Questions and answers about the integration services reform project

The reform aims to simplify and clarify training that promotes integration and language skills and the responsibilities for organising training. The responsibility for organising integration and literacy training for job-seeking integration clients would lie with the municipal employment authorities, which would organise the training as labour market training. The steering and central government transfer system for integration and literacy training in liberal adult education, which operates under the administrative branch of the Ministry of Education and Culture, would be dismantled except for funding for integration training in sign language. 

The amendments are based on an entry in Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's Government Programme, according to which training that promotes integration and language skills will be reformed and its funding will be brought under a single umbrella. Bringing the funding under a single umbrella would clarify and simplify the system, reduce overlapping funding and make the funding for integration training partly performance-based.

Municipal employment authorities would organise literacy training for job-seeking integration clients as labour market training. This would be a new task for municipalities. It has been estimated that approximately 800 new integration clients would require literacy training organised as labour market training each year.

In addition, municipal employment authorities would provide integration training for those job-seeking integration clients who have been directed to and currently participate in integration training in liberal adult education. Integration or literacy training would also be offered to those job-seeking integration clients who, at the age of 40 or older, have participated in basic education for adults and received unemployment benefits for self-motivated studies under the Integration Act. Organising integration training would not be a new task for municipalities, as they must already organise it, and funding has been allocated to it. Currently, most integration clients complete integration training as labour market training.

The proposal does not include any changes to training or services promoting integration and language skills for integration clients outside the labour force. The integration programmes of municipalities should continue to include other training and services that promote Finnish and Swedish language proficiency, literacy, social and working life skills as well as employment and entrepreneurship. These trainings and services would meet the needs of integration clients outside the labour force. For example, providers of liberal adult education institutions could continue to implement various flexible Finnish and Swedish language training and courses that promote literacy and other integration skills. The government proposal also aims to increase immigrants' responsibility for their own integration. In practice, this could include participating in language training subject to a fee, for example. 

Those selected for labour market training do not need to be jobseekers or unemployed. For this reason, clients outside the labour force can also be selected for integration or literacy training organised as labour market training if the implementation method suits them. 

The steering and central government transfer system for integration and literacy training in liberal adult education, which operates under the administrative branch of the Ministry of Education and Culture, would be dismantled. Funding for integration training would be discontinued and funding for literacy training transferred to the Ministry of Finance as part of the funding for employment services under the central government transfer for basic municipal services. Currently, municipalities are paid for organising integration training in the central government transfer for basic municipal services and in the imputed specified transfer. As part of the imputed specified transfer, funding is paid for integration training organised as labour market training, which is aimed at persons referred to in section 2, subsections 3 and 4 of the Integration Act (persons entitled to international protection and those treated as such). This funding, included in the imputed specified transfer, would be transferred to the funding of employment services under the central government transfers for basic municipal services. Instead of the current three funding channels, the funding for integration and literacy training would be brought under a single umbrella, i.e. the central government transfer for basic municipal services administered by the Ministry of Finance.

Municipalities are already responsible for organising integration training for integration clients, and municipalities have also been allocated funding as part of the central government transfer for basic municipal services and the imputed specified transfer. However, some of the integration clients covered by this funding attend integration and literacy training in liberal adult education, where completed trainings are fully funded through central government transfers. This funding, EUR 6.927 million at the 2027 level, overlaps with the funding granted to municipalities for organising integration training. 

Going forward, municipal employment authorities would be responsible for organising literacy training. This change would require additional funding for municipalities, as it would be a new task for them. EUR 3.1 million would be added to the central government transfer for basic municipal services for organising literacy training. This corresponds to the current estimate of central government funding for literacy training, which is targeted at providers of liberal adult education institutions. The funding would be allocated to municipalities based on the foreign language criterion as part of the central government transfer for basic public services. Currently, the Ministry of Education and Culture funds training included in the integration plan organised by liberal adult education actors, including literacy training. The funding increase would be implemented by reallocating to municipalities the estimated share of central government funding for literacy training targeted at liberal adult education actors (EUR 3.1 million).

The proposal does not include any changes to literacy training implemented in the literacy stage of basic education for adults.

The objective of making the funding for integration training partly performance-based is included in the Government Programme. Centralising the funding for integration training under the central government transfer for basic municipal services would increase the partial performance-based nature of the funding, as the incentive effects of the central government transfer system would apply more extensively to integration and literacy training in addition to the current integration training organised as labour market training. Municipalities could also build separate performance-based elements for the funding of integration and literacy training organised as labour market training, for example by paying fees to the education service provider for desired results, such as student employment or enrolment in specific types of further education.

