Hiring a Japanese Chef in Finland: Permits and the Labour Test

Finland has a clear income floor for foreign employees, and it is low by Nordic standards: EUR 1,600 a month gross in 2026. The harder part for a restaurant is the labour market test. Unless the occupation is listed as a shortage in the regional work permit policy, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) checks whether someone already in Finland or the EU could do the job. For cooks in the Helsinki region, that test currently applies in full.

1. The permit: residence permit for an employed person

A Japanese chef hired by a Finnish restaurant applies for a residence permit for an employed person (TTOL). The main points from Migri:

• The chef must have confirmed employment before applying.
• A first permit is normally applied for from abroad.
• The permit is granted for the field of employment the job belongs to. The chef can only work in that field, though several jobs in the same field are allowed.
• The employer must verify that the chef has the professional skills the job needs and document this when filling in the terms of employment.
• The chef cannot start work before the permit is granted.

2. Labour market testing, step by step

Every first permit for an employed person goes through labour market testing. Migri uses four sources to judge whether suitable workers are available: the regional work permit policies of the Economic Development Centres, the employer's job posting on Job Market Finland, the employer's report on recruitment, and the Labour Force Barometer.

1. Check the regional work permit policy for the area where the chef will work. Occupations are listed at the 4-digit ISCO level. If the chef's main occupation is listed, availability is treated as reduced and the employer does not need to establish it.
2. If it is not listed, check the Labour Force Barometer. If the barometer shows an oversupply of labour in the field, Migri says a permit usually cannot be issued, although it always assesses each case.
3. Post the job on Job Market Finland with the same requirements you will state in the permit application, and keep it open for two weeks.
4. Report on your recruitment on the Terms of employment form if you still decide to hire from outside the EU/EEA.

3. Where cooks stand in Helsinki and Uusimaa

The Uusimaa Economic Development Centre's regional policy for 1 June to 1 December 2026 lists only healthcare occupations, such as doctors, nurses and practical nurses, as having reduced labour availability. No restaurant or cook occupation is on it. The same document reports that Uusimaa had almost 115,000 unemployed jobseekers in April 2026, 12.2 percent of the workforce, with unemployment rising especially among service and sales workers.

For a Helsinki restaurant, that means the full test: a two-week posting, a recruitment report, and a case built on why the role needs skills local applicants do not have. A general "cook" role will be hard to justify in that market. A specialist role, clearly described, stands a better chance, but there is no guarantee. Policies are updated every six months, in June and December, so check the current version before you start.

4. Income requirement and what counts

• Total gross salary of at least EUR 1,600 a month in 2026, for the whole permit period.
• Income can come from several employments, and part-time work is allowed. Zero-hours and on-call contracts do not qualify.
• Evening and night supplements are excluded from the total.
• Up to half of the salary may be fringe benefits such as employer-provided accommodation, counted at their taxable value.
• On extension, Migri checks retrospectively that the chef was actually paid at least an average of EUR 1,600 a month.

EUR 1,600 is a permit condition, not a market wage. Pay must also meet the collective agreement that applies to your restaurant.

5. Who does what, fees and timing

1. The chef applies online in Enter Finland and pays the fee: EUR 750 for a first permit online (EUR 950 on paper); an extension costs EUR 230 online.
2. The employer adds the terms of employment in Enter Finland for Employers. Doing this quickly speeds up processing.
3. The chef proves their identity at a Finnish mission abroad.
4. If the employer holds employer certification, the chef can apply for a D visa at the same time and travel as soon as the permit is issued.

Migri reports that in July 2026 first permits for employed persons that ended in a positive decision took 17 days on average; negative decisions took 64 days. In 2026 so far, 2,712 of 3,896 decisions on first permits were positive.

6. After the permit

An extended permit to continue in the same field does not need a new labour market test. A chef who has worked at least nine months on the permit can also extend into a different field without one. For contract terms and settling in, see our contract checklist and guide to onboarding a chef from Japan.

7. Hiring without a new permit

Japan's foreign ministry counted 2,545 Japanese nationals in Finland as of 1 October 2025, 1,484 of them permanent residents. Some of them can work for you without any permit process. Japan and Finland also started a working holiday programme in 2023, and Japan's foreign ministry lists no cap on Japanese participants going to Finland. See our European working holiday guide.

Given the labour market test in Uusimaa, the more practical plan for a Helsinki restaurant may be to recruit from people already entitled to work in Finland and invest in training, keeping a permit hire for a genuinely specialist head chef role. To reach Japanese cooks already in Europe, you can post a job on WashokuJob.

General information gathered from official sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. Regional work permit policies change every six months; check Migri and the Economic Development Centre before applying.