Finnish companies, businesses or entrepreneurs who employ asylum seekers have to obligation to check the asylum seeker's right to work every eight weeks, according to the information published by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) on its news bulletin.
When the employer checks the asylum seeker’s right to work by phone, the call is recorded in the Register of Aliens. "The employer has fulfilled its obligation if the register shows that it has checked the right to work every eight weeks", Migri says.
The asylum seeker has the right to work in Finland without a residence permit when three or six months have elapsed from the submission of an asylum application, depending on the fact that he showed -or not- a passport or any other valid travel document when arrived in the country and applied for asylum.
The limit is three months if the asylum seeker has presented a valid travel document when submitting the asylum application. The limit is six months if the asylum seeker has not presented a travel document.
How to check the asylum seeker's right to work
In order to check the asylum seeker’s right to work, the employer needs to have the employees customer number. Normally this number can be found below the person's personal details on the certificate of a pending application. Then every eight weeks should call the following service number of the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) in the following office hours:
- Phone: +358 295 433 155 (Mon–Fri at 9 a.m.–12 noon)
If the employment relationship continues, nothing changes. The employer will just have to check the asylum seeker’s right to work again in eight weeks’ time.
For more official information on employer's obligations when hiring asylum seekers, click HERE
If you need further official information on the customer's number of the asylum seekers, check it HERE
If you want to check a quick guide on rights and obligations for asylum seekers, find it HERE
Work until a decision is made
The Finnish law states that an asylum seeker has the right to work until the decision on his or her asylum application is definitive.
If the Finnish Immigration Service makes a positive decision, they are granted a residence permit which normally includes the right to work. If the decision is to deny you the asylum, you have the right to work only while the processing of your potential appeal. The right to work expires if the person is removed from the country.
If the right to work expires, asylum seekers have to inform their employers because otherwise they both can be punished.
