Kela benefits - new regulations
Public healthcare and family benefits will be available from the start of 2014 for workers coming from outside the EU and EEA (European Economic Area). In the future, social security benefits will be available for seasonal workers on a work visa such as berry pickers.
When an EU resident comes to Finland to work, she or he is eligible for social security benefits within a few months. However, those coming from outside the EU and EEA are only eligible for healthcare benefits if their resident status in Finland is considered permanent.
Until now, short-term workers have had to cover their healthcare costs out of their own pockets.
”In practice, they’ve had to pay the costs themselves, unless there was a need for emergency medical attention,” says Carin Lindqvist-Virtanen, Deputy Director-General, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
That's all set to change, as in the background is an EU directive that obligates Finland to change the law so that it’s in line with the rest of Europe. Currently, workers coming from outside the EU are treated in different EU countries in different ways.
Finland is one of the few countries that limits non-permanent resident workers’ rights to healthcare.
In many European countries, the right to healthcare is tied to health insurance schemes, which are directly linked to time spent in employment.
Within the Nordic countries, healthcare benefits are based on place and duration of residence.
”Perhaps in Finland we have appeared a bit unwelcoming, but now the goal is to change the rules so that they are fairer. We can’t make them (seasonal or temporary workers) into a second-class workforce, they must have the same rights as everyone else who works here,” says Lindqvist-Virtanen.
Changes effective 2014
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