Seasonal workers' visa

You normally need a residence permit to be allowed to work in Finland. However, for seasonal work of maximum 90 days you do not need a residence permit but a visa or a seasonal work certificate as a citizen of a visa free country.

Seasonal work done in Finland will be governed by the Seasonal Work Act based on the new EU Directive on seasonal workers. The Seasonal Work Act does not apply to picking of wild berries because this does not involve an employment relationship. The picking of wild berries takes place by virtue of the Act on the Legal Status of Foreigners Collecting Natural Products (487/2021). The Employment and Economic Development Office of North Ostrobothnia follows the fulfilment of the conditions specified in sections 5 and 7 of the Act, which entered into force on 14 June 2021, applying to operators in the natural products sector.

Wild-berry picking is permitted under a Schengen visa for a maximum of 90 days over a period of 180 days. Visa applications for the purpose of wild-berry picking, submitted by third-country nationals who are subject to the visa requirement, are processed individually in accordance with the Visa Code and based on all available information. These kinds of visa applications must be submitted at a Finnish mission.

Seasonal work refers to work in agriculture and tourism that is done at certain times of the year.  Examples of seasonal work include work in forestry, plant production and festivals.

The regular processing times set out in the Visa Code apply to the processing of seasonal visas. A permit for engaging in seasonal work is granted for working for one or more designated employers. A visa granted for seasonal work contains the additional information “Kausityö” and its validity period starts on the date when the employment relationship starts.

You can find instructions on how to apply a visa in the paragraph Where and how to apply for a visa(Link to another website.).

If the seasonal work exceeds 90 days, apply for a seasonal work permit from the Finnish Immigration Service. (Link to another website.)