In general, when you work abroad as a self-employed person or a grant recipient, you must insure your work in the country where you work.
Nevertheless, if you work abroad temporarily, you can insure your work and be covered by Finnish social security legislation under certain conditions. To do that, you must apply for and receive an A1 certificate from the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
Among other things, the country in which you work determines which country’s social security system you are covered by. At the bottom of this page, you will find a list of EU and EEA countries, social security agreement countries and non-agreement countries.
Working temporarily in an EU/EEA country or a social security agreement country
If you are going to work in an EU or EEA country, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, or a country that has a social security agreement with Finland, you can remain covered by the Finnish social security system if you
- work abroad temporarily,
- usually work as a self-employed person in Finland,
- engage in similar self-employment abroad as in Finland,
- have engaged in business activities in Finland before going abroad (and you have had valid YEL insurance for at least four months before going abroad), and
- you have a certificate that shows that you are covered by Finnish social security.
Temporary work abroad can include, for example, project work, business trips or remote working.
As a self-employed person, you must apply for the certificate (A1 or equivalent) from the Finnish Centre for Pensions. The certificate shows that you are covered by Finnish social security. When you have the certificate, you do not have to pay social security contributions in the country where you work.
Work in EU countries is considered temporary when it is carried out for a maximum of two years. With an exemption permit, you can work abroad for longer than that.
Example: Self-employed person going to Germany to work
The self-employed person works in Finland and goes to Germany to work for six months. They have YEL insurance that has been valid for six months before they start working in Germany. The self-employed person applies for an A1 certificate from the Finnish Centre for Pensions. Since they meet the requirements, the Finnish Centre for Pensions issues them an A1 certificate. This means that while they are working in Germany, they are covered by Finnish social security and continue paying YEL insurance in Finland.
Finland has bilateral social security agreements with a few other countries besides the EU and EEA countries. If you go to work in one of them, check out the insurance instructions for the country in question on the website of the Finnish Centre for Pensions. Not all bilateral social security agreements include rules for self-employed persons.
If you are a grant recipient and going abroad to work temporarily, you can find more information about insurance for work abroad on the website of the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
Self-employed in two or more EU countries
If you are self-employed and work regularly in two or more EU countries, you can pay social security contributions only to one country at a time. Read more about insurance for the self-employed working in two or more EU countries on the website of the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
If you work in two or more EU countries, you must apply for an A1 certificate from your country of residence. If you live in Finland, apply for the certificate from the Finnish Centre for Pensions. Pay the statutory social insurance contributions to the country that issued your A1 certificate.
Self-employed going to work in a non-agreement country
If you are self-employed and go to work in a non-agreement country, that is, a country with which Finland does not have a social security agreement (for example, Brazil or Singapore), you can keep your YEL insurance in force if your self-employment abroad lasts for less than one year and you intend to return to Finland afterwards.
If you know that you will be working abroad in a non-agreement country for more than one year, you must terminate your YEL insurance already before you go abroad to work. When you work in a non-agreement country, that country may also charge you insurance contributions.
EU countries’ refers to the following 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, Lichtenstein 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 listed above, such as Thailand, Brazil or South Africa.