How to Hire Caregiver and Elderly Care Workers in Finland (2026)

7 min

1. The reality of hiring non-EU care workers in Finland

Finland faces a severe structural shortage of elderly care personnel. Public wellbeing services counties (hyvinvointialueet) and private care providers across Uusimaa, Pirkanmaa, Varsinais-Suomi, and North Ostrobothnia regularly struggle to staff nursing homes, home care units, and assisted living facilities. However, direct recruitment from non-EU countries into Finnish care operations involves specific regulatory obstacles that you must plan for before making job offers.

The central bottleneck is not immigration policy alone, but official qualification recognition and language requirements. Care titles in Finland are strictly regulated, and direct client work in elderly care requires functional proficiency in Finnish or Swedish (typically level B1 or B2 for practical safety and documentation). Because of this, hiring a non-EU candidate directly into a fully qualified practical nurse role on day one is rare unless the candidate has already completed language training and qualification validation.

Instead of direct hiring into licensed positions, Finnish care employers facing labor shortages commonly use alternative operational models:

Care assistant roles (hoiva-avustaja): Hiring foreign care workers into unregulated assistant roles. These positions do not require official degree validation from health authorities and have lower initial language demands, allowing workers to handle basic hygiene, meal support, and social activities while taking language classes on the job.
Targeted pre-arrival language pipelines: Partnering with training providers to deliver intensive Finnish language instruction in the candidate's home country for 6 to 12 months before filing residence permit applications.
Recruiting foreign healthcare graduates already in Finland: Hiring international students completing Finnish degrees who already possess local residence rights and intermediate language skills.

If you decide to recruit non-EU care workers directly, you must build qualification steps and workplace language support into your recruitment plan.

2. Qualification recognition and legal permit routes

To bring a non-EU caregiver to Finland, you must navigate professional licensing rules and the national immigration system.

Valvira qualification recognition: The National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) oversees regulated healthcare professionals. If you hire someone under the official title of practical nurse (lähihoitaja) or registered nurse (sairaanhoitaja), the worker must obtain formal professional recognition from Valvira. This requires an evaluation of foreign transcripts, verification of professional licenses, and proof of language proficiency. Unregulated roles such as care assistant (hoiva-avustaja) do not require Valvira registration.
Residence permit for an employed person (TTOL): Non-EU care workers enter Finland on a Residence Permit for an Employed Person (työntekijän oleskelulupa).
Labor market testing (saatavuusharkinta): The immigration process involves two steps. First, the regional employment office (TE-toimisto) conducts a labor market evaluation to determine if suitable labor is available within Finland or the EU/EEA. While healthcare and elderly care roles are widely recognized as shortage occupations, regional offices still review the terms of employment and local vacancy conditions. Second, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) evaluates the applicant's personal background and issues the residence permit.
Application process: The worker starts the residence permit application online using the Enter Finland portal. As the employer, you submit the official terms of employment, working hours, and salary details through the Enter Finland for Employers portal. You must confirm all current immigration details directly with Migri (migri.fi) and qualification standards with Valvira (valvira.fi).

3. Timeline from offer to arrival

Bringing a non-EU care worker to Finland requires realistic time expectations. The entire process generally takes between 3 and 10 months, depending on the role and qualification requirements.

Months 1 to 2 (Qualification review and offer): For unregulated care assistant positions, the employer issues a job offer and prepares employment terms. For regulated practical nurse roles, the worker submits foreign degree documents to Valvira. Valvira evaluations for non-EU degrees can take between 3 and 6 months.
Months 2 to 4 (Residence permit filing): The candidate submits the residence permit application via Enter Finland. The employer completes the employer portion online. The worker schedules an in-person appointment at a Finnish embassy or VFS Global application center in their home country to verify identity documents and record biometrics.
Months 4 to 6 (Processing and decision): TE-toimisto issues its partial decision regarding labor market conditions and employment terms. Migri reviews the file and issues the final decision. Electronic processing for employed person residence permits averages 1 to 3 months once biometrics are submitted.
Month 6 and beyond (Card delivery and arrival): The applicant receives their physical residence permit card abroad, arranges travel, and relocates to Finland.

4. Pay standards, housing, and employer obligations

Care employers in Finland must adhere strictly to statutory labor laws and mandatory collective bargaining agreements (työehtosopimus - TES).

Applicable collective agreements: Private social care providers must comply with the Private Social Services Sector Collective Agreement (SOSTES). Wellbeing services counties and municipal care homes follow the welfare sector agreement (HYVTES). These agreements mandate exact minimum pay rates, overtime rules, holiday pay, and shift differentials.
Pay scales: Base salaries for full-time care assistants (hoiva-avustaja) typically range between 2,100 EUR and 2,400 EUR per month. Base pay for qualified practical nurses (lähihoitaja) ranges from 2,350 EUR to 2,850 EUR per month. Evening, night, and weekend shift supplements add significantly to monthly gross earnings. Employers cannot pay below the minimum wage threshold set by the applicable collective agreement.
Housing responsibilities: Employers in Finland are not legally obligated to provide free housing for care personnel. However, due to tight rental markets in urban centers like Helsinki, Tampere, or Turku, employers routinely assist foreign recruits by finding temporary accommodation, providing rental guarantees, or partnering with local municipal housing corporations (such as Sato or VVO/Lumo).

Under Finnish law, charging job seekers recruitment fees, administrative expenses, or placement costs is strictly illegal. Foreign workers must never pay an agency or employer for a job offer, visa processing, or employment contract in Finland. Charging workers for recruitment violates Finnish labor legislation and can expose employers to severe legal penalties for extortionate work discrimination or labor exploitation under the Finnish Criminal Code. Employers must ensure that their recruitment processes are entirely employer-funded.

5. What this costs you, roughly

Recruiting a non-EU care worker involves several direct operational expenses. Below is a breakdown of realistic costs per candidate:

Migri processing fee: Paid by the candidate (220 EUR to 490 EUR depending on electronic or paper submission), though employers often reimburse this fee upon arrival as a hiring incentive.
Valvira qualification assessment fee: 400 EUR to 1,000 EUR (applies only to regulated roles such as practical nurses).
Language instruction and materials: 500 EUR to 2,500 EUR per worker (for pre-arrival or entry-level Finnish language classes).
Travel and relocation: 500 EUR to 1,200 EUR for flight tickets to Finland.
Initial housing setup: 600 EUR to 1,500 EUR for initial rental deposits or temporary housing support.
Internal onboarding costs: Staff time for workplace orientation, safety training, language mentoring, and administrative setup.

6. Finding candidates on Workuro

Workuro is a candidate registry where international workers publish profiles highlighting their professional experience, language abilities, and relocation preferences, including an interest in moving to Finland.

Employers, HR leaders, and care home managers can search the registry directly for candidates with backgrounds in nursing, elderly care, and personal assistance. When you find a profile that meets your facility's requirements, you contact the worker directly through the platform. Workuro is not a recruitment agency: there are no placement commissions, no per-hire fees, and no agency intermediaries. You conduct your own screening, language checks, interviews, and contract negotiations.

Please note that the Workuro registry is young and still growing. Candidate volumes for specific qualifications or specific language skill levels vary. However, searching the platform gives you direct access to motivated international care workers who want to establish a career in Finland, without agency markups or hidden fees.