Plan your life in Finland

Depending on the landlord, you may be required to already

• have a Finnish person identity code
• have registered your stay in Finland
• have a residence card for a family member of an EU citizen
• have a residence permit that will be valid for at least one year

before you can conclude a tenancy agreement.

If your employer pays for your accommodation, such as your rent, your housing costs will be taxed as a fringe benefit. This means that the tax authority considers it a similar income as your other salary. You will therefore have to pay income tax on it.

Rental homes are offered by

• municipalities
• private housing agencies
• private individuals.

The rental homes offered by municipalities are usually cheaper. You can search for information on rental homes on the websites of cities and other municipalities.

Rental homes owned by cities and other municipalities are allocated on the basis of means testing. Your chances of getting a municipal rental home therefore depend on your housing needs, wealth and income. When you are applying for a rental home, you must detail these matters in your application.

• The landlord must not discriminate against you on the basis of your citizenship. Citizenship cannot be grounds for not letting the home to you. 
• Landlords often want to check your credit information. 
• In most cases, landlords require a rental deposit. It is a payment that you have to pay to the landlord before moving in. The landlord must pay the rental deposit back to you at the end of your tenancy if you have paid your rent and the home is in the same condition as when you moved in.
• You should always make the tenancy agreement in writing. This way, both parties know what has been agreed.
• A tenancy agreement may be in effect until further notice or for a fixed period of time.  
• In tenancy agreements effective until further notice, the period of notice for the tenant is one month. The period of notice for the landlord is three months in agreements that have lasted less than one year, and six months in agreements that have lasted more than a year.

Read more about renting a home on the InfoFinland websiteOpens in a new window..

Read on the InfoFinland website what to take into account when planning to buy a home in FinlandOpens in a new window..

Consider these in particular:

• You must pay the asset transfer tax when buying a home or a real estate. The asset transfer tax is 3% of the sales price of the property or the building or 1,5% of the price of the housing shares.
• If you are not a citizen of a state in the EU/EEA and intend to buy a real estate in Finland, you have to apply to the Ministry of Defence for a permit for the purchaseOpens in a new window..

Tax on work performed in Finland is usually paid to Finland. 

You do not necessary pay tax to Finland in certain cases, for example, when

• you stay in Finland for less than 6 months
• you work for an employer operating in some other country.

Read more about the taxation of a foreign employee coming to work in Finland on the website of the Tax Administration.Opens in a new window.

In Finland, social benefits are paid by Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. Kela provides benefits for many different life events. For example, families with children, unemployed persons, people on a low income, students, people suffering from an illness and pensioners may receive benefits.

Note, that you can receive benefits

• if you live in Finland permanently
• if you reside in Finland temporarily but work in Finland and earn at least EUR 800,02 per month (in 2026).

It is possible to get some benefits, such as social assistance, in other cases as well.   

Read about social benefits in more detail on Kela’s website.Opens in a new window.

Your child may be in day care

• in a day-care centre
• in family day care
• in group family day care
• at home with a childminder you have employed.

Some municipalities also provide day care in different languages.

Early childhood education and care means the systematic education provided in day care. The purpose of early childhood education and care is to support the growth, development and learning of a child under school age. Your child will also learn Finnish and get to know other children in early childhood education and care.

Read about early childhood education and care in more detail on the website of the Finnish National Agency for EducationOpens in a new window..

A child aged over 9 months can have a place in day care, or early childhood education and care. The child can attend early childhood education and care until they reach the age of 7 and start school.

Read about early childhood education and care in Finland in more detail on the InfoFinland websiteOpens in a new window..

Contact the party responsible for early childhood education and care in the municipality.

A place in day care must usually be applied for four months in advance. However, you may receive a place quicker if you have just found work or a study place.

If you move to a small locality with only a few thousand residents, inform the municipality of the arrival of your family before you move. This way, the municipality will be able to organise the places needed at school for the new children.

Day care in a day-care centre and early childhood education and care provided in a day-care centre are usually subject to a charge. 

