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Finland, nestled within Scandinavia in northern Europe, shares borders with Norway, Sweden, and Russia, while the Baltic Sea graces its southern and southwestern coasts, adorned with nearly 180,000 small islands. The country’s remote northern province, Lapland, extends beyond the Arctic Circle, adding to its enchanting allure.
While predominantly flat, Finland hosts the Scandinavian Mountains in its northwestern region. Its landscape is predominantly forested, with dense woodlands covering over 70 percent of the land. Aptly nicknamed the “land of a thousand lakes,” Finland boasts an impressive count of 187,888 lakes, adding to its natural splendor.
Here are some fast facts about Finland:
Finland’s captivating landscapes, vibrant culture, and modern society make it a fascinating destination, drawing visitors from around the globe to experience its unique charm.
Looking to make Finland your new home? Obtaining permanent residency in Finland is a viable option for students, travelers, expats, and families seeking to immerse themselves in the happiest country in the world. Finland presents promising opportunities for those eager to explore a new culture and redefine their academic and career paths.
Through our partner universities, Education provides access to a variety of international degree programs that allow individuals to reside in Finland for 2-4 years, gaining familiarity with the country and its culture. Finnish universities offer a practical and diverse approach to education, with projects directly connected to real-world applications. They prioritize self-directed learning and technological innovation, fostering an environment conducive to personal and professional growth.
Exciting opportunities await international students who come to study in Finland. University students can work part-time alongside their studies, and thus gain some much valued work experience that is needed when applying for full-time jobs. After graduating from university, international students can automatically obtain a job-seeking visa. This visa allows students to stay in Finland for 1 year after studies to find a secure work placement for themselves. Once you have found a full-time job and decided to settle in Finland for good, you can get a permanent residency even after four years of working here!
Due to our small population, Finland is already facing a labor shortage, as Finland’s younger generations won’t be able to fill the gaps that older generations leave on the job market. There is a clear need to recruit people from abroad in the upcoming years.
If the employment rate remains at the current level, there will be over 90,000 jobs available by 2023 in the IT and technology fields alone. In other words, Finland doesn’t have enough current workforce to fill these new jobs or to replace the jobs from which people are retiring.
When you study in a Finnish university or university of applied sciences, you have a right to stay in Finland with the residence permit based on your studies. After graduation, there are two options for students to stay back in Finland:
Once you have secured a job in Finland, nothing is stopping you from really settling down in the country and making it your new home. Finland has a flexible and equal work conditions, and the working culture is very allowing towards parental leaves, in case you are starting a family. The average monthly salary in Finland is around 3 400 EUR (2016-2019).
After you have resided on a continuous basis in Finland for a minimum of four years after graduation, you may already be eligible for permanent residency in the country. Usually, this can happen when you have been working in the country continuously and haven’t resided in another country for long periods of time.
Obtaining a permanent residency in Finland is a wonderful chance and it gives you many rights in Finland as well as within the European Union. Finland has an advanced social security and public health care system that extends to all permanent residents in the country. For example, you will be eligible to the same financial benefits from the government as Finnish citizens. The best example of this is the maternity allowance and the “Baby Box” that all mothers get from the government when their baby is born.
A Finland residence permit is a document that is issued to foreigners who want to live and work in Finland and not in their current country of residence. The permit can be either short-term or long-term.
In Finland, residence permits are categorized based on their duration and the applicant’s purpose for applying. Broadly speaking, there are two types of permits:
Fixed-term permits: These permits are issued for a specific period and can be of two types:
Permanent permit: This type of permit is generally valid indefinitely, unless voluntarily cancelled by the permit holder or revoked due to violation of permit regulations.
In Finland, residence permits are issued based on various reasons, each with its own requirements and validity periods:
Residence permit for work: Requires a valid work contract. Typically valid for one year, but can also align with the duration of the work contract.
Residence permit for studies: Granted to students enrolled in educational programs. Valid for two years, or for the duration of the program if it’s less than two years. After studies, one can switch to a work permit or apply for a job-seeker visa.
Residence permit on the basis of family ties: Issued to individuals with family members in Finland, such as spouses, registered partners, children, or legal guardians. Validity period usually ranges from one to four years depending on circumstances.
Residence permit on other grounds: For situations not covered by the above categories, such as special circumstances or relationships, like dating someone with the intent of marriage.
Residence permit on the basis of reimmigration: Available to former Finnish citizens who wish to return to Finland, or individuals with Finnish roots or other connections to Finland.
EU Permanent Residence: Granted to residents who have lived continuously in Finland for at least five years under a valid permit. Conditions from the original permit must still be met. This type of residence permit is permanent.
These categories cater to various needs and circumstances, allowing individuals to legally reside and integrate into Finnish society based on their specific situation.
Initial residence permit: When first granted, residence permits are typically fixed-term, often valid for one year. You can renew and extend your permit as needed, provided that the original grounds for your permit remain valid.
