Sickness allowance in international situations
From other countries to Finland
If you receive sickness allowance from another EU or EEA country or Switzerland, your country of origin probably pays the benefit to the end of the payment period even if you move to Finland. After that, your right to sickness allowance from Finland depends on whether you are covered under the Finnish social security system or whether you are covered for health insurance in Finland on the basis of employment here.
If you are covered under the Finnish social security system, you can be granted sickness allowance for the time of incapacity for work. However, if you already receive sickness allowance from another country, the benefit is deducted from the sickness allowance paid by Kela when the benefit is paid for the same reason for incapacity for work.
If you become ill in Finland
If you are permanently resident in Finland and you are covered under the Finnish social security system, you can be granted sickness allowance if you become ill.
If you have come to Finland to work here and your employment lasts for more than four months and it meets the minimum requirements regarding the terms of employment, you can be granted sickness allowance from Finland for the time of incapacity for work. You must also meet the entitlement criteria for the benefit.
Posted workers or civil servants from another EU or EEA country or Switzerland are usually covered under the social security system of the country of origin. They can thus not be granted sickness allowance from Finland.
Persons who stay temporarily in Finland are usually not entitled to sickness allowance or social security benefits from Finland.
From Finland to another country
If, while receiving sickness allowance, you move from Finland to another EU or EEA country or to Switzerland, your allowance will be paid as long as you remain entitled to it. The payment is continued regardless of whether the allowance is based on your previous earnings or whether it is a flat-rate minimum allowance.
If, while receiving sickness allowance, you move from Finland to some other country than an EU or EEA country or Switzerland and you are no longer covered under the Finnish social security system, payment of the sickness allowance will end on the day you move from Finland. Payment of the sickness allowance can also not start, if you have already moved from Finland and you are no longer covered under the Finnish social security system.
However, if you continue to be covered under the Finnish social security system while staying abroad, you can get sickness allowance just as if you were living in Finland. This requires that your residence abroad is regarded as temporary (i.e., lasting up to one year) or that you are on a temporary assignment abroad (in which case the residence can last over one year). For instance, students and civil servants are also entitled to sickness allowance even if the stay abroad lasts for more than one year. Their family members are also entitled to sickness allowance.