Public consultation: Changes to residence permit rules to combat labour exploitation

Effective and proactive action is needed to address the exploitation of foreign workers. The Government continues to combat labour exploitation by amending the rules on residence permits.

“There is no place for labour exploitation in Finland. The message to employers is clear: exploitation and the abuse of workers will not be tolerated in Finland, and the authorities will take strong action against it,” says Minister of Employment Matias Marttinen.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is requesting comments on the legislative proposal by 27 August 2026.

In future, it would be easier for the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) to refrain from issuing residence permits to an employer if exploitation was suspected. Migri can make a decision to suspend the issuance of residence permits to a company for a certain period of time. 

Recruitment fees are also addressed in the proposal. Going forward, a residence permit would not be issued if the employer had charged the employee a fee for entering into an employment relationship.

Finally, the proposal includes technical amendments to the Seasonal Workers Act resulting from an infringement procedure launched by the European Commission. 

The government proposal is scheduled to be submitted to Parliament during the autumn session of 2026. The changes would enter into force in March 2027.

Many measures have been taken during the government term to combat labour exploitation

The legislative project is part of the Government’s action plan to prevent labour exploitation. As part of the plan, legislative amendments have already been carried out to improve the status of wild berry pickers. Efforts have also been made to ensure that people arriving in Finland for work receive multilingual information about their rights through several channels. Ethical recruitment practices have been developed in countries partnering with Finland for international recruitment.

Inquiries: 
Tuulia Muuronen, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 047 329 (available until 19 July)
Jarmo Tiukkanen, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 047 355 (available from 20 July)
Teresa Salminen, Special Adviser to the Minister of Employment, tel. +358 295 047 318 (questions to the Minister of Employment)