social security of the certificate holder is determined temporarily for the first two months. 

Section 3: Work status and professional role of the certificate holder 

Section 3 shows the certificate holder’s work status and professional role. 

If point 3.1 is ticked, it means that the certificate holder is a posted worker and that the sending employer pays the statutory social insurance contributions for the certificate holder to the country stated in point 2.1. 

If point 3.2 is ticked, it means that the certificate holder works in two or more countries and all their employers pay the social insurance contributions in the country which issued the certificate. 

If a Finnish employer hires a foreign employee with a certificate where point 3.2 is ticked, it means that the Finnish employer must pay the statutory social insurance contributions during the certificate’s validity period in the country which issued the certificate. 

If points 3.3 or 3.4 are ticked, it means that the certificate holder is a self-employed person. The self-employed person takes out insurance for their work in the country which issued the certificate. 

Section 4: Employer’s /self-employed person’s data 

Section 4 holds information on the certificate holder’s employer or on the self-employed person’s business.

Section 5: Details on the employer(s) / self-employed person in the country of work 

Section 5 presents information on the certificate holder’s employer(s), company or business name and places of work in the country or countries of work. If there are several countries of work, sections 4 and 5 may include data on several different employers in several different countries.  

If there are several countries of work, it may be that no place of work has been listed in section 5. In that case, point 5.3 may be ticked, indicating that the certificate holder has no permanent address in the country of work or the EU Member State where the certificate holder works as an employee or a self-employed person. 

Section 6: Information on the institution that completed the form 

Section 6 contains information on the institution issuing the certificate. The certificate may be signed electronically and have a stamp or a series of numbers at the end of the certificate.