Municipal employment authorities should provide integration training for those job-seeking integration clients who have been directed to and currently participate in integration training in liberal adult education or who, at the age of 40 or older, have participated in basic education for adults and received unemployment benefits for self-motivated studies under the Integration Act. This would not be a new task for municipalities, as they must already organise integration training, and funding has been allocated for its implementation. As a result of the proposed changes, an estimated 1,800–2,900 new integration clients would be directed to integration training organised as labour market training each year.

According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, literacy training organised as labour market training would be offered annually to approximately 800 new integration clients. 
Integration clients directed to integration and literacy training organised as labour market training are located throughout Finland, so the impact on individual employment authorities is expected to be relatively minor. In any case, the annual number of integration clients varies due to changes in the total number of immigrants, for example. 

The Government has decided on fiscal consolidation measures of several billion euros. The savings and consolidation measures will affect a wide range of administrative branches, and funding for promoting integration, for example, has also been cut during this administration. However, no cuts would be made to the funding for integration training in the proposal. Instead, savings would be directed at other funding for the promotion of integration. The total funding for integration training would be reduced by EUR 6.927 million by addressing overlapping central government funding for the provision of integration training. This would be done by dismantling the steering and funding system for integration and literacy training in liberal adult education administered by the Ministry of Education and Culture. 

Municipalities would receive funding for their new task of organising literacy training, amounting to EUR 3.1 million. 

Flexible ways of implementing integration training would be promoted, and in accordance with the Government's decision in the autumn 2025 budget session, full- or part-time work alongside integration training would be enabled by additional funding of EUR 2 million in line with the Government Programme, which would be allocated to municipalities as part of the funding for employment services under the central government transfer for basic public services.

The organisation of Swedish-language integration training would be strengthened by transferring EUR 300,000 of funding from item 32.50.03 (Promotion of integration and labour immigration) to the central government transfer for basic public services.

In addition, the Ministry of Education and Culture would grant EUR 2.273 million per year to liberal adult education actors in 2027 and 2028 as fixed-term transitional funding.

A total of EUR 400,000 would be allocated annually to sign language integration training as a discretionary government transfer to a liberal adult education institution whose educational mission in the authorisation to provide education includes integration training in sign language The discretionary government transfer would be granted by the Finnish National Agency for Education. The funding amount would correspond to the amount granted for sign language integration training in 2025. Municipalities would not be obliged to organise integration training in sign language. 

The proposed change will dismantle the steering and central government transfer system for integration and literacy training in liberal adult education. This means that integration training would no longer be organised in liberal adult education and that the training provided by folk high schools under section 5, subsection 2 of the Act on Compulsory Education would also end. This training has been carried out in same study groups as integration training for adults, and it has been funded from liberal adult education funding earmarked for integration training. According to the Koski database, 25 compulsory education students participated in the training as of the reporting date of 20 September 2025. 

Compulsory education students who have completed basic education and lack sufficient Finnish or Swedish proficiency to complete post-basic education could study in basic education for adults in line with the current practices. Municipalities can organise basic education for adults by their own decision without a separate license, while private education providers need a licence to provide education. 

Going forward, liberal adult education institutions would not receive direct central government funding for the provision of integration or literacy training. However, they could implement the training either as a municipal educational institution or by participating in a competitive tendering process carried out by the employment authority.

Municipal employment authorities can choose the method of providing integration and literacy training. If the municipality decides to organise the training by itself, the municipality will allocate funding to the educational institutions it owns, such as folk high schools, general upper secondary schools for adults or vocational schools. If the municipality decides to procure the training as an outsourced service, i.e. through competitive tendering, the municipality will allocate funding to the education providers that won the tendering process. The utilisation of municipal in-house units (in-house procurement) is also possible. 

Without the proposed changes or savings measures, a total of EUR 10.427 million would have been allocated to organising integration and literacy training in liberal adult education through central government transfers in 2027. This funding system would be dismantled, and no central government transfers for integration and literacy training would be granted to liberal adult education actors. 

