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I moved to Finland – which Kela benefits can I get?

You can usually get Kela benefits from the day you move, if you live in Finland permanently or work here. Kela assesses each situation separately, and some benefits also require a period of residence in Finland.

Am I covered by Finnish social security?

• Permanent residence: Kela assesses, for example, the length of your stay, your family ties, work, previous residence in Finland and a permanent home. If you live in Finland permanently, you can get more benefits than on the basis of work alone.
• Work in Finland: when your wage is at least 800.02 € a month, you can get some benefits from the start of your work, for example sickness allowance and the Kela card. Other benefits depend on whether you come from an EU or EEA country, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or elsewhere.
• Your citizenship does not determine this. However, you need a residence permit if you are required to have one.
• A person moving back to Finland who has lived here before and received Kela benefits can usually get benefits from the time they return.

Which benefits can I get?

When you live in Finland permanently, you can apply for these benefits, for example:

• For families with children: child benefit, parental allowances, child home care allowance and child maintenance allowance.
• For housing and livelihood: general housing allowance, general social security benefit for unemployed people and, as a last resort, basic social assistance.
• For periods of illness: sickness allowance and the Kela card, with which you get reimbursement for medicines directly at the pharmacy.
• For studying: student financial aid, if you have moved to Finland for a reason other than studying.
• Kela pensions and disability allowance for persons aged 16 or over require at least 3 years of residence in Finland after the age of 16. Time lived in an EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom can be counted if you have lived in Finland for at least a year.

How do I apply for benefits after moving?

1. Get a Finnish personal identity code. It is issued by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV).
2. Open a bank account. Kela pays benefits only into an account, not in cash.
3. If you move to Finland for at least a year, notify the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of your move. Having a municipality of residence determines whether you get public healthcare for the price of a client fee.
4. Apply for benefits and the Kela card in OmaKela and report your move there. If you cannot use OmaKela, send form Y 77 (Moving to Finland or employment in Finland) and your applications by post to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
5. Apply as soon as you move. Benefits are paid retroactively only to a limited extent, for example child benefit for up to 6 months.

Temporary protection (for example from Ukraine)

• You usually cannot get Kela benefits until you have lived in Finland for a year or you work here. Before that, you get reception allowance and services from the reception centre.
• You can apply to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency for a municipality of residence when you have lived in Finland for at least a year, your residence permit is valid for at least a year and you have a Finnish personal identity code.
• After one year of residence, you can apply for, for example, child benefit, general housing allowance and the Kela card. When you have a municipality of residence, you can also apply for child home care allowance and, if needed, basic social assistance.
• With a temporary residence permit (B), you get general social security benefit only if you meet the work requirement: 12 months of work during the past 28 months. The government has proposed that people receiving temporary protection would get general social security benefit without the work requirement from 1 April 2027.
• You cannot get student financial aid, but you can apply for social assistance for the time you are studying.
• A Kela old-age pension for a person aged 65 or over requires 3 years of permanent residence in Finland. Permanent residence is usually considered to have started one year after the move, so for many people who fled the war the period is completed from spring 2026 onwards. Do not apply before the period is completed, because the application will be rejected.
• Some Kela forms are also available in Ukrainian, for example UA 1ukr (Kela card and child benefit), WH 1ukr (child home care allowance) and TO 1ukr (social assistance). General housing allowance is applied for with form AT 1 or the English-language form AT 1e.

Other situations

• An asylum seeker does not get Kela benefits before they have a residence permit. After you have been granted asylum, you can get benefits if you intend to stay in Finland permanently.
• A quota refugee can get benefits immediately after moving to Finland.
• If you come to study from an EU or EEA country, your stay is usually considered temporary, and you usually cannot get Kela benefits. If you come from elsewhere to study for at least 2 years, you can get some benefits, such as sickness allowance and parental allowance, but not student financial aid, the housing supplement of student financial aid or general housing allowance.
• A family member's right to benefits usually depends on whether the family lives in Finland permanently. If you move from an EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom to join a family member who works in Finland, you can get benefits for families with children even if you do not live in Finland permanently.
• If your residence permit application is rejected, or your permit expires and you have not applied for an extended permit in time, your right to residence-based Kela benefits ends. Apply for an extended permit before your previous permit expires, so that payment of your benefits can continue until the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) makes its decision.

Changes in 2027

The change to child home care allowance has been approved. The points about general social security benefit are government proposals and are not yet in force. Check the status with Kela.

• General social security benefit would be smaller (integration support) if you have lived in Finland for less than 3 years during the previous 10 years and do not meet the work requirement. The change would only apply to people who move to Finland after the law enters into force.
• From 1 January 2027, only a parent who cares for the child personally gets child home care allowance. The applicant must have lived in Finland or another EU or EEA country for at least 3 years after turning 16. The requirement does not apply to people who moved to Finland before 1 January 2027 or to people under 19.
• People receiving temporary protection would get general social security benefit without the work requirement from 1 April 2027.

Frequently asked questions

See also

• General housing allowanceGeneral housing allowance is Kela's support for rent or other housing costs when the household's income is low.
• Child benefit and single-parent supplementChild benefit is paid for every child under 17 living in Finland.
• General social security benefit for unemploymentGeneral social security benefit is Kela's benefit for unemployed people who do not get earnings-related allowance from an unemployment fund.
• Basic social assistanceSocial assistance is the last-resort benefit when income and assets are not enough for essential expenses such as food, rent and medicines.
• Child home care allowance and private day care allowanceChild home care allowance is available when a child under 3 is cared for at home after the parental allowance period.
• Sickness allowance and partial sickness allowanceSickness allowance compensates for loss of earnings when you are unable to work because of illness for more than 10 days.
• Student financial aidStudent financial aid consists of the study grant, the housing supplement and the government guarantee for student loans.
• Child maintenance allowanceKela pays child maintenance allowance when the child's other parent does not pay confirmed child support, or when child support has been confirmed at a low amount because of the parent's poor ability to pay.

More information

• Kela: When you move to Finland (page in English)
• Kela: Benefits for those who have fled the war in Ukraine
• InfoFinland: checklist for people moving to Finland

This page is also available in Finnish. Suomeksi.