Labour immigration administration
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment Economy is also responsible for the international employment services of the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment Employment and Economic Development Offices, as well as the European Employment Service. In addition, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, together with the Ministry of Education and Culture, is responsible for the preparation and coordination of the national Talent Boost programme. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has a Labour Migration and Integration Unit subjected to the Permanent Secretary.
The main responsibility for the preparation of policy and legislation related to labour migration and policy coordination, as well as for EU and other international preparation related to labour migration, was transferred from the Ministry of the Interior to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment as of January 1 2020. The background is the entry in Prime Minister Sanna Marin's government programme, according to which the labour migration administration will be transferred to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in order to streamline processing.
Some immigration tasks remain within the remit of the Ministry of the Interior
Following the transfer, the Ministry of the Interior retained, inter alia, humanitarian, family and non-EU, non-employment, entrepreneurial, traineeship, study and research migration, international protection and return migration, prevention of illegal immigration, return and return of Union citizens, with the exception of specific issues relating to the employment of Union citizens.
In the future, the Ministry of the Interior will continue to be responsible for all general provisions related to residence permits, which are mainly laid down in chapter 4 of the Aliens Act. These include types of residence permits, residence permit cards, travel document requirements, general conditions for issuing a residence permit, definition of a family member, subsistence requirement, lengths of residence permits, revocation and expiry of residence permits. For example, issues related to the immigration of workers' family members remain the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior, as does the regulation of the right of asylum seekers to work.
Inquiries:
Sonja Hämäläinen, Migration Director
Katri Niskanen, Chief Specialist