When Kathleen and Allen Damasco arrived in Finland in February 2023, it was dark and cold. They wondered whether they had made the right decision. At the time, their daughter Ylisha, then ten years old, had stayed in the care of her grandmother in the Philippines.
“It was a roller coaster of emotions. Still, in spite of it all, we were excited, because our goal was to find work in Finland. We decided to take it one day at a time,” Kathleen recalls.
Allen and Kathleen both hold bachelor’s degrees in nursing from universities in the Philippines. Both of them are trained nurses in the Philippines and they have previous experience of working abroad
Before coming to Finland, Kathleen worked for two years at a maternity hospital in Saudi Arabia, where she met the local requirements and passed the exams. From there, she moved to Qatar to work in a maternity and pediatric hospital and later in the ophthalmology department in a different hospital.
Allen worked as a nurse in a big construction company in Qatar.
Work in Finland? How Kathleen got the idea
Back home in the Philippines, Kathleen noticed a job advertisement posted by the recruitment company Barona, looking for people to work in Finland. She and her family knew that Finland is known as the happiest country in the world, that there are thousands of lakes and that there is a chance of seeing the northern lights. They also hoped to meet Santa Claus.
“I said to my husband ‘Why don’t we move to Finland? The winters there may be cold and dark, but it’s a wonderful and equal country to raise children in and it has high-quality daycare and education’. I decided to try my luck and put in an application,” Kathleen says.
She got an interview and passed to the next recruitment stage. Kathleen talked Allen into sending an application of his own, and his application was also approved. They wanted to go to Finland as a family.
In order to be able to work in Finland, they had to take an online Finnish language course that included eight months of studies.
“The language course was the most difficult stage of this process, but we both passed it,” Kathleen says with satisfaction.
“It would probably have been easier to learn the language face-to-face instead of online,” Allen adds.
Assistance is available for companies recruiting and hiring workers from outside Finland.
The Work in Finland website provides help for employers in Finland in all matters related to international recruitment.
Help is available from different organisations for companies wishing to recruit from abroad
There is a shortage of healthcare and social welfare professionals in Finland. As a consequence, Finland’s current Government Programme includes a model designed to bring professionals to Finland to work from specific countries, including the EU and EEA countries and third countries, such as Brazil, India, Vietnam and, as a recent addition, the Philippines.
“We also have staff in these countries. They help employers find a reliable local recruitment partner and provide support to ensure that recruitment is trouble-free and ethical,” says Harry Berg, Development Specialist at Work in Finland.
He works at Work in Finland’s International Recruitment Advice Service for Employers. The Advice Service is jointly operated by Business Finland and the KEHA Centre, and it is free of charge. Its purpose is to help employers operating in Finland with practical issues related to the recruitment, relocation and settling in of employees from abroad. It provides information, support and guidance to employers of all sizes, regardless of their line of business.
Having completed the Finnish language course, Kathleen and Allen applied for Finnish residence permits for employed persons.
“In order to apply for a residence permit on the grounds of employment, you have to have a job lined up and an agreement on the terms of employment,” Harry explains.
Kathleen and Allen had both already signed employment contracts: they were to work at a care home, Rinnekoti Oy, with residents in need of special support. Barona, the recruitment agency that recruited the couple, helped them with each step of the immigration formalities.
Since Kathleen and Allen were going to work in the healthcare and social welfare sector in Finland, they also needed to contact Valvira, the Finnish National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health. Valvira compares an employee’s degree with the requirements in Finland and decides whether additional studies are needed before the employee can work in Finland. The processing period for degrees from outside the EU and EEA countries is four months or longer, and during this period all diplomas and degree certificates must be submitted to Valvira.
Practical matters when arriving in Finland
Before going to Finland, Kathleen and Allen visited the Finnish Embassy in the Philippines to prove their identity. Once they had been granted a residence permit and a residence permit card, they were able to move to Finland.
When you move to Finland, you need a Finnish personal identity code. You can get a personal identity code either from the Finnish Immigration Service when you apply for a residence permit, from the Finnish Tax Administration or from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV). At the same time, you can apply for a municipality of residence, so that you have access to the services of your new Finnish municipality. You can apply online for a personal identity code and a municipality of residence .
You will generally have an easier time opening a bank account and getting access to other banking services in Finland if you have a Finnish personal identity code and an address registered in the Finnish population data system. It is also important to contact the Finnish tax authorities to get a tax card.
“Your employer can help you with these things. For example, a representative of your employer can book an appointment with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency for you even before you have moved to Finland,” Harry explains.
