Actors and tasks from 1 January 2025

The overall responsibility for promoting integration lies with municipalities. Integration is promoted by the municipality’s basic services and the special integration services that are included in the municipality’s integration programme. 

The municipality’s tasks in the promotion of integration include:

• ensuring that the municipality’s basic services (including early childhood education and care, education and training, and youth, recreational, sports and cultural services)
• providing low-threshold guidance and counselling for immigrants and integration customers
• organising the early-stage services included in the municipality’s integration programme 
  • at a minimum, an integration programme must include the following:
  • an assessment of service needs related to integration and skills (referred to as an assessment of service needs related to skills and integration in the legislation)
  • the preparation and monitoring of an integration plan or multi-sectoral integration plan
  • multilingual civic orientation
  • integration training and other training/services that support Finnish and Swedish language proficiency, literacy, civic and working life competencies, employment and entrepreneurship, including final examinations of language proficiency in connection with integration training
  • guidance and counselling during the integration programme
• organising other services included in the municipality’s integration programme and developing the municipality’s own services as part of the integration programme
• preparing a document on the integration programme that describes early-stage integration services, the parties responsible for the services, and cooperation with other actors related to the services
• looking after the development of personnel competence with regard to the promotion of integration
• looking after the coordination of services in cooperation with the wellbeing services county and other local authorities and service providers
• looking after the deployment of the national customer information system for integration (Koto-digi) and related tasks starting from 1 January 2027 at the latest
  • joint controller tasks for the national customer information system for integration and tasks related to access rights, for example
  • entering information in the system

The municipality will agree on the reception of refugees with the ELY Centre and be responsible for the coordination of reception and the reconciliation of services with the wellbeing services county. The municipality will prepare for support measures for the reception centre or for reception and service provision for asylum seekers who have been issued with a residence permit and move to the municipality independently, or beneficiaries of temporary protection.

The municipality’s tasks in the reception of refugees include: 

• coordinating the reception of refugees referred to the municipality 
• concluding an agreement on the reception of refugees with the ELY Centre and consulting the wellbeing services county
• deciding on the reception of persons referred to the municipality, i.e. responding to the municipal referral proposal and consulting the wellbeing services county if necessary
• preparing for the reception of persons referred to the municipality (e.g. reserving accommodation, agreements) in cooperation with the wellbeing services county if necessary
• receiving persons referred to the municipality (e.g. guidance related to housing and familiarising the persons with the municipality) in cooperation with the wellbeing services county if necessary
• directing persons referred to the municipality to other services as necessary
• conducting a multi-sectoral assessment of service needs related to integration and skills for persons referred to the municipality, unless they are a jobseeker

The municipality is responsible for planning, developing and monitoring the promotion of integration at the local level. The municipality develops the promotion of integration through multi-sectoral cooperation.

The municipality’s tasks related to planning, development and monitoring include:

• preparing a separate action plan or other planning document that specifies the objectives, measures, responsible parties, cooperation and monitoring for integration and promoting good relations between population groups
• in its planning activities, taking into account the national objectives for the promotion of integration, the national objectives for the promotion of employment concerning integration customers, as well as promoting the vitality of the municipality
• looking after the coordination of service planning and development in cooperation with the wellbeing services county and other authorities and service providers
• if necessary, establishing a multi-sectoral local level cooperation group for the promotion of immigration and integration, in which the participants can include, in addition to the municipality, the wellbeing services county, ELY Centre, another municipality in the same region, the Police, a reception centre or registration centre, other authorities, organisations, associations and communities, business sector representatives, and service providers engaged in measures and services that promote integration
• reporting to the ELY Centre at two-year intervals at a minimum on:
  • the achievement of objectives and the implementation of measures
  • equal access to services
  • the level and effectiveness of funding 

The employment authority is the authority in the municipality or joint municipal authority responsible for organising employment services. The employment authority is also responsible for guidance and counselling in the context of employment services. Services for integration customers who are jobseekers will be governed by both the Act on the Organisation of Employment Services and the Integration Act. The employment authority is responsible for the organisation of services included in the integration programme for integration customers who are jobseekers. 

The Integration Act includes provisions on the minimum contents of an integration programme. At a minimum, an integration programme must include the following:

• an assessment of service needs related to integration and skills (referred to as an assessment of service needs related to skills and integration in the legislation)
• the preparation and monitoring of an integration plan or multi-sectoral integration plan
• multilingual civic orientation
• integration training and other training/services that support Finnish and Swedish language proficiency, literacy, civic and working life competencies, employment and entrepreneurship, including final examinations of language proficiency in connection with integration training
• guidance and counselling during the integration programme

The tasks of the employment authority also include:

• looking after the organisation of other services included in the integration programme and developing its own services as part of the integration programme
• preparing a document on the integration programme that describes early-stage integration services, the parties responsible for the services, and cooperation with other actors related to the services
• looking after the development of personnel competence with regard to the promotion of integration
• looking after the coordination of services in cooperation with the wellbeing services county and other authorities and service providers

More information:
TE services reform 2024

The wellbeing services county is responsible for the organisation of social and healthcare services according to the customer’s needs, as is the case with other municipal residents. The wellbeing services county also has tasks specified in the Integration Act that support integration and the reception of refugees. 

