Working in the Åland Islands as a French National: Right to Work, Näringsrätt, Contract, Tax and Economy

France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry) indicates that French nationals enter Finland freely with a valid passport or identity card. No work permit is mentioned in the pages consulted: the EU citizen registers their right of residence, no later than three months after arrival, in particular on the basis of employment or a business (InfoFinland). In Åland, entry in the population register is done in person at the Statens ämbetsverk på Åland in Mariehamn; the page living in the Åland Islands details these formalities.

The Act on the Autonomy divides powers: labour law and the employment contract come under the State (sections 27 and 29), so that Finnish legislation applies to an employee in Åland; the archipelago legislates in particular on carrying on an activity (section 18, point 22), on employment promotion and on the collective agreements of its own staff. The regional labour market and study authority is the AMS (Ålands arbetsmarknads- och studieservicemyndighet), which also runs the Åland Living site, devoted to settling, studying and employment.

This is the most specific point of the archipelago. Protocol No. 2 to Finland’s accession treaty to the EU accepts the hembygdsrätt as a condition for obtaining the right to carry on an activity (Government of Åland). Under the regional act of 1996, adults not declared bankrupt who have the hembygdsrätt or have resided in Åland without interruption for at least five years can carry on an activity or a profession. Other adults, and all companies and associations, apply for the right to carry on an activity (näringsrätt) to the Government of Åland, which grants it where grounds justify it, after a case-by-case examination.

• Citizenship: the hembygdsrätt requires Finnish citizenship, a satisfactory knowledge of Swedish and in principle five years of residence in Åland (three years under conditions); it costs €118 and is processed in one to two months. A French national who has not been naturalised in Finland therefore cannot obtain it.
• Companies: any company carrying on an activity in Åland must hold the right to carry on an activity. A company established in Åland all of whose partners or directors have the hembygdsrätt or five years of residence cannot be refused it without a particular reason; the Government of Åland may attach conditions to the authorisation or limit it in time. The application is filed once the business is created, with a fee of €154.
• Language: the activity is conducted in Swedish; customers receive services and information in Swedish and employees placed in Åland must be able to work there in Swedish.
• Subsistence activity: anyone can carry on a subsistence activity with no help other than that of a spouse or adult children, without business premises or an office.
• Other authorisations: the Government of Åland also cites, depending on the activity, notifications for electrical work, registrations for estate agents and travel agencies, alcohol serving licences, land acquisition permits and permits for private provision of care.

The purchase of premises or land for the activity comes under the land acquisition regime, described in the page living in the Åland Islands. The pages consulted do not deal with a special regime for employees: the right to carry on an activity concerns carrying on an independent economic activity.

Finnish labour law applies in Åland. According to InfoFinland, Finnish law sets no minimum wage: minimum rates result from sector collective agreements, which most employers must respect. In a sector with no agreement, the employer and the employee agree the salary, which must be normal and reasonable, that is, equal to that of people doing identical or similar work.

• Working time: normal working time does not exceed 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, with in principle two days of rest a week; overtime is paid at least 50% more, with the agreement of the employer and the employee (InfoFinland).
• Contract: the contract is most often written in two copies, an oral contract being valid; failing a written one, the employer provides a written summary of the terms. The contract is in principle open-ended, a fixed-term contract requiring a legitimate reason such as a replacement, a project or a peak in activity (InfoFinland).
• Probationary period: it can be agreed at the start of employment, the employer needing a reason to end it. Dismissal in an open-ended contract requires a reason and notice, provided for by the Employment Contracts Act.
• Pay levels: the ÅSUB publishes the average earnings of full-time private sector employees and of Åland public employees; these values can be consulted on its site. Employees of the Government of Åland come under collective agreements specific to the region.

The guide working abroad compares these situations with other countries.

The Finnish tax administration (Vero) indicates that people with a municipality of residence in Åland pay State tax under a progressive scale of its own, because Åland is outside the mainland health and social services reform. The scale, revised every year, has five brackets, from 0% to a little under 25%. Municipal tax is added: Åland has its own municipal taxation act, which builds on the national act with particularities. Each municipality’s rate should be checked with it.

• Åland-specific deductions: Vero indicates a capped basic deduction, revised every year, in Åland municipal taxation, reduced by 8.4% of net income beyond the full deduction ceiling. Travel costs with your own car are deductible up to €6,000, after a municipal deductible of €750; the rent of a second home for work is deductible, at €6.90 per m² per month for 30 m² at most, if the journey involves a ferry. The deduction of medical expenses was abolished from 2025.
• Media fee: amount revised every year for a person over 18 whose net income exceeds €14,000, paid to the region instead of the mainland’s public broadcasting tax (Vero).
• Tax treaties: the France-Finland treaty of 11 September 1970 applies up to 2026 income; the treaty signed in Helsinki on 4 April 2023, in force since 28 August 2026, applies from 1 January 2027 (Vero; Decree No. 2026-758 of 7 August 2026). For an Åland resident, Vero allows foreign tax to be credited against State tax, municipal tax and the media fee where the source of the income is in a country linked to Finland by a treaty. The text of the treaty defines Finland as the Republic of Finland, without mentioning Åland separately.

The detail of the returns to be filed in France and in Finland should be checked on impots.gouv.fr and with Vero depending on your situation.

Social insurance is a State power (section 29 of the Act on the Autonomy), and the contributions are those of the Finnish scheme. The year’s rates are published by the Finnish Centre for Pensions (ETK) and are not reproduced here; CLEISS (the French centre for European and international social security liaison) presents the scheme for employees in Finland. Kela indicates that a worker who earns at least €800.02 a month in Finland obtains certain benefits, such as sickness allowance and the Kela card, from the start of employment. As Åland is an autonomous region whose social legislation differs in part from that of the mainland, certain benefits are paid by the AMS, the KST or the ÅHS: the page healthcare reimbursement in the Åland Islands details the split.

• Secondment: an employee seconded by a French employer remains attached to the French scheme with form A1. For their care, CLEISS indicates requesting an S1 from their French fund and handing it to the local body, or being reimbursed by the French fund (form S3125); the sick note is sent to the French fund within 48 hours. See seconded or expatriated.
• Remote working from Åland for a French employer: the applicable social security legislation depends on the situation and should be confirmed with CLEISS before departure. Digital nomads will find a framework in the page digital nomad insurance.

The currency is the euro. The ÅSUB indicates that Åland’s GDP is around €1.6 billion, and that maritime shipping accounts for about 18% of it, with nearly 6% of jobs. Unemployment is normally between 2 and 4%, with peaks during crises, for a high employment rate.

• Tourism: several hundred thousand overnight stays a year in hotels, guesthouses, campsites and holiday villages, excluding small establishments and private residences (ÅSUB). Hotel overnight stays vary from one year to the next.
• Energy: nearly two thirds of the electricity supplied comes from Åland production, mainly wind (ÅSUB).
• Higher education: Högskolan på Åland welcomes nearly 500 students (ÅSUB).
• Tax status: Åland is not part of the EU VAT and excise territory; trade in goods with the EU VAT territory follows customs formalities, which matters for a business that ships or receives goods (Vero).

The outlook depends on these outward-facing sectors, on demographics (the population of the outer islands is falling slightly, according to the ÅSUB) and on the welcome given to newcomers, whom the Government of Åland says it wants to attract to meet its labour needs. Health cover suited to each situation is prepared with expat health insurance.