Unemployment Insurance in the Nordic countries

Like other EU/EEA countries each of the Nordic countries have their own Unemployment Insurance Scheme, and different rules apply in each country regarding how to obtain right to unemployment benefit, the amount and duration of the Unemployment benefit etc.

While compulsory insurance is applicable in the vast majority of EU countries, this is not the case in the Nordic countries.
Denmark, Sweden and Finland has voluntary Unemployment Insurance. In these countries you must become member of an Unemployment Insurance Fund to be able to benefit from the voluntary Unemployment Insurance.

Denmark has only voluntary Unemployment Insurance, while in Finland and Sweden there are also a basic compulsory Unemployment Insurance, which you will be covered by when starting to work in Finland or Sweden.

Iceland and Norway only have compulsory Unemployment Insurance. In these two countries you will be covered when you start working there.

Read more in our country specific guides:

EU rules on social security coordination apply

Since all the five nordic countries are EEA members, the EU social security coordination rules apply in cross-border situations within the Nordic countries or when another (non nordic) EU/EEA country is involved.

Nordic agreement expands the EU coordination

The Nordic Convention on Social Security is a separate social security agreement, established between Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

It builds on the EU Regulation 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems within EU/EEA, and the Regulation 883/2004 applies in the first place.

Like the EU Regulation 883/2004 also the Nordic Convention is only relevant for cross-border situations.

Who is the Nordic Convention important for?

Third-country nationals

While EU Regulation 1231/2010 extends Regulation 883/2004 and Regulation 987/2009 to nationals of third countries, this does not apply in Denmark, because Denmark has an "opt-out" according to note 19 in Regulation 1231/2010 which means that Denmark does not apply EU regulations for social security to third-country nationals.
And due to the fact that EU Regulation 1231/2010 has not been incorporated in the EEA-Agreement, the Nordic EEA countries Iceland and Norway are not covered by the rules on third-country nationals.

However the Nordic Convention on Social Security expand the coverage of the EU Coordination rules on socal security to also include third-country nationals moving between the Nordic countries.

Nordic remigrants

According to The Nordic Convention on Social Security you are considered as a remigrant if you within the last 5 years have been covered by unemployment Insurance in the Nordic Country you are returning to.

Easier access to use the aggregation rule
If you are a Nordic remigrant you do not need to start working in the Nordic country you are moving to before you can use the aggregation rule, in contrast to EU citizens moving for the first time to a nordic country.
This also apply to the Nordic countries which normally requires one to work a certain period before you can use the aggregation rule, in Denmark (296 hours of work) and Finland (4 weeks of work).
The requirement in the Convention is that you must become member of an Unemployment Insurance Fund (in Denmark, Finland or Sweden who have voluntary Unemployment Insurance) within 8 weeks of the expiry of unemployment insurance in the previous country of employment.

Key points of EU Unemployment Insurance coordination

Transferring periods of work and insurance between EEA countries As an EU citizen you can transfer acquired rights from Unemployment Insurance when moving between EU/EEA contries. In this way it may be easier to become entitled to unemployment benefit in the country you move to.
In the vast majority of the Member states the aggregation rule become fully applicable as soon as you starts to work in the country. However in Denmark, Belgium and Finland you must work some period there before you can use the aggregation rule.
You need a PD U1 document in the country you leave or if the involved countries use electronically exhange (EESSI) there will be issued a SED U002. The countries who issues the highest number of PD U1 documents are Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The countries who receives most PD U1 documents are Lithuania and Italy.
Transferring unemployment benefits Under certain conditions you can go to another EU country to look for work and continue to receive your unemployment benefits from the country where you became unemployed. The period you can export your unemployment benefits varies from 3 to 6 months in the different Member states.
You have to apply for a PD U2 document in the country you leave, or if you haven't done that the institution in the receiving country must request a SED U008 from the competent institution in your last country.
The countries who issues the highest number of PD U2 documents are Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark. Poland is the country who receives by far most PD U2 documents.
Unemployment benefits coverage According to OECD the net replacement of income after 2 months of unemployment, for a single person without children whose previous in-work earnings were 67% of the average wage varies from 33 percent (Ireland) to 91 percent (Belgium). Read more here..

Having residence in another EU country than where you work? According to EU social security coordination rules you must only be insured against unemployment in one country at a time. As a generel rule this country is where you work.
In Member states who have compulsory insurance, you will automatically be covered when you start working there.
However you may be insured by your country of residence if you are posted to a EU/EEA country or work in two or more EU/EEA countries at a time. In these situations you can not your self decide where to have unemployment Insurance, but you (or your employer) must apply for a PD A1 document which states in which country you are covered by social security, including Unemployment Insurance. Special rule also apply for cross-border workers ("frontier workers").
Third-country Nationals working in EU/EEANON-EEA citizens are covered by Unemployment Insurance in the EU countries who have compulsory Unemployment Insurance. In countries with voluntary Unemployment Insurance (Denmark, Sweden and Finland) third-country nationals can become member of an Unemployment Insurance Fund.
In the most countries Third-country nationals can also use the EU Coordination rules when moving within EU/EEA (however not in Denmark, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).
Third-country nationals in short-tem working relations often faces problems with actually get Unemployment benefits, even though they have contributed to the system. This is due to the fact that one normally need a residence permit which allow one to take any job, and also because of a qualifying period in most countries between 6-12 months.

➞ Ask Us

Nordics