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. 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. Seasonal work is permitted under a Schengen visa for a maximum of 90 days over a period of 180 days. The sectors to which the Seasonal Workers Act applies are laid down in a Government Decree (966/2017).

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.). Please note that you must apply for a seasonal work visa at a Finnish mission.

The Seasonal Workers Act does not currently apply to wild berry picking 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.

If the period of seasonal work exceeds more than 90 days, apply for a seasonal work residence permit from the Finnish Immigration Service(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window).

If the work is not seasonal work under the seasonal workers Act or the seasonal work lasts for more than nine months, please apply for a residence permit for an employed person (TTOL)(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window) for the work.

Instructions on how to apply for a visa for seasonal work in Thailand can be found on our Visa Centre's website(Link to another website.).