Finland receives more work-based residence permit applications in H1

The number of first work-based residence permit applications increased in the first half of 2024, said the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in a press release on Wednesday.

A total of 9,047 people applied for the first permit, up from last year when 8,765 people applied for it.

Growth has been most prominent in permits for seasonal work, but the number of residence permits for an employed person have also increased.

Most residence permits for an employed person were granted to the cleaning industry, the industrial sector, and the care and health services.

On the other hand, the number of applications for the first residence permit for a specialist fell.

In the first half of 2024, the number of applications was 636, down from 902 last year.

Applications for an extended work-based residence permit were on the increase.

In the first half of 2024, 11,664 people applied for an extended permit, compared with 9,350 at the same time last year.

The number of both extended residence permits for an employed person and those for a specialist grew.

Altogether, 2,258 first work-based residence permits from Finland’s partner countries in international recruitment – India, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brazil – were submitted.

This represents 25 per cent of all first work-based residence permits.

In August 2024, an applicant for a first work-based residence permit received the permit in 24 days on average. In comparison, it took an average of 55 days to receive a permit in 2023. An applicant received the first residence permit for an employed person in 27 days on average and the first permit for a specialist in 10 days.

An extended permit was also granted faster than one year ago.

In 2024, it took an average of 21 days, down from 61 days the previous year.

The numbers of students' first residence permit applications also continued to increase.