Wolt couriers are continuing to deliver food as before, in the wake of the Supreme Administrative Court's decision in May, which ruled that they are employees, not entrepreneurs, as the company had argued.
Wolt has not yet said how it will change its operations to comply with the ruling.
It's a fateful question for Godfrey, a courier from Nigeria who has sought a residence permit on the basis of his role with Wolt.
Godfrey is not the man's real name. Yle is using a pseudonym as he fears publicity could have negative repercussions on his application.
"Now I'm just waiting, and I'm concerned about what the court ruling means for my application," he told Yle.
Migri has granted some 300 entrepreneurs' residence permits that are based on courier work. Several dozen of those had a contract only with Wolt. The Supreme Administrative Court's decision now means that an entrepreneur's work permit cannot be granted based solely on a Wolt contract.
"If you are not an entrepreneur, you cannot be granted an entrepreneur's residence permit," said Kari Koivisto from Uusimaa Ely Centre. "An applicant has to show other plans too."
New business plans needed quickly
Uusimaa Ely Centre (full name Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment) is responsible for evaluating entrepreneurs' plans when they apply for residence permits. The centre's decisions guide Migri's actions in deciding residence permits.
Godfrey shows a letter an acquaintance received from the Ely centre. It says that Wolt couriers are no longer seen as entrepreneurs eligible for residence permits, in light of the court ruling. The applicant is urged to either withdraw their application or present an alternative business plan.
Kari Koivisto says that his agency has to take the court ruling into account. On the other hand, he says that the agency is waiting to see how Wolt and the regional administrative agency respond to the ruling.
Migri says that it has not yet given a negative permit decision because of the court ruling.
AI expert couldn't find a traineeship
For Godfrey, food courier work is only a short-term thing, or at least he hopes so.
In the last few years, he has been working as a courier to the extent that his studies as a data engineer allow.
He recently graduated with a degree from a university of applied sciences.
That means his student residence permit ends.
The English-language programme includes credits on machine learning and artificial intelligence, exactly the kind of know-how that is alleged to be in short supply.
"I thought that once I had completed these kinds of studies, it would be easy to find a job," said Godfrey.
In reality, he has not even managed to get a traineeship, which is a compulsory part of his degree. In the end, he completed his traineeship in the school's lab.
Now he has listed a number of computer languages that he should master. Godfrey has realised that his studies were not enough to get a job, even though the teaching was, in his opinion, pretty good.
"I'm optimising my skills and developing myself so that I am ready when a job opportunity comes," says Godfrey.
Job search continues
Godfrey is not planning to give up, but will continue to send job applications. Data analytics jobs are an especially interesting area for him.
His future is clouded by uncertainty, however, and he has lots of questions about his future income and even whether he will be able to stay in Finland at all.
If the entrepreneur's residence permit application is rejected, he can seek a work-based permit if Wolt starts offering employment contracts and Godfrey is lucky enough to get one.
He fears that many couriers will lose their livelihoods completely if Wolt starts paying pension and health insurance contributions.
"We fear that there will only be work for a few and we don't know if we are in that group or not," says Godfrey.
Wolt has not said whether it plans to employ couriers as employees or not. The company's Public Policy Director, Olli Koski, told Yle that the firm is going through the court ruling, and it regrets the authorities' interpretation of the ruling.
"In a country where many immigrants struggle to find jobs, we think this is a sad interpretation," says Koski.
Godfrey has calculated that he can earn 3,000 euros a month as a Wolt courier while looking for work that matches his education.
The three-month rule brings new uncertainty for Godfrey. If he does not find work before the time limit is up, the newly qualified data engineer could be deported.
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