Renewal of residence permit: You can renew your residence permit if it’s about to expire. An extended permit can be granted for up to four years, depending on your circumstances.
Permanent residence permit eligibility: After living in Finland for five years under a continuous A permit, you become eligible to apply for a permanent residence permit. The five-year period is counted from the first day your A permit was granted.
Counting residency period: If you held a continuous permit from the day you entered Finland, your residency period is counted from that day. This means that the five-year requirement for permanent residency starts from the first day of your continuous residency in Finland.
Permanent residents in Finland enjoy many rights, almost full rights as Finnish citizens. Such benefits include:
If you are a visa national and lose your residence permit card when abroad, you must primarily apply for a first residence permit at a Finnish diplomatic or consular mission to be able to return to Finland, even if you already have a valid residence permit. Applications for an extended permit cannot be lodged at missions. As a rule, a visa cannot be granted for this purpose, because the return requirement set out in the Visa Code is not met.
A visa may be granted only in situations referred to in the Visa Code, such as in a serious humanitarian situation – not because the applicant is in a hurry, has lost his or her air ticket or cannot pay the residence permit fee, for example. In other words, if a mission does not grant a visa, you must apply for a new residence permit to be able to return to Finland.
If your residence permit has expired while you have been abroad, apply for a new residence permit at a Finnish diplomatic or consular mission. A visa cannot be granted for this purpose, because the return requirement set out in the Visa Code is not met. A visa may be granted only in situations referred to in the Visa Code, such as in a serious humanitarian situation – not because the applicant is in a hurry, has lost his or her air ticket or cannot pay the residence permit fee, for example.
If a mission cannot grant a visa under the Visa Code, you must apply for a residence permit before returning to Finland.
Finland has a lot to offer: a high standard of living, a safe and well-functioning society and easy access to nature. The UN’s World Happiness Report named it the happiest country on earth four years in a row.
There are many benefits to working in Finland. Thriving, innovative industries offer plenty of opportunities to advance your career and develop your skills. In addition, Finnish people know that life is more than just work, so a healthy work-life balance is important to them.
Finland is a safe, stable, functioning society where public services such as healthcare and public transportation run smoothly. The country also has thriving sports, recreation and culture scenes. Beautiful nature areas and wilderness are easily accessible, even from the largest cities. All children and adolescents enjoy excellent educational opportunities in one of the world’s best education systems, free of charge.
As a member of the EU, we enjoy labour mobility. In 2020, a total of 32,898 people moved to Finland, while 15,084 emigrated from the country. Work-related immigration and social integration form part of the agenda of policymakers.
There is no single definitive list as to the type of workers Finland needs at the moment.
Based on that survey, the workers whom employers had most often problems recruiting were:
Manpower provides another analysis of employment needs in Finland. According to that, Finland is most in need of these groups of workers:
In the assessment, they project the need for the next six months following the release of the projection.
According to their last assessment, the employees most needed in Finland are
You will need a residence permit for an employed person (työntekijän oleskelulupa), if you are not permitted to work on the basis of another residence permit or without one. A residence permit for employed persons is not necessary for all jobs. At the website of the Finnish Immigration Service, you can check on what kind of residence permit you need.
For example, a residence permit for an employed person is required for the following jobs:
For some jobs, you will not need a residence permit for an employed person, but will need a residence permit for a specific job. These jobs include, for example
If you come to Finland for seasonal work, you need a seasonal work permit. Seasonal work can last up to 9 months. Examples of seasonal work:
Finland find it easier to get these jobs/roles. You can attribute it to some of these jobs not having constant contact with the locals or the jobs being highly skilled ones, or the industry is one with a shortage of workforce.
This article highlights 20 of them, doesn’t mean these are all of them. You can go for others that are not on the list.
1. Mobile Developers
2. Project managers
3. UX Designer
4. Civil Engineer
5. Software Engineer
6. Cooks
7. Home-based personal cleaners
8. Nursing associate professionals
9. Health care assistants
10. Shop and sales assistants
11. Child care workers
12. Hardware engineers
13. Accountants
14. Account managers
15. Product managers
16. Data scientist
17. Copywriters
18. QA Engineers
19. Cashiers
20. Web designers
If you have completed a degree or research in Finland, you can apply for a residence permit for job search. The permit can be granted for a maximum of two years. The permit must be applied for no later than five years after the expiration of the student or researcher residence permit.
If you find a job in Finland, you should apply for a residence permit intended for those who have completed a degree in Finland. You can apply for this permit even if you left Finland after graduation. In order to be granted the permit, you must have a signed employment contract.
You can work in any field if you are granted a residence permit on the basis of your degree. Usually, this right is not included in residence permits for work purposes.
Regardless of your nationality, in some cases you may be able to work in Finland without a residence permit. You must, however, have a valid visa, if you need a visa to reside in Finland. You can work in Finland without a residence permit if, for example:
You can check at the Finnish Immigration Service website whether you can work in Finland without a residence permit.
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