Your eligibility to receive social security benefits depends on your specific status as scientist or researcher. For instance, if you have a fellowship and are paid from a grant, or if you have a regular contract of employment, this difference may have a bearing on your social security rights. 

In Finland social security benefits are residence-based. Visits to a foreign country lasting less than twelve months are defined as temporary. In this instance, a person staying abroad temporarily is eligible to receive benefits through the Finnish social security system.

A person moving out of Finland and planning to stay away for longer than twelve months will be considered to have moved permanently and will therefore not be eligible to receive benefits through the Finnish social security system. For more details, contact the Social Insurance Institution, Kela.

Finland has bilateral social security agreements with a number of countries. These agreements detail the social security rights of people moving between Finland and the country in question. The Nordic countries have signed a Nordic Social Security Agreement to complement EU legislation.

For more information, go to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health website.

For information on the countries with which Finland has reciprocal social security arrangements, visit the Kela website.

To get a certificate that you are covered by Finnish social security during the period you plan to work in another EU or social security agreement country, contact the Finnish Centre for Pensions. Apply well in advance.

For information on social security in different European countries, visit the European Commission’s Euraxess website.

Pension accrual from employment abroad

The rules applied to pension accrual from employment abroad are also dependent on EU social security regulations and Finland’s bilateral social security agreements. For more information, visit the Finnish Centre for Pensions website.

For information on EU social security regulations and pensions, visit the EUlisses website.

Family members’ social security

Family members moving out of Finland will continue to be eligible to receive social security benefits under the Finnish social security system only if they had eligibility when they moved into the country.

Practices vary from country to country.

Visit the Kela website for more information on family members’ eligibility to social security when moving from Finland.