3. Country-specific overview

Finland

Image: Mads Schmidt Rasmussen / norden.org*

Governance model and responsible bodies

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (TEM) is in charge of Finland’s national integration policy, and is responsible for planning, development, and coordination with other policy sectors and relevant ministries. TEM coordinates the preparation of a national integration programme every four years. The ministry also leads the national planning of referral to municipalities (placement of quota refugees). Other ministries support integration within their own administrative areas (Arbets- och näringsministeriet, 2023; TEM, n.d.).

KEHA Centre is a national government agency responsible for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of integration efforts, supporting skills development and providing legal advice on the implementation of the Integration Act at the national level (Arbets- och näringsministeriet, 2023).

Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland is a national government agency tasked with managing and providing basic social security benefits to residents with a valid residence permit. Its support covers a wide range of life situations, including unemployment, illness, old age, family life, and disability (Kela, 2025).

At the regional level, ELY Centres (Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment) are responsible for coordinating and monitoring integration and settlement services, and ensuring their availability, quality, and effectiveness for municipal integration clients who are not registered as jobseekers. ELY Centres support and advise municipalities and well-being services counties in matters related to the promotion of integration, and also handle regional referrals (assigning immigrants to municipalities) in collaboration with municipalities, well-being services counties, and other relevant authorities (Arbets- och näringsministeriet, 2023).

At the beginning of 2025, municipalities assumed the main responsibility for promoting integration and organising employment services under the new Integration Act. Employment services, previously managed by state TE Offices (Employment and Economic Development Offices), have been transferred to municipalities and municipal co-management areas. At present, 45 employment areas provide these services, including information, guidance, counselling, coaching, labour market training, and transition security training (Arbets- och näringsministeriet, 2023; TEM, n.d.). Furthermore, municipalities are responsible for developing local integration programmes and preparing individual integration plans and embedding integration into broader municipal strategies (Integration.fi, n.d.-f). In addition, they provide primary and secondary education, and ensure service accessibility (Arbets- och näringsministeriet, 2023).

Since 2023, well-being services counties have taken over the responsibility for integration within health and social services. Finland’s 21 well-being services counties provide public healthcare, social welfare, and rescue services for all residents – a responsibility previously held by municipalities (Finnish Immigration Service, n.d.-b). They also support refugee reception in their regions, for example by establishing family group homes or other residential units for unaccompanied children and youth, and in some cases contribute to municipal integration programmes (Integration.fi, n.d.-c).

In its integration programme, the Finnish government highlights the important role of the third sector in integration. These organisations, including those led by immigrants, complement public services by offering counselling, language training, and orientation activities that support settlement. Some civil society organisations (CSOs) also act as service providers in the wider migration field, for example by operating reception centres.

Current national integration policies: goals and objectives

The Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration (681/2023) (The Integration Act) entered into force in 2025 and repealed the previous Act of the same name. It aims to strengthen immigrants’ employment, capacity to work and language skills, and to increase their participation in society, as well as their health and well-being. The Act also emphasises equality, non-discrimination, and positive interaction between different population groups (Arbets- och näringsministeriet, 2023; Integration.fi, n.d.-h).

Other important acts include the Social Assistance Act, the Reception Act, and the Aliens Act. The Social Assistance Act (1412/1997) regulates last-resort financial assistance under social welfare. It defines eligibility, rights, and types of social assistance. The Reception Act (746/2011) governs the Finnish reception system and the support provided to applicants for international protection, persons under temporary protection, and victims of human trafficking. The Aliens Act (301/2004) establishes the legal framework for immigration, managed migration, and the provision of international protection. It applies to aliens’ entry into, exit from, and residence and work in Finland.

The national integration programme, adopted every four years, sets the government’s strategic goals for integration. According to the Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government and Government Integration Programme 2024–2027, the government aims to increase immigrants’ responsibility for their own integration, reduce the state’s financial burden, and make the system more obligation-focused rather than rights-based (Bruun, 2025). Key objectives for integration during the current term are: (1) Integration in Finland through work, (2) Immigrants to take more responsibility for their integration with an increased focus on their obligations, (3) Combating the emergence of parallel societies, and (4) Integration is in the interests of the whole family. The programme sets out 32 measures to support these goals (Bruun, 2025).

