Working remotely in Finland for a foreign employer
An employee working in Finland and the work they do must be insured in Finland. It does not matter what the employee’s nationality is or what their employe’s home country is. Insuring in Finland means that the employer takes out all statutory social insurance policies for the employee in Finland. A person who works remotely in Finland earns a pension in Finland, and they may also have the right to other benefits in Finland.
Social insurance contributions in international work situations
Visit the website of the Finnish Centre for Pensions to find out which statutory social insurance contributions the employer must pay in Finland when an employee goes abroad to work or comes to Finland to work. The service provides information on contributions payable in Finland on a country-by-country basis.
Working remotely in Finland temporarily
An employee posted to Finland to work remotely temporarily for a foreign employer can be insured in the country they were posted from instead of in Finland if they meet certain conditions. The employment contract must be drawn up between the foreign employer and the employee and must be valid for the whole time that the foreign employee works in Finland. The foreign employer is responsible for paying the employee’s statutory social insurance contributions in the country from which the employee was posted to Finland. The employee can remain covered by the social security system of that country while they work in Finland.
If an employee comes to Finland to work remotely for no more than two years from another EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom, their foreign employer may apply for an A1 certificate for the employee from the country from which the employee was posted to Finland. If the authority of that country issues an A1 certificate to the employee, the foreign employer will insure the employee in that country. In this case, the statutory social insurance contributions are not to be paid in Finland. Without an A1 certificate, the employer must insure a remote worker in Finland.
If an employee works regularly not only in Finland but also in two or more EU countries, the employer must apply for an A1 certificate for the employee from the employee’s country of residence. In this case, the employer insures all the employee’s work in the country that issued the certificate.
Employees coming to Finland from other countries for temporary work should find out whether they are covered by the social security of the country from which they were posted to Finland.
Examples of insuring a remote worker
Question: I work for a German employer, but I work remotely full time from my home in Finland. Which country’s social security am I covered by? Do I need to apply for an A1 certificate?
Answer: If you do all your work remotely from Finland, you are covered by Finnish social security. This means that your German employer must insure you in Finland. Your employer must pay all statutory insurance contributions for your work in Finland. You will earn earnings-related pension in Finland and you may also be entitled to other benefits here.
As a rule, you don’t need an A1 certificate for the work you do in Finland, but if your employer needs the certificate as proof that you are covered by Finnish social security, your employer can apply for it from the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
Inform your employer about the statutory Finnish social insurance contributions. The instructions are in several languages, including German.
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Question: I work for a Swedish company, but I do all my work remotely from my home in Finland. Sometimes I go to the other Nordic countries on business trips. Which country’s social security am I covered by? Do I need to apply for an A1 certificate?
Answer: If you do all your work remotely in Finland and only make occasional, short business trips to other Nordic countries, you are covered by Finnish social security. This means that your Swedish employer must insure you in Finland. Your employer must pay all statutory insurance contributions for your work in Finland.
Since you make regular business trips during the year in the Nordic countries, you will need an A1 certificate from your country of residence, that is, from Finland, to show that you are covered by Finnish social security also when you work in other countries. Your employer must apply for the A1 certificate for you from the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
Question: I work for a Swedish university but do all my work remotely from my home in Finland. Which country’s social security am I covered by? Do I need to apply for an A1 certificate?
Answer: If you work for the university as a civil servant (check with your employer if you are unsure), you are covered by the social security of your employer’s home country, in this case Sweden, even if you do all your work remotely in Finland. Your Swedish employer must apply for an A1 certificate from Sweden to show that you are covered by Swedish social security. This means that, among other things, your pension accrues in Sweden.
Example: If you are an employee of a private sector Finnish employer and also work as a civil servant for a Swedish employer, and you do all your work in Finland, you are covered by Swedish social security. This is because you are working as a civil servant for a Swedish employer. You must apply for an A1 certificate from your country of residence.
Question: We are a company operating in Germany and we have hired an employee from Finland who works for us remotely from Finland. How and where do we take out insurance for our employee?
Answer: As the employer, you must insure your employee working in Finland under Finnish legislation in Finland. This means that you must pay all statutory social insurance contributions in Finland.
You can find detailed information about statutory social insurance in Finland on the ‘Social insurance contributions in Finland’ page. You can also use the eServices of the Finnish Centre for Pensions to work out which social insurance contributions you need to pay for your employee.
As a foreign employer, you can agree with your employee that they take out statutory social insurance in Finland on your behalf. To do this, your employee needs a power or attorney from you. Your employee gives the power of attorney to the earnings-related pension provider of their choice.
You must report your employee’s earnings to the Incomes Register maintained by the Finnish Tax Administration.
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EU countries
- EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
- EEA countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
- Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Social security agreement countries
Australia, Canada, Chile, China, India, Israel, Japan, Quebec, South Korea, and the United States of America.
Non-agreement countries
Non-agreement countries are countries other than those mentioned above, such as Thailand, Brazil or South Africa.
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