The tasks of the wellbeing services county include: 

• organising social and healthcare services also for immigrants
• taking responsibility for guidance and counselling concerning social and healthcare services and preventive and supplementary social assistance
• participating in conducting a multi-sectoral assessment of service needs related to integration and skills and the preparation and monitoring of multi-sectoral integration plans
• participating in the reception of refugees if they have obvious needs for social and healthcare services
  • issuing responses to requests for consultation by municipalities with regard to the municipality’s agreement on the referral of immigrants to the municipality and the promotion of integration, and the referral of individual persons to municipalities (placement proposal)
  • agreeing with the municipality on responsibilities with regard to the practical arrangements for receiving quota refugees, for example
  • conducting an early-stage health examination for quota refugees, among other things
  • applying for preventive social assistance for quota refugees or other persons referred to the municipality
• establishing family group homes
• cooperating with the municipality to organise housing and support for children and young people who have entered Finland as unaccompanied minors
• filing an application with the district court on the appointment of a representative for an unaccompanied minor

The wellbeing services county is responsible for planning, developing and monitoring the promotion of integration in the wellbeing services county. The wellbeing services county ensures that the services of the wellbeing services county are also suitable to immigrants.

In the planning of activities, the tasks of the wellbeing services county include:

• considering the needs of the immigrants in its operating area and the national objectives concerning the promotion of integration
• ensuring that its services are suitable to immigrants
• looking after the development of personnel competence with regard to the promotion of integration

More information:
Wellbeing services counties

The ELY Centres monitor, steer and support the promotion of integration and the reception of refugees in their respective areas.  

The tasks of the ELY Centres include: 

• regional development, cooperation, coordination and monitoring of the promotion of integration
• monitoring the availability, quality and effectiveness of integration services organised for persons who are not part of the workforce
• supporting and advising municipalities and wellbeing services counties in the promotion of integration
• promoting good relations, dialogue and cooperation between population groups
• regional tasks pertaining to the referral of immigrants to municipalities 
  • agreements with municipalities on the referral of immigrants to municipalities and the promotion of integration
  • regional planning, development and strategy pertaining to the referral of immigrants to municipalities
  • referring refugees to municipalities based on the proposal of the Finnish Immigration Service or a reception centre
• agreeing with the wellbeing services county on establishing family group homes
• guidance and monitoring of family group homes together with the wellbeing services county, the Regional State Administrative Agency (AVI), the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) and, if necessary, the Finnish Immigration Service
• guidance and monitoring of the actions of the representatives of unaccompanied minors
• agreeing with municipalities and wellbeing services counties on compensation pursuant to the Integration Act 
• if necessary, establishing a regional cooperation group on immigration and the promotion of integration

More information:
Immigration contact persons at ELY Centres (in Finnish)

The National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) is the central agency within the administrative branch of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, which grants licences in the social and healthcare sector and provides guidance for the Regional State Administrative Agencies, for example. The Regional State Administrative Agency is a supervisory government authority. In matters that fall within its competence, the Regional State Administrative Agency is responsible for the planning, guidance and supervision of measures and services that promote and support integration. 

The task of the Regional State Administrative Agency and Valvira is to:

• provide guidance for, and monitor, the operations of family group homes together with the wellbeing services county and the ELY Centre 

Services for unaccompanied minors and related cooperation, guidance and monitoring are developed in a project coordinated by the Pirkanmaa ELY Centre that is implemented as part of the action plan for the referral of refugees to municipalities (AMIF). 

More information:
The tasks of the Regional State Administrative Agency
The tasks of the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) (in Finnish)

The KEHA Centre will be made into a national actor that supports other actors in the field of integration. The KEHA Centre will monitor both employment and integration to enable the monitoring of the availability and results of services throughout the country.   

The tasks of the KEHA Centre include:

• monitoring and evaluating the results and effectiveness of the promotion of integration 
• producing information on integration
• at the national level, developing and supporting competence as well as service development and reconciliation, and otherwise supporting municipalities and other actors in the promotion of integration
• legal advice on the implementation of the Integration Act
• processing and other services in payment matters concerning compensation payable under the Integration Act
• tasks related to maintenance and register data control for national information system services in integration, and support for system deployment.

The KEHA Centre can also serve as a government grant authority with regard to tasks related to the promotion of integration.

More information:
Read more about the tasks of the KEHA Centre (in Finnish)

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is responsible for national integration policy and its reconciliation with other policy areas. To promote cooperation and the exchange of information between government ministries concerning the promotion of integration and to support the coordination of measures, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment will continue to be supported by a cooperative body consisting of representatives of the other key ministries involved with integration.

The tasks of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment include:

• the planning, developing and national steering of integration policy and reconciling it with other policy areas and the promotion of good relations between population groups
• preparing the Government’s integration programme for four-year periods at a time in cooperation with other key ministries
• monitoring and evaluating integration as a whole and integration policy
• monitoring the availability and cost development of integration services
• providing guidance to ELY Centres and the KEHA Centre in tasks concerning good relations between population groups
• coordinating and translating information in the basic information materials and distributing them for use by the authorities

More information:
Read more about integration policy