Amid the labour shortages that the country is dealing with, especially in professions that require highly educated and qualified workers, Finland has streamlined the processing of work-based residence permits.
As revealed by the Finnish Immigration Service, the processing time has most significantly decreased for foreign workers with special expertise.
Foreign nationals who are applying for a Finnish word-based residence permit to work in professions that required special expertise are now being granted the period within nine days on average, Schengen.News reports.
This is a significantly shorter period than in September 2023, when foreign specialists were issued a decision on their application within 12 days on average.
Applicants who will be working in Finland in expert duties that require special expertise can now obtain a permit within nine days on average (September 2023: 12 days).
As explained by the authority, a foreign worker is considered to be a specialist if they hold a higher education qualification or have acquired special expertise through work experience and also earn at least €3,600 per month.
Processing Time & Extension Also Streamlined for Other Applicants
The processing of work-based residence permits has been streamlined for all applicants, not only specialists.
According to the Finnish Immigration Service, those who apply for a first work-based residence permit will now receive a positive decision on their application within 23 days on average, down from 55 days in September of last year. On the other hand, those whose application has been rejected will receive an answer within 87 days on average instead of 125 days.
Permit extension applications are also now being processed faster than a year ago. On average, permit extension applications are being processed within 20 days, down from 63 days in September 2023.
Residence permits for study purposes in Finland are also being processed within a shorter period. Those who apply for a first-time residence permit for studies are receiving a response within an average of eight days. The average processing time for this type of permit was 36 days last year.
Commenting on the acceleration of these processes, the Director General of the Finnish Immigration Service, Ilkka Haahtela, said that faster processing times do not mean that the authorities are overlooking matters related to national security.
The accelerating pace of processing does not mean that matters pertaining to national security would be overlooked. On the contrary, we have paid particular attention to security by intensifying cooperation with other authorities, for instance.
It was further noted that the authorities will continue working to improve the processing of permits even further next year. The country also aims to shorten the processing time for asylum applications.