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Reform of the Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration (KOTO24)

The Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration (hereinafter, the Integration Act) aims to strengthen immigrants’ employment, capacity to work and language skills, and to increase their participation in society. Another objective of the Act is to promote equality, non-discrimination and positive interaction between different population groups

The current Integration Act has been amended (comprehensive reform of Integration Act, KOTO24) to meet the requirements of Parliament regarding the promotion of immigrant integration (Report of the Audit Committee) and the changed operating environment. The new Act will replace the current Act with the same name. The new Integration Act (681/2023) will enter into force on 1 January 2025 at the same time as the TE services reform.

The new Integration Act (The Act on Promotion of Immigrant Integration 681/2023) (in Finnish)

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The goals and schedule of the reform of the Integration Act

KOTO24 contents and materials at integration.fi

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Frequently asked questions Frequently asked questions and answers about the comprehensive reform of the Integration Act.
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Actors and tasks The actors defined in the Integration Act and their tasks according to the law from 1 January 2025.
The municipality's integration program consists of services.
Integration program The integration program is a set of services organized by the municipality for the initial phase of integration. The aim of the services of the integration program is to promote the integration, employment or entrepreneurship, skills and working life skills of the immigrant.
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Reaching immigrants outside the labour force In this online material, methods of operation have been compiled, with the help of which immigrants who are outside the labor force would be reached more comprehensively than at present with services that promote integration after the comprehensive reform of the Integration Act.
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Koto-digi Provisions on the use of Koto-digi system services are laid down in the new Integration Act. Koto-digi supports integration customer work, improves data transfer and produces data on integration at the municipal, regional, and national levels.
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Materials to support the implementation of the comprehensive reform of the Integration Act The materials and useful links compiled on the page can support municipalities and other integration and refugee reception actors in the implementation of the comprehensive reform of the Integration Act (KOTO24). (The material will be translated into English soon.)

Materials are added and updated according to need and demand.

News about the reform of the Integration Act

Amendments to the Aliens Act to ease work-based immigration
16.2.2023 | News item
The amendments to the Aliens Act, which will streamline work-based immigration, will enter into force on 23 February 2023. The amendments will promote the application and decision-making process for work-based residence permits. The reform is part of a broader package that aims to reduce the average processing time of permits to a maximum of one month. The new provisions will increase the automation of the application process and introduce a certification for employers.
Government proposes to amend the Integration Act and the Reception Act to ensure services for those fleeing Ukraine
16.9.2022 | News item
There are more than 38,000 people in Finland who have sought temporary protection having fled Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. The Government has proposed amendments to the Integration Act and the Reception Act in order to ensure services for beneficiaries of temporary protection who have fled Ukraine. The amendments would make it possible to pay compensation to municipalities and wellbeing services counties for organising services, for example.
New Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration would speed up integration and employment of immigrants – Consultation round begins
2.5.2022 | News item
The objective of the legislative proposal is also to promote social inclusion, health and wellbeing of immigrants, to increase equality and to strengthen good relations between population groups. According to the proposal to be sent out for comments, services promoting integration would be organised as part of the municipal integration programme and other services. 

Events related to the comprehensive reform of the Integration Act (KOTO24)

The Centre of Expertise in Immigrant Integration aims to publish all events and training related to the comprehensive reform of the Integration Act (Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration), KOTO24, on the Finnish language KOTO24 page and event calendar on the kotoutuminen.fi website, as long as they may be published in a public online service. Some of the events may be limited to specific target groups or areas. Please check the target group and area when you register for an event.

Follow the TE/KOTO24 event page on the Job Market Finland website (in Finnish) and the events organised by the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities (in Finnish).

All events, regardless of the language used at the event, are published in the Finnish language event calendar on the kotoutuminen.fi website. Go to the Finnish language page to browse KOTO24-related events and training.

Read more about this topic (in Finnish)

Reform of the Integration Act – project page 

The Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration (681/2023)

Government report on integration 

Report of the committee: Functioning of integration

Report of the committee: Government report on the need for a reform in integration promotion services

Inquiries

Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment:
Hanna-Maria Hyttinen, Senior Specialist, Labour Migration and Integration Unit, [email protected]
Nea Brandt, Senior Specialist, Labour Migration and Integration Unit, [email protected]

KEHA Centre:
Laura Pajari-Xiang, Development Specialist, TE-Services and Integration Unit, [email protected]
Emine Karakan, Group Leader, TE-Services and Integration Unit, [email protected]

Association of Finnish Municipalities:
Maija Lehtimaa, Specialist, [email protected]

The KOTO24 contents at integration.fi are produced in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, KEHA Centre and the Association of Finnish Municipalities.