Guest membership for residents of Nordic countries

The Union of Professional Engineers in Finland has signed the Nordic engineering organizations’ agreement on guest membership. Based on the agreement, a member of an engineering union working in another Nordic country will receive a free guest membership from the engineering union operating in the country in which he/she is working. As a rule, the guest member receives the same rights to the services and benefits as a local member of the union.

According to the Nordic Guest Membership Agreement:

  • The agreement applies to those members of the Union of Professional Engineers in Finland who work in a Nordic country other than Finland.
  • A member working in another Nordic country can be accepted as a guest member of an engineering union in the country of employment.
  • Students or pensioners cannot be accepted as guest members.
  • The guest membership is valid for one year at a time and will be renewed automatically for a maximum of three years.
  • The guest membership covers representation in matters relating to labor law with the consent of the member.
  • The guest member enjoys the same services, privileges, and rights as a basic member of the union which accepted him or her as a guest, excluding the right to stand as a candidate and to vote in the union elections.
  • Guest membership is only possible if the member remains part of their own union.
  • The guest membership is free of charge, but the membership fee for the union that the guest is originally part of must be paid.
  • Concerning membership of the unemployment fund, the rules of the countries concerned shall apply.
  • Separate unemployment insurance does not belong to guest membership.

In addition to the Finnish engineering associations, the agreement has been signed by:

  • Ingeniørforeningen i Danmark  (IDA) – The Danish Society of Engineers
  • Sveriges Ingenjörer – The Swedish Association of Graduate Engineers
  • Tekna – Teknisk-naturvitenskapelig forening – The Norwegian Society of Graduate Technical and Scientific Professionals
  • NITO – Norges Ingeniør og Teknologorganisasjon- The Norwegian Soceity of Engineers and Technologists
  • The Association of Chartered Engineers in Iceland (VFI)

The main features of guest membership are presented above. If you are considering a guest membership, ask for more information about being a guest member from the Union of Professional Engineer in Finland’s customer service.