Fraudulent job offers in Finland
Embassy of Finland in New Delhi has received a great number of inquiries related to the authenticity of the job offer letters which some Indians have received. Please pay attention to the authenticity of any offer you receive and make sure you don’t become a victim of financial fraud.
Many Indians have received job offers from Finland in return for a payment, which have turned out to be fraud. Please read carefully and follow the embassy's instructions below on how to identify fraudulent job offers.
Have you been offered a job offer that sounds a little bit too good to be true?
Job offer scams are set up by private individuals, who make fake job offers to professionals aspiring to an international career. By pretending to function as recruitment agents for Finnish companies, such individuals deceive professionals into believing that they have been offered a job in Finland. For their services, the fake recruitment agents often charge a considerable amount of money.
Information about the process how to apply for a work permit:
The official website for information how to apply a work permit to Finland is the website of the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). Here you can find the full instructions on how to apply for a residence permit for work, including information about the fees. The work permit applications are processed and the decisions to grant or refuse the work permit applications are taken by the Immigration Service in Finland.
To avoid becoming a victim of a fraudulent job offer, beware of the following warning signals:
- You receive an offer of a job for which you have not applied.
- You are asked to pay to get a Finnish residence permit for work: if you have been asked to pay a large amount of money to receive a work permit, you have reason to be cautious. Finnish companies do not charge any fees for job offers. When applying for a residence permit for work, the Finnish Immigration Service charges an application fee. For information about all application fees, visit the website of the Finnish Immigration Service.
- You are asked for your bank account details in order to get a job or a residence permit for work: information about the documents required for a complete residence permit application for work can be found on the Finnish Immigration Service website.
A recruitment agency says that they can get me a Finnish work permit. Is this true?
A recruitment agent can help to establish a contact with a company in Finland. A recruitment agency cannot offer you a work permit. To receive a work permit, you must personally receive a specific job offer from a company in Finland and sign a contract with them. Once you have signed a contract, you yourself together with the company in Finland can apply for a work permit. The work permit application must be submitted personally. The agency cannot do it on your behalf. For full instructions on how to apply, visit the website of the Finnish Immigration Service.
How do I know if a Finnish company is genuine?
- You can check online, e.g. at The Business Information System https://www.ytj.fi/en/.
- Contact the Finnish company offering you a job, and ask them questions about the company and the offered position. For the purpose of contacting, request a landline number and compare the area code with the location of the company.
- Most genuine companies do not use Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, or similar types of free e-mail accounts, but have their own e-mail domains. Keep in mind that the offer might refer to a genuine website, but to a false e-mail ID.
I have received a job offer from a company saying that I will get a Finnish work permit, but they have asked me to pay money. Is this legitimate?
Such a claim gives reasons to raise your suspicions. Finnish companies do not charge any fees for job offers. All information about application fees can be found at the Finnish Immigration Service website.
What should I do if I have been cheated by a job scam?
If you have fallen victim to a job scam, immediately report the incident to the Indian police. Such frauds constitute a criminal offence. Please also inform the Embassy of Finland about the incident at [email protected].
LINKS:
Embassy of Finland: https://finlandabroad.fi/web/ind/frontpage
Finnish Immigration Service: https://migri.fi/en/home
Work and Enterprise in Finland: https://www.infofinland.fi/en/work-and-enterprise
Work in Finland: https://www.workinfinland.com/en/