Reference · checked 25 September 2026 · prices are provider prices, VAT as stated
Documents and cards for a Finnish construction site — in the right order
Two documents are required by law on every Finnish construction site — a tax number in the public register and a photo ID showing it. Everything else depends on your trade and tasks. Below: what each document is, how long it takes, what it costs, whether you can do it before you travel, and the mistakes that cost people weeks.
Occupational Safety Card (Työturvallisuuskortti) — online course in English, 4–8 hours, valid 5 years. Electricians: SFS 6002 electrical safety (2.5–8 hours, valid 5 years) and first aid for electrical work (4 hours). Welders: EN ISO 9606 test in the ordered scope (test 1–3 days, certificate 1–3 weeks). Hot-work card theory if your tasks include welding, grinding or cutting. Keep scans of your ID and trade documents.
On arrival — Tax Administration (Vero)
Book an appointment at a Vero office. You get a Finnish personal identity code, a tax number (veronumero) and entry in the public tax-number register — 1–10 working days, free. Ask for a tax card at the same time; without it, tax is withheld at a default rate.
Then — Valtti card
The Valtti card (Vastuu Group) is the photo ID with your tax number that sites use for access. Activation 1–2 days, delivery 1–5 days; 29–32 € + 8.20 € per order + VAT. It can be ordered in advance but is issued only after your tax number exists.
Practical parts and site induction
Hot-work card extinguishing practice, site induction, access card. With the online cards done before travel, an electrician is typically on site 1–3 weeks after arrival, a pipefitter 1–2 weeks, a welder with an accepted certificate on the pipefitter's timeline.
Every document at a glance
Every document at a glance
Document
What it is
Time / validity
Cost (provider prices, checked 25 September 2026)
Before arrival?
Tax number (veronumero) + public register
Personal tax number required by law on construction sites; must be entered in the public register (vero.fi)
Vero visit by appointment; 1–10 working days
Free
No — in person in Finland
Valtti card
Photo ID with tax number, read by site access systems (Vastuu Group)
Activation 1–2 days, delivery 1–5 days
29 € (paid packages) / 32 € (Starter) + 8.20 € per order + VAT
Order yes; issued after the tax number
Työturvallisuuskortti — Occupational Safety Card
Basic occupational safety course accepted on practically all sites
Application yes — but not needed for installer work
Swipe the table sideways on a phone.
Sources: tyoturvallisuuskortti.fi, spek.fi, alertum.fi, vastuugroup.fi, taitotalo.fi, tukes.fi, seti.fi, oph.fi, vero.fi — provider prices as published on 23–25 September 2026, VAT as stated by each provider. Card package as a rough total at these prices: electrician about 430–490 € + VAT (Occupational Safety Card, SFS 6002, first aid, Valtti); pipefitter about 350–400 € (Occupational Safety Card, hot-work card, Valtti); welder about 1 000–1 300 € including the ISO 9606 test. Scaffolder card (telinekortti), Tieturva and the Swedish ID06 are not covered here yet.
Typical mistakes — and what they cost
Arriving without the online cards. The Occupational Safety Card and SFS 6002 can be done in English from home in one day; done in Finland they wait for a course date. Cost: days to a week.
Expecting the tax number by e-mail. The tax number needs a Finnish personal identity code, which for a first arrival means a visit to a Vero office by appointment. Book the appointment before you travel. Cost of not booking: up to 10 working days.
Ordering the Valtti card without a tax number. The card is issued only after the number exists; order it, but expect delivery after the Vero visit.
A welder certificate in the wrong scope. EN ISO 9606 is per process, material group, diameter, thickness and position; a certificate that does not cover the ordered scope means a new test in Finland (650 € + VAT and 1–3 weeks for the document). Ask for the scope before you travel.
Expecting a foreign diploma to add the qualification supplement automatically. Agreements pay the supplement for Finnish qualifications related to the work; recognition through OPH/EDUFI takes 2–4 months. Independent work from drawings moves you up the groups faster.
Believing you need S1/S2 to work as an electrician. You do not — it is the contractor's supervisor's qualification. The Tukes exam is in Finnish or Swedish only.
Counting daily allowance as pay. Daily allowance is payable only if the assignment is a business trip or a temporary special place of work (up to three years on one site); tax-free maximum 2026 is 54 €/day (Vero). Daily travel between lodging and site does not create an allowance.
Paying anyone for a job. Finnish law (Act 380/2023) and Google's Supplier Code of Conduct prohibit charging workers any recruitment fee. Anyone asking you for money, a deposit or your passport before a signed contract is not working for Gene-Works.
Common questions
Who pays for the cards?
We tell you in writing, before you travel, which cards and tests we arrange and pay for on a given assignment and which you bring with you. Onboarding is a service we charge to the client, never to the worker.
I worked in Finland before. Do I need a new tax number?
Your personal identity code and tax number stay with you. Check that the number is still in the public register on vero.fi; if it has been removed, it can be re-entered — no new number is needed. Your old Valtti card is valid until its expiry date.
Is the Occupational Safety Card from another country accepted?
The Finnish card (Työturvallisuuskortti) is the one sites ask for. The course is available online in English, so the fastest route is to take the Finnish one before you travel.
Do I need the hot-work card as a pipefitter?
Only if your tasks include brazing, grinding, cutting or other hot work — on most cooling pipework they do. The theory can be done at home; the extinguishing practice is arranged in Finland.
Where are the official definitions?
Tax number and tax card: vero.fi (also in Polish, Ukrainian, Estonian and Russian). Valtti card: vastuugroup.fi. Occupational Safety Card: tyoturvallisuuskortti.fi. Hot-work card: spek.fi. Welder qualification tests: taitotalo.fi. Refrigeration qualifications and electrical exams: tukes.fi. Recognition of qualifications: oph.fi.
See what your trade pays under the agreement — and what would raise it.
Free for workers — always. Finnish law (Act 380/2023) and Google's Supplier Code of Conduct prohibit charging workers any recruitment fee. We never ask for money, deposits or your passport before a signed contract.