International House Helsinki – your entry to working in the Helsinki area

The main target group for IHH’s customer service includes foreign-born persons who have migrated to the area for work or entrepreneurial purposes and persons who possess the abilities to secure employment on the open labour market without comprehensive support measures.

As a part of IHH services, Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce offers counselling and advisory services for employers. The employer service assists employers in questions related to international workforce, in finding the right authorities and in identifying companies’ service needs. Employer service is available in Finnish and in English by email and phone.

– Most of the questions from employers are about different residence permits, processes, recruiting international workforce and relocation services. Employers also want to know what their obligations are when hiring international workforce and what things they should take into consideration, Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce’s Counselling Service Officer Anette Laiho tells.

International House Helsinki is the first service in Finland to offer most of the information and public authority services for newly arrived international residents under the same roof. In the future years, it is expected that around 50 000 people go through IHH services each year. The customer needs to make only one visit to, for example, get the population register entries, a tax deduction card or a tax number, an ID or a Kela card or to receive guidance on how to register as a job-seeker.

– The feedback from both employers and private customers has been positive. Gathering most of the services into one service point streamlines the process and makes it easier to understand how the official processes go, and it also saves time from both employees and employers, Laiho continues.

The service pilot project is coordinated by the City of Helsinki and it includes services by City’s immigrant information service, the Local Register Office of Uusimaa, the Tax Administration and Kela’s In To Finland service, the Uusimaa Employment and Economic Development Office, the Finnish Centre for Pensions and the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce.

IHH-video in YouTube