1. I want to go to work in Europe - where should I start my job search?
2. I have a gray passport, but I still want to work in Finland?
3. I want to look for a job in Finland.
4. What kind of advice does the EURES adviser give during the consultation?
5. Does a person going to work in Europe have to master a foreign language?
6. How can I register for a consultation with a EURES adviser?
7. Is it normal that foreign co-workers receive more than half the salary for the same work than an Estonian in the same company?
8. Is it true that if you are officially unemployed in Estonia and you want to go to Europe to look for a job, you can do so with the help of the Unemployment Insurance Fund?
9. If I lose my job abroad and decide to come back to Estonia to look for work. So can you get unemployment benefit or insurance in Estonia for the average foreign salary?
10. What should I keep in mind when using an intermediary company? Can an agency take money from a job seeker?
11. What rights do people who work informally have when they lose their job?
12. How to prove the level of education, for example, with a diploma from Tallinn University of Technology in the Russian era?
13. I would like information about working in the European Commission.

 

1. I want to go to work in Europe - where should I start my job search?
If you want to work abroad, we recommend that you first familiarize yourself with the European EURES database at http://eures.europa.eu, where you can find vacancies in the European Economic Area. You have to contact the employer yourself via the database provided when applying, as indicated in the job advertisement. Since the EURES portal is a system that exists under the national labor market institutions of all EEA countries, the corresponding job offers have passed a prior background check. When you contact an employer, be sure to include the EURES reference number in your CV or cover letter, which you can find with each offer. In addition to job offers, this page has comprehensive working and living information for all EEA countries in English, German and French.

2. I have a gray passport, but I still want to work in Finland?
Persons with citizenship of countries outside the European Economic Area (including Belarus) or stateless persons need an employee's residence permit (työntekijen öselkenlupa) to work in Finland, if the employer is a Finnish company. Obtaining a permit consists of two decisions, the employment office decides on the need for foreign labor for the applied field of work, and the foreigners' office or the local police decides on the residence permit. An employee's residence permit application can be submitted by the employee or the employer, but this requires that a job already exists. In order to apply for a work permit, both the employee and the employer need to fill out forms. The employee must fill out the OLE_TY1 form and the employer must fill out the TEM054 form. The application can be submitted to the customer service of the Finnish Consular Department, which is open on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Pikk Jalg 14, Tallinn www.finland.ee, the Finnish Employment Office (locations can be found here: https://tyomarkkinatori.fi/en) or the local police station (www.poliisi.fi). Residence permits are paid and information can be found here. Work can be started only after permission has been granted. The review of the application currently takes a few months on average, it can also take longer. The Finnish Migration Board makes a decision on the application. Certain occupations do not require a worker's residence permit, and you can find these occupations here. Non-citizens holding a passport issued in Estonia can stay in Finland visa-free for 90 days within six months. Without a residence permit, an employee can work in Finland for up to three months (pick berries and vegetables and work in the fur industry, see also http://www.tyosuojelu.fi/fi/.

3. I want to look for a job in Finland.
Estonian citizens can apply equally with Finnish citizens to the job offers of the Finnish labor market agency, which can be found at https://tyomarkkinatori.fi/. From there you have to select Avoimet työpaikat, enter the desired job in the Sanahaku box and then Search, and all relevant job offers that are open today in Finland will open. You must contact the employer yourself according to the method specified in the advertisement (CV to e-mail, calling, etc.).

4. What kind of advice does the EURES adviser give during the consultation?
During EURES counseling, the client receives information and advice on how to proceed in achieving his goal, but the counselor does not physically do anything for the client (does not call the employer, does not write letters, does not prepare or send a CV in a foreign language, does not translate job offers, etc.). Unlike labor rental companies, EURES does not physically arrange for someone to work in another country, but mediates public job offers and information and supports those who wish to do so safely. You can also find all EURES job offers on the self-service portal!

5. Does a person going to work in Europe have to master a foreign language?
Employers in other countries usually expect knowledge of the respective national language - for seasonal work, knowledge of English, German or French is also sufficient. Since most of the information on job search portals about working in Europe is in English or in the language of the destination country, difficulties arise already in the job search without language skills. It is also difficult to adapt in a European country if you do not know the language.

6. How can I register for a consultation with a EURES adviser?
At www.eures.ee/en/kontakt you can find the contacts of 6 EURES advisers in Estonia. If you have a question that concerns a specific country, please contact the advisor of the respective country's area of responsibility. If you want general information and want to talk more generally about the possibility of working in Europe, contact the nearest EURES advisor to your place of residence.

7. Is it normal that foreign co-workers receive more than half the salary for the same work than an Estonian in the same company?
The free movement of persons is one of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by European Community law and an important part of European citizenship. The free movement of workers has been in effect since the establishment of the European Community in 1957 and is stipulated in Article 39 of the EC Treaty. Two provisions apply to mobility related to work and location in Europe: the free movement of workers and their equal treatment in the member states of the European Union. He must not be discriminated against because of his nationality.

