There was also a five percent year-on-year decline in study-based residence permit applications in the first 10 months of this year, according to the Finnish Immigration Service.
Officials and researchers agree that language skills are crucial to employment and integration into Finnish society – but also that no quick fix is in sight regarding access to linguistic training.
The All Points North podcast answered listeners’ questions about the latest changes to Finland’s citizenship laws, leading many people to ask us to provide the FAQs in text form.
“The general perception of immigrants as a burden on public finances is incorrect,” says one of the researchers. Foreign-language speakers account for about 10% of the population, but collect only about 5% of welfare benefits and other income transfers.
A new study finds that people who applied for asylum in Finland as a minor during the 2015 refugee crisis are integrating much better than those who did so as adults.
The latest changes mean that an applicant will be denied a Finnish passport if they have relied on social welfare benefits for more than three months over a two-year period.
Domestic media have reported on a new book exposing “modern slavery” in Finland, showing how some immigrants face unpaid work, long hours, and unfair conditions.