New Immigration Strategies for International Students in Finland

Finland is one of the few countries in the world that is facing a seeming predicament, i.e. declining population levels. With a slowdown in the birthrate, Finland, as a country, will have to deal with the massive problem of population sustainability as early as 2031.

It is predicted that most regions in Finland will face a situation where the birth rate does not exceed the death rate. To tackle this situation, the Finnish government is turning to a new sector to provide a much-needed influx to the current population. This sector mainly comprises of employment-based immigrants.

This involves professionals, skilled labour, general labour, as well as students that immigrate to the country with the prospect of getting employment within the state. 

How is the Government of Finland Favouring Employment-Based Immigrants?

To smoothen the process for employment-based immigrants, the Finnish government has adopted a few measures, including:

Make the Resident Permit Process Hassle-Free

In the current situation, Finland has a complicated procedure in place if you are looking to secure a resident visa. The process is cumbersome and tedious for both the employer and employee. It takes more than 51 days, requires a lot of documentation, and arbitrarily results in adverse outcomes.

The government plans to smoothen this procedure by reducing the time consumed to under 30 days. Additionally, they are seeking to make the process more streamlined, user-friendly, and favourable. 

New Visa Categories 

International students studying within the country did not have an option to pursue employment. This is rather counterproductive considering all the efforts and expenses involved in studying abroad.

For students, the residence permit will be extended by two years that can help them pursue job and employment opportunities in Finland once they complete their education. There is also an increasing demand for residence permits by people in business and startups in the technology sector. 

Additionally, the government plans to encourage such immigrants with more favourable policies and regulations that can help them seek better employment opportunities in the country. 

With more than 11,000 residence permit job-based applications being submitted to Finland every year, the numbers are significantly growing year over year. This is indeed a sustainable solution to the trend of declining population in the country.

By smoothing out the residence permit application process and decreasing the waiting time involved, the government plans to attract more international talent to the country in the coming years.