Work in Finland — Government Migration Policy Programme to Strengthen Labour Migration

Abstract

The Migration Policy Programme to Strengthen Labour Migration complements the programmes and guidelines that have already been adopted by Prime Minister Sipilä’s Government. The Government decided on the preparation of the Migration Policy Programme during the negotiations on the General Government Fiscal Plan for 2018–2021. The Programme aims to raise awareness of and promote the Government’s migration policy. The purpose of the policy is to support migration that strengthens employment and public finances, improves the dependency ratio and enhances internationalisation of the economy. The Programme lays down Finland’s migration policy guidelines that promote particularly labour migration, integration to support this, and good relations between people from different groups. Finland needs migrants to address the labour shortage in different sectors, to improve the weakening of the dependency ratio caused by ageing of the population, and to attract more international talent and entrepreneurs to Finland. The Migration Policy Programme is based on the Government Resolution on the Future of Migration 2020 Strategy, adopted in 2013. The policy guidelines laid down in the Strategy are updated in the new Programme to meet the needs of the current operating environment. The ministerial working group on migration acted as the steering group for the project. The Programme was prepared by a cross-sectoral working group with representatives from: the Migration Department, Police Department, Border Guard Department, Communications Unit, and Administration and Development Department of the Ministry of the Interior; Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment; Ministry of Education and Culture; Ministry of Social Affairs and Health; Ministry for Foreign Affairs; Ministry of the Environment; and the Finnish Immigration Service and the National Police Board. The implementation of the Programme will be monitored by the ministerial working group on migration