Longer opening hours for Kela’s English-language phone service

Kela’s phone service in English will answer calls from 9.00 to 16.00 on weekdays (Monday to Friday) as of 16 March. This means one hour more per day than before. The new opening hours apply to the following two customer service numbers: 

• families, students, unemployment, housing and social assistance: 020 634 2550  
• health and pensions: 020 634 2650. 

The opening hours will not be extended for the customer service numbers for international situations and for the Overpayment Recovery Centre. These numbers will continue to provide service between 10.00 and 15.00 on weekdays (Monday to Friday).

Approximately 96,500 calls were made to Kela’s English-language phone service in 2025. The number of calls has doubled following the COVID-19 pandemic, going from 40,201 calls in 2019 to 89,644 calls in 2025. In 2025, the average number of calls per month was 7,470.  

Help with using OmaKela is available over the phone 

Even though the OmaKela e-service is available only in Finnish and Swedish, customers who do not know those languages well can still use it. They can get support for the use of OmaKela by calling one of Kela's English-language customer service numbers.

In OmaKela, customers can fill in applications and send supporting documents or messages. It is also possible for customers to complete their application on a PDF-form and send it to Kela as an attachment in OmaKela. Most of Kela’s forms are available in English. 

In OmaKela, customers can also confirm their identity before they call Kela. Customers can confirm their identity by ordering a single-use code in OmaKela. Customers can still call our customer service numbers without confirming their identity first, but confirming their identity in advance ensures faster and more secure service. 
 
Customers can also submit a call request in the OmaKela e-service. The call request can be for the same day, if it is a weekday, or for the next weekday. One of Kela’s specialists will call the customer within 30 minutes of the call time the customer has selected. 

Newsletter, benefit guides and website in English

Kela's newsletter for individual customers contains up-to-date information about Kela's services. The newsletter is published once a month. Subscribe to the newsletter in English at www.kela.fi/customer-newsletter.

Kela also publishes benefit guides in English. Kela’s benefit guides provide a brief overview of the basics of Kela benefits and services. Benefit guides in English are available on Kela's website at www.kela.fi/brochures-for-clients. Printed benefit guides are available at Kela service points and joint service points. 

On Kela’s website in English, customers can read more about the eligibility criteria for benefits, the application process and decisions. The website also contains information on Kela’s customer service numbers that provide service in English and on other service channels. 

More information 

• Kela’s customer service numbers in English (kela.fi) 
• Kela's forms in English (kela.fi) 
• Digital support in English (kela.fi)