8. Is it true that if you are officially unemployed in Estonia and you want to go abroad to look for a job, you can do so with the help of the Unemployment Insurance Fund?
An unemployed person who receives unemployment insurance benefits from Estonia can go to look for work in another European member state for up to three months without losing the right to benefits. While looking for a job abroad, the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund continues to pay the compensation. A person who is registered as unemployed but does not receive unemployment insurance benefits cannot export benefits to another member state. The compensation to be exported must first be determined.

9. If I lose my job abroad and decide to come back to Estonia to look for work. So can you get unemployment benefit or insurance in Estonia for the average foreign salary?
The time worked abroad is taken into account when determining the unemployment insurance benefit in Estonia. For this purpose, a certificate U1 must be requested from the competent labor market institution of a foreign country, which confirms the insurance period completed in a foreign country. It is important to provide the date of termination of the last employment relationship and a document proving the basis and salary data for the last 12 months.

10. What should I keep in mind when using an intermediary company? Can an agency take money from a job seeker?
According to the Labor Market Services and Support Act, an employment agency may not charge a fee for employment from a person who has approached it with the desire to find a job. An employment agency may only charge a fee for an employment agency service from the future employer. Money can only be taken from the job seeker for other expenses associated with going to work (e.g. for a plane ticket or visa). In this case, the employment agency must be able to document these expenses. The job seeker may not be charged money for arranging a job. Among the job advertisements, there are both reliable offers and those that are deliberately vague. Check the job offer abroad very thoroughly. Check if the company offering the opportunity to work abroad is still operating legally. Companies registered in the register of economic activity can be seen at https://mtr.ttja.ee/juriidiline_isik. The business register information system enables free inquiries about entrepreneurs, non-profit organizations and foundations. More information here. On the website of the Tax and Customs Board, you can consult the list of tax and payment debtors by entering the company's registration number. Some examples of possible fraud cases can be found on the website of the Ministry of Social Affairs.

11. What rights do people who work informally have when they lose their job?
Since there is no legal basis and information about where and how long a person worked and under what conditions, in such a case, a person has practically no rights when he loses his job. If the employer violates the employee's rights, the police or some other authority should be notified.

12. How to prove the level of education, for example, with a diploma from the Russian era of Tallinn University of Technology?
The name of the qualification obtained in the previous education system of a foreign country, as well as the former USSR and Estonia, is used in the original or transliterated, and as a rule, the name is not translated. The name of the educational institution that issued the diploma, certificate, etc. qualification is also indicated in the original and as it was at the time the qualification was issued. More information about this can be found on the SA Archimedes website. The qualification obtained in the Estonian education system is evaluated by a foreign competent institution of another country's education system. No country is competent to decide on the equivalence of qualifications in another country. Therefore, its competence can be assessed by the ERIC-NARIC http://www.enic-naric.net/ of another country, in which case it is advisable to make a translation into the language of the respective country. However, if you do not want recognition, which means that you are not going to work in your field, but if necessary, you just want to show the employer that you have a higher education, then in this case the English version is also suitable. This is of course the case again if the employer is an English speaker. Information on the use of documents in a foreign country can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You can find more information here about a translation agency that translates and validates at the same time.

13. I would like information about working in the European Commission.
All job seekers who have the citizenship of an EU member state and language skills have the opportunity to apply for a job in the EU institutions. The application is made through the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO), if the competition for the appropriate office is open. The application takes place in the electronic environment https://eu-careers.europa.eu/en, where you have to create your own account (EPSO account) and prepare a CV and write motivation letters. You can only apply in one field at a time. The account can be opened even before the appropriate contest is open. You can't apply without it - you can't just send your CV anywhere. You can only apply if the competition for the appropriate profession is open. You must read the requirements of the position very carefully in advance and make sure that all requirements are met before applying. It is also extremely important to fulfill all the formal requirements for documents, which are written on the EPSO website. The competitions can be seen on the EPSO homepage. It also states which job competitions are coming up in the next couple of months. If a person applies, he has to consider a rather long process - about 8-9 months. This includes application, tests (which can usually be done in Tallinn). After the results of the tests, a decision is made whether to invite to interviews and group tests in Brussels. Of course, the applicant must present all his original documents and diplomas and prove all his jobs, etc. The trip to Brussels will be compensated afterwards, so you have to take into account some expenses. If all tests and interviews are successfully completed, the name goes to the so-called. reserve list. This means that if any department of the commission wants to recruit, it has to choose from that list. So you have to go through a few more interviews with the head of a specific department. Usually, a medical check-up and, if necessary, a security check are also carried out before starting work. The reserve list is usually up for a year, sometimes it is extended. Generally, it is already considered at the beginning of the competition how many such positions the commission might need, and most likely an offer will be made to the majority during the year. All communication goes through the EPSO account. An automatic sender is used, which also sends a notification by e-mail that new information has arrived in the EPSO account, but applicants are advised to check their EPSO account a few times a week.

Additional information:
The website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs https://www.vm.ee/en.
EPSO website of the European Personnel Selection Office