As part of the reform by the present government, the main responsibility for integration promotion and organising employment services is transferred from central government to municipalities. The Integration Programme outlines specific measures such as reductions in certain allocations and individual benefits. These include increased use of social assistance and labour market support cuts to sanction immigrants who fail to meet integration requirements. In autumn 2023, Kela began reducing the basic component of social assistance, thereby lowering individual benefit payments. In addition, the duration that state compensation is paid to municipalities and welfare areas for integration services (e.g., assessments, plans, interpretation) has been cut: from four to three years for quota refugees, and from three to two years for other refugees, including those under temporary protection. Additionally, support for unaccompanied minors transitioning to adulthood now ends at age 23 (Statsrådet, 2024).

According to the Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government, a reform of integration services will follow (Bruun, 2025). An amendment to the Integration Act is planned to reform the organisation of integration training. A legislative proposal is expected to be submitted to Parliament in spring 2026. The reform will primarily address the funding structure to simplify the system and centralise funding responsibilities within municipalities (Interview).

Protection seekers from Ukraine

Finland is bound by the European Temporary Protection Directive) and has extended temporary protection for refugees from Ukraine until 4 March 2027 (Finnish Immigration Service, n.d.-c). Beneficiaries of temporary protection are issued a separate permit category and receive a personal identity code. This permit gives them access to public employment services, such as job matching, guidance, integration training, wage subsidies, and allows them to study Finnish or Swedish for free under an integration plan. However, they are not eligible for labour market support and are not entitled to the introduction benefit, unlike ordinary refugees. As a result, relatively few take part in the introduction training.

During the first year, displaced persons from Ukraine have the same rights as asylum seekers and are offered mandatory language courses in the reception centres. After one year, they may apply for registration and settlement in a municipality, which they can choose freely, gaining full resident rights and obligations equivalent to permanent residents, and access to broader municipal and welfare services (Finnish Immigration Service, n.d.-b; Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, 2024).

Integration or establishment programmes

Municipalities are required to draw up an integration programme as a municipal service package supporting immigrants in the early stages of integration. Its goals are to promote employment, entrepreneurship, skills development, and participation in society, while also supporting equality, inclusion, non-discrimination, and well-being. An integration programme must follow a multi-sectoral approach and involve cooperation with NGOs and employers (Integration.fi, n.d.-d). Under the Integration Act, the programme must include at minimum, an assessment of skills and service needs, an individual integration plan, multilingual civic orientation courses, integration training, education and services to develop language, literacy, social and work skills, and support for employability and entrepreneurship. Ongoing guidance and advisory services are offered throughout the programme (Arbets- och näringsministeriet, 2023).

Municipalities provide integration training free of charge to individuals with a residence permit who have an integration plan (Artemjeff et al., 2024), including unemployed jobseekers, beneficiaries of international protection and their family members, recipients of long-term social assistance, and those receiving the child home care allowance (Integration.fi, n.d.-i). It is not available to labour migrants unless, for example, they become unemployed. For registered jobseekers, integration training is mainly provided as labour market training, but it can also comprise self-motivated studies.

Integration plans are individualised agreements between eligible immigrants and local authorities. They are developed for immigrants based on their goals, circumstances, competencies, and assessed needs. The plan outlines tailored services and measures to support integration, employment, or entrepreneurship. Each integration plan outlines individual short- and long-term goals related to integration, employment, or entrepreneurship. It also specifies the services needed to support integration, work, business development, health, well-being, and civic skills. The plan includes Finnish or Swedish language studies, participation in civil society activities, and access to guidance and advisory support (Integration.fi, n.d.-i).

The first plan can be up to one year, with a total maximum duration of two years, extendable by up to two more years under specific circumstances. If an immigrant refuses, without a valid reason, to participate in the preparation, review, or agreed services in the plan, the unemployment benefits may be restricted, or social assistance may be reduced (Integration.fi, n.d.-g).

Language training

Language training is an integral part of integration training (Integration.fi, n.d.-e). Under the Integration Act, municipalities are responsible for organising language courses and related services that promote knowledge of Finnish and Swedish. They must ensure training is available, either by providing it directly or in co-operation with other providers. Eligibility follows the same criteria as for integration training: individuals with a valid residence permit, including unemployed jobseekers, beneficiaries of international protection and their family members, recipients of long-term social assistance, and those receiving the child home care allowance. Courses typically last about one year from the start of the integration plan. In addition to formal training, Finland offers diverse non-formal options, and the Act promotes flexible models such as workplace-based language learning (Arbets- och näringsministeriet, 2023; Fabricius & Westerberg, 2023).

