Working holiday scheme with Japan
The approval and entry into force of the agreement with Japan on a working holiday scheme
Finland and Japan will introduce a reciprocal working holiday scheme for young people. Under the scheme, young people from both countries will be able to stay in the other country for up to a year and fund their holiday by working temporarily.
- Status
- Passed
- Submitted
- 6 Oct 2022
- Latest event
- 21 Dec 2022
- Votes
- 0
- Confirmed
- 3 Feb 2023
- Statute
- 147/2023
- Source
- eduskunta.fi ↗
What is proposed
Finland will bring into force the working holiday agreement concluded with Japan. The agreement will allow citizens of the other country aged 18 to 30 to obtain a fixed-term residence permit or visa for up to 12 months, the primary purpose of which is a holiday and the secondary purpose temporary work to cover travel expenses.
What it means
The change will affect young Finns and Japanese aged 18 to 30, who are estimated to submit a few hundred working holiday applications each year. The permit will be granted to a person only once, will not entitle the holder to family reunification, and applicants will be required to have comprehensive health insurance and sufficient funds to support themselves at the start of their stay. The agreement and the related act will enter into force 30 days after the countries have notified each other of the completion of their internal procedures.
How Parliament voted
The bill passed without a vote – no MP proposed rejecting or amending it in plenary.
Stages of consideration
The bill's path from the preliminary debate to the decision, as recorded by Parliament.
- 6 Oct 2022Eduskuntakäsittelyn vireilletulo · Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö
- 12 Oct 2022Lähetekeskustelu · Täysistunto
- 17 Nov 2022Valiokunnan mietintö tai lausunto · työelämä- ja tasa-arvovaliokunta
- 22 Nov 2022Ensimmäinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 25 Nov 2022Ainoa käsittely · Täysistunto
- 20 Dec 2022Eduskunnan vastaus ja kirjelmä
Decisions by law proposal2
- 1Laki työlomajärjestelyä koskevasta Japanin kanssa tehdystä sopimuksestaHyväksytty · 147/2023 · 3 Feb 2023
- Suomen tasavallan hallituksen ja Japanin hallituksen välinen työlomajärjestelyä koskeva sopimusHyväksytty · 906/2023
Proposed law text
The law proposals in the bill as the Government presented them. The final act may differ after committee consideration.
The law text is shown in Finnish or Swedish from Parliament's official documents; it is not translated into English.
Laki työlomajärjestelyä koskevasta Japanin kanssa tehdystä sopimuksesta
Eduskunnan päätöksen mukaisesti säädetään:
1 §
Tokiossa 11 päivänä toukokuuta 2022 tehdyn Suomen tasavallan hallituksen ja Japanin hallituksen välisen työlomajärjestelyä koskevan sopimuksen lainsäädännön alaan kuuluvat määräykset ovat lakina voimassa sellaisina kuin Suomi on niihin sitoutunut.
2 §
Sopimuksen muiden kuin lainsäädännön alaan kuuluvien määräysten voimaansaattamisesta säädetään valtioneuvoston asetuksella.
3 §
Tämän lain voimaantulosta säädetään valtioneuvoston asetuksella.
Main content of the bill (official)
The summary and title were produced with AI on 13 Sep 2026. They are not official documents – check the details in the original bill. The title and summaries are machine translations of the Finnish AI summaries. Speeches and quotations are always shown in their original language.