Barona had arranged a rented two-room apartment for Kathleen and Allen in Helsinki, where they settled. They started working at Rinnekoti as nursing apprentice students.
Since Kathleen and Allen had jobs and they wanted to move to Finland on a permanent basis, they were granted the right to a Kela card and Kela benefits from the start of their time in Finland .
Following Valvira’s review of Kathleen and Allen’s degrees, they have continued to work as care assistants but they have also started apprenticeship training to bring their qualifications into line with the requirements in Finland. After that, they will qualify for work as practical nurses.
Their apprenticeship training will last about twelve to eighteen months and it includes one contact day a week. The couple are finding the training easy because it deals with things they are already familiar with.
Six months after the couple arrived in Finland, Allen went back to the Philippines to pick up their daughter, Ylisha, and bring her to Finland. She is now 11 years old.
“We were homesick during our first few months in Finland, but it got easier when Ylisha joined us here. Of course I miss my parents and my siblings, but I got used to that back when I worked in Saudi Arabia and Qatar,” Kathleen says in fluent English.
The family was able to move to a larger apartment, and last autumn their daughter started school in a preparatory education class. Students in preparatory education spend a year learning Finnish and familiarising themselves with the Finnish school system.
“At first, our daughter found it a bit hard and she kept asking when we were going back to the Philippines. I explained that this was a good opportunity to get to know different people and learn new languages. Now she has lots of friends,” Kathleen says.
Finland is now a second home to the Damasco family
By now, Kathleen and Allen have lived in Finland for about one and a half years. In October this year they will complete the additional studies required for their nursing degrees.
Kathleen and Allen greatly appreciate their colleagues at Rinnekoti, who have been friendly and supportive and taught them the daily routines, and also evaluated their progress at work.
“Of course, the work can be challenging at times, but because our hearts are in it, that makes it easier. It is important to be patient and caring and loving, because we work with people. We always do our best,” Kathleen says.
Allen feels at home in Finnish culture and has found it easy to adapt to his new country. The couple appreciates the Finnish welfare society, where people receive support from birth to old age. Kathleen gives examples such as the public health care system and family benefits such as child benefit, and also unemployment allowance and pensions. Another thing they appreciate is Finland’s smoothly running public transport system.
“We love living here. People are nice, and the weather is something you can get used to. Although admittedly food is a bit expensive right now,” Allen says.
“We already think of Finland as our second home country. Finland is taking good care of us. We have been well received in the community, we have a good life and our daughter gets a free education,” Kathleen concludes.
Are you an employer and would like to recruit employees from abroad?
Do this first:
- Find out the occupation classification for the work by using Statistics Finland’s tool for the Classification of Occupations.
- Check the regional work permit policy with your local ELY Centre to find out if you can hire a person for the job without an assessment of the availability of labour.
- Read the requirements for a residence permit for an employed person (TTOL) on the website of the Finnish Immigration Service.
- Create an account with the online service Enter Finland for Employers.
How to apply:
- Tell your new employee to apply for an employee’s residence permit in Enter Finland.
- Tell your employee what your company’s business ID is and tell them to include it in the application so that you can add information on the terms of employment.
- Fill in the terms of employment after your new employee has submitted their own application in Enter Finland.
Decision on the application and travel to Finland:
- Tell your new employee to make an appointment to prove their identity.
- You can check on the progress of the application online in Enter Finland.
- Once a residence permit card has been issued, tell your new employee to pick up the card, as they will need it for travel.
Moving to Finland:
- Help your new employee book appointments in advance with the various authorities they need to contact when moving to Finland.
- Tell your new employee to apply for a Kela card and any benefits from Kela they may be entitled to.
- Give your new employee an employment contract, since they will need it in their contacts with the Finnish authorities.
- Explain to your new employee that they must register their personal data, address and the necessary information on their family ties in the Finnish population data system at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency
Starting work in Finland:
- Tell your new employee to get a tax card from the Tax Administration and to hand it over to you.
- Tell the employee representatives in your company the name of your foreign employee and which collective agreement is applicable to their employment relationship.
- Make sure you file and save information about your foreign employees and the grounds for their right to work.
Coming to work in Finland?
Are you coming to Finland to work or would you like to do so someday?
The Work in Finland guide gives you the information you need. This includes information on residence permits for employed persons and the rules of working life in Finland. Here you will find hands-on advice and information in English to help you get going with your life and career in Finland.
Text Jaana Kalliokoski Photos, videos and editing Vilja Harala
