Are you going to the United Kingdom?
The United Kingdom completed its withdrawal from the European Union on 1 February 2020. The withdrawal is commonly referred to as Brexit.
Brexit affects the way you can get benefits from Kela when you move to the United Kingdom.
United Kingdom includes Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Move to the United Kingdom in or after 2021
If you have moved from Finland to the United Kingdom in 2021 or thereafter, your right to social security benefits is determined on the basis of the EU-UK partnership agreement.
After the withdrawal agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom, the EU and the United Kingdom have negotiated a new agreement, a so-called partnership agreement.
The partnership agreement secures the social security rights of people who have moved between Finland and the United Kingdom for the first time in 2021 or thereafter.
Can you get Kela benefits?
If you receive an old-age or disability pension from Kela under the national pension scheme, it is not paid to the United Kingdom. If Kela pays you a survivor’s pension, you will continue to receive this pension even after you have moved to the United Kingdom.
If your posting to the United Kingdom has started in or after 2021, you have the right to benefits from Kela for up to two years.
You must apply to the Finnish Centre for Pensions for a certificate of posting. We get information on your certificate from the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
If you have moved from Finland to the United Kingdom in or after 2021, your right to medical care is determined in the same way as before Brexit.
If you stay in the United Kingdom temporarily, you can prove your right to necessary medical care by presenting a European Health Insurance Card issued in Finland or a certificate provisionally replacing the card.
If you temporarily go from Finland to the United Kingdom and you do not work there, you can get general social security benefit (yleistuki) from Finland.
If you work part-time or sporadically in the United Kingdom but live in Finland, you cannot get general social security benefit from Finland. If you are paid adjusted unemployment benefits during your part-time or sporadic work, it will be paid from the country of employment.
If you apply for general social security benefit from Finland, your periods of employment in the United Kingdom can count towards the work requirement (työssäoloehto).
If you work part-time or sporadically in Finland but live in the United Kingdom, you cannot get unemployment benefits from the United Kingdom. If unemployment benefit is paid at an adjusted rate for the period of part-time or sporadic work, the benefit is paid from the country of employment.
When you apply for an unemployment benefit from the United Kingdom, the employment periods in Finland can be taken into account in connection with the unemployment benefit from the United Kingdom.
Move to the United Kingdom before 2021
As of 1 February 2025, Kela no longer pays old-age pensions or disability pensions under the national pension scheme to recipients in the United Kingdom. If Kela pays you a survivor’s pension, you will continue to receive this pension as usual.
If you moved to the United Kingdom before 2021, you and your family members are, in the main, covered by the same EU provisions on social security as before Brexit. You can get more information about Kela benefits from our website at kela.fi or by calling us.
The withdrawal agreement protects your social security rights for life or for as long as your circumstances warrant the application of the withdrawal agreement.
The EU and the United Kingdom negotiated a withdrawal agreement which has been applicable since 1 February 2020. The agreement contains provisions on a transition period that lasted until the end of 2020.
The withdrawal agreement secures your social security rights based on the EU legislation, if you moved from Finland to the United Kingdom to live, work or study before 2021.