The maximum early childhood education and care fee charged by the municipality for a child attending a day-care centre on five days a week is EUR 311. The amount may be smaller depending on 

• the municipality
• the family’s income
• the number of hours the child is in day care every week
• the number of children from the same family in day care.

Your child can also go to early childhood education and care in a private day-care centre or a private childminder. Their prices are different.

You may get private day care allowance from Kela if your child is cared for by a childminder that you have employed or by a private early childhood education and care provider. Read about private day-care allowance on Kela’s website.Opens in a new window.

Contact the party responsible for pre-primary or basic education in the municipality at the latest when you are in Finland. Enrol your child according to the instructions you receive from the municipality.

If you move to a small locality with only a few thousand residents, inform the municipality of the arrival of your family before you move. This way, the municipality will be able to organise the places needed at school for the new children.

Yes. If your child does not know Finnish well enough to be able to study in an ordinary class when starting school, they usually participate in instruction preparing for basic education. During that time, the child will learn Finnish or Swedish and some other subjects, such as mathematics.

Instruction preparing for basic education usually lasts for a year. After that, the child will be ready to join a normal class.

Municipal basic education and pre-primary education are free of charge. General upper secondary education and vocational education and instruction preparing for programmes leading to an upper secondary qualification are also free of charge until the age of 18. 

However, some private schools may have fees. 

Note that preschool children often have to spend part of the day in early childhood education and care as well. Children in the first grades of basic education may also have to spend part of the day in day care or in a club. Early childhood education and care, day care and clubs are usually subject to a charge.

Compulsory education means that pre-primary education, comprehensive school and upper secondary education are compulsory for children and young people living permanently in Finland. After comprehensive school, young people have to study in upper secondary education until they graduate or reach the age of 18. 

Upper secondary education includes general upper secondary school, vocational education and training, instruction preparing for programmes leading to an upper secondary qualification, and education provided by folk high schools to young people of compulsory education age.

Read about education in Finland in more detail on the InfoFinland website.Opens in a new window.

Usually, you can also choose a school organised by a private party for your child. However, your child must complete their compulsory education in some way.

For example, there are international schools in Finland, in which the language of instruction is English. You have to apply for a place in them separately. It may be difficult to be admitted to international schools as they have only a small number of places for pupils and a lot of applicants.

General upper secondary education provides general knowledge and is aimed at the matriculation examination. The purpose of the studies is to prepare the students for studies at a university or a university of applied sciences. Read about general upper secondary education in Finland in more detail on the InfoFinland website.Opens in a new window.

In vocational education and training, students learn the practical skills needed in a specific occupation. The education is aimed at a vocational upper secondary qualification, which enables the student to work in an occupation. After completing the education, it is also possible to apply to a higher education institution. Read about vocational education and training in Finland in more detail on the InfoFinland website.Opens in a new window.

After completing basic education, you can apply for a study place in the joint application system. Applying takes place in the Studyinfo serviceOpens in a new window. in February and March.

Institutions may also have continuous application processes, which means that you can apply at any time.

Read about the joint application system in more detail on the page Applying for studies after comprehensive school.Opens in a new window.

1. By browsing job advertisements on the Jobmarket FinlandOpens in a new window. or Jobs in FinlandOpens in a new window..
2. By following Finnish companies of their own field in the social media. Finnish employers often share job advertisements on LinkedIn, Facebook or X, for example.
3. By looking for Finnish companies of their own field online and contacting directly the ones that they are interested in. This way, you will also find the hidden jobs that are not advertised.

TE Services will support your spouse in jobseeking. Integration services are available for unemployed immigrants. For example, they include Finnish and Swedish language studies and civic orientation. Ask about integration services from the employment services at your municipality of residence.

Your spouse should register as a jobseeker with the employment services the latest when you arrive in Finland. Only an unemployed person who has registered as a jobseeker can receive unemployment benefit.

In Finland, places in vocational schools, general upper secondary schools, universities of applied sciences and universities are applied for in the so-called joint application system. Some studies may also have a separate application process.

You can browse the places that provide education and apply for a study place in the Studyinfo service.

You can read about applying to education in more detail on the InfoFinland website.Opens in a new window.