Settlement process

Upon arrival, asylum seekers and beneficiaries of temporary protection can stay in a reception centre or private accommodation. Private housing is not supported financially, and individuals must still remain registered with a reception centre to access reception services (Finnish Immigration Service, n.d.-a).

Directed placements in municipalities primarily target quota refugees, unaccompanied minors, and other vulnerable groups (Bruun, 2025). While it is generally voluntary for municipalities to receive refugees, there are strong incentives and coordination mechanisms in place. The relocation of individuals to specific municipalities is guided by annual national referral objectives set by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. Based on these objectives, ELY Centres coordinate municipal allocations within their regions, and municipalities sign agreements with ELY Centres regarding placements. When offering a placement, municipalities commit to securing housing for the assigned individual (Integration.fi, n.d.-a, n.d.-b).

Those granted residence permits through the asylum process may move from a reception centre to their own accommodation and be registered as a resident in a municipality either through an official municipal placement or by relocating on their own. Most choose the latter, in which case they are free to select their municipality but they must arrange and finance their own housing. The Finnish Immigration Service supports those who move independently to find an apartment and settle in the municipality. Individuals on low incomes may apply for a housing allowance through the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Kela (Bruun, 2025; Finnish Immigration Service, n.d.-a). The same rules apply to beneficiaries of temporary protection, and they may apply for a municipality of residence after one year in Finland (Finnish Immigration Service, n.d.-b).

Social assistance and financial support

The right to health and social services in Finland depends on a person’s legal status and whether they have a registered municipality of residence. Individuals with a residence permit and a municipality of residence are entitled to the same health and social services as other residents. This includes access to healthcare and social welfare services provided by the well-being services county, individualised guidance and advisory support, expanded social services based on individual needs, as well as student welfare and occupational healthcare services (Integration.fi, n.d.-c; Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, 2024):

Residence-based social security benefits are available for permanent residents. These include health insurance; unemployment, child, and disability benefits; and housing allowance. Eligibility is primarily based on the individual’s status as a permanent resident, rather than the employment status. Individuals earning at least EUR 800.15/month (2023) can access certain social security benefits, such as child and health insurance, even without permanent residence (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, 2024).

Asylum seekers are not eligible for residence-based benefits but receive a reception allowance for basic needs. Beneficiaries of temporary protection living at reception centres also receive a reception allowance and may receive supplementary allowances based on individual needs.

Social assistance benefit under the Social Assistance Act (1412/1997) is intended to promote self-sufficiency and prevent social exclusion. Eligibility is determined by financial need and is not dependent on residence permit. The benefit becomes available when reception services end and individuals transition from reception centres to a municipality of residence without sources of income. The assistance includes basic social assistance granted by Kela, as well as supplementary and preventive social assistance provided by well-being services counties (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, 2025).

Immigrants who have an integration plan may receive unemployment benefits. Finland offers three types of unemployment benefit, which are taxable: earnings-related allowance, basic daily allowance, and labour market subsidy (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, n.d.). To qualify for the labour market subsidy, individuals must hold a residence permit and be registered as unemployed jobseekers. Beneficiaries of temporary protection are not eligible for labour market support due to the temporary nature of their B residence permit (Integration.fi, n.d.-j).

Healthcare and schooling

Asylum seekers are entitled to urgent and necessary healthcare. Asylum-seeking minors receive health services on the same basis as all other Finnish residents. Upon being granted a residence permit, refugees are entitled to the same healthcare as residents (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, n.d.).

Children without a municipality of residence are not subject to compulsory education but have the right to attend school. Once assigned a municipality, they become subject to compulsory education and gain entitlement to early childhood education and care.

Municipalities should arrange preschool, basic education, or preparatory education as soon as it is confirmed that a child resides in the municipality and is seeking protection or is otherwise present in the area. Education for immigrant children is either provided within the general education system with individualised support or in preparatory classes leading to basic education (Ministry of Education and Culture, n.d.).