A comprehensive reform of training that promotes integration and language skills will be implemented in line with the Government Programme, which includes the objective of bringing funding under a single umbrella. Municipalities are already responsible for organising integration training. In connection with the employment service reform, the responsibility for organising employment services was transferred from the central government to municipalities. Municipalities also have overall responsibility for promoting integration. Liberal adult education actors could participate in the provision of integration and literacy training organised as labour market training, depending on the production method (procurement, self-production, in-house) selected by the municipal employment authorities. Currently, in some employment areas, integration training organised as labour market training is provided by a liberal adult education institution. In addition, liberal adult education institutions could continue to organise training and courses in different formats and durations and for different target groups to promote Finnish and Swedish language, literacy and integration. Going forward, participation in these courses could be supported with unemployment benefits as self-motivated studies under the Integration Act.

The funding for the transition period from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2028 is EUR 2.273 million per year. In the future, the responsibility for providing integration training and literacy training would lie solely with the employment authorities, but the transitional funding could be used to organise other training that promotes integration. Of this funding, EUR 1.3 million is intended to ensure and adjust the provision of Swedish-language training promoting integration and liberal adult education activities, EUR 573,000 for Finnish language or other training promoting integration in Finnish, and EUR 400,000 for central organisations promoting liberal adult education. As outlined in the appointment decision for the integration services reform project, the transitional funding would support the objective of securing the role of folk high schools as part of integration services. The transition period would strengthen the ability and opportunities of liberal adult education actors to participate in the provision of integration and literacy training in a model where the overall responsibility for organising the training lies with the municipal employment authorities.

Employment authorities and municipalities should plan the transition phase together with liberal adult education actors in the region. This should include examining the number of integration clients in the region who, without the reform, would have continued their studies or started integration or literacy training at a liberal adult education institution in early 2027. In practice, the options may include transitioning to literacy or integration training organised as labour market training, studying at a liberal adult education institution (training funded at 57% or 65% through central government transfers to liberal adult education providers or other training promoting integration funded with a transitional government grant from the Ministry of Education and Culture, such as other Finnish/Swedish trainings promoting literacy) or attending other Finnish/Swedish courses, basic education for adults in the absence of basic education or TUVA training, for example, if the client's language skills are more advanced. Participation in other services promoting employment may also be possible. For job-seeking integration clients, the employment authority assesses the suitable training or service as part of the integration process. For other than job-seeking clients, the assessment is made by the municipality. 

The objectives and contents of integration training would be clarified. In addition to the current language objectives, the Integration Act would contain provisions on other, more general objectives and the monitoring of integration training. The concept of integration training would also be clarified to always mean training organised as labour market training in line with the National Core Curriculum for Integration Training. At the moment, basic education for adults and literacy training in liberal adult education can also be called integration training, which blurs the concept. 

The role of literacy training in serving job-seeking integration clients with poor reading and writing skills would be strengthened by specifying the objectives, content, monitoring and organisation of literacy training in the Integration Act. In addition, the Finnish National Agency for Education would establish the National Core Curriculum for Literacy Training, which would improve the quality of literacy training and harmonise its implementation.

Due to the dismantling of the steering and central government transfer system for integration and literacy training in liberal adult education, participants in these trainings would no longer receive unemployment benefits for self-motivated studies under the Immigration Act, as the trainings would no longer be organised. Similarly, literacy training in liberal adult education could no longer be supported under the Act on the Organisation of Employment Services. Sign language integration and literacy training for the deaf and hearing impaired could be supported as self-motivated studies.

Going forward, the studies of integration clients under the age of 40 – or older clients for a justified reason – in basic education for adults could be supported with unemployment benefits as self-motivated studies under the Integration Act. Studies started by integration clients aged 40 or over before the entry into force of the Act could, however, be supported until the end of the studies. 

No changes are proposed to the other prerequisites for supporting self-motivated studies under the Integration Act. For example, attending other trainings organised by liberal adult education actors that promote Finnish or Swedish skills, literacy and integration could still be supported based on the Integration Act if the prerequisites for support are met. 

The aim of the upper age limit is that in the future, most of those entering basic education for adults with unemployment benefits would be young integration clients, for whom studying in basic education and improving academic skills is justified from a labour policy perspective in terms of completing upper secondary and higher education studies and future careers. The aim is that clients aged 40 or over would primarily be directed to integration training organised as labour market training or to literacy training, if necessary, which would be a more workplace-oriented option and could speed up the acquisition of language skills and other competence needed in working life.

A total of EUR 46.8 million in funding would be cut at the 2027 level.

As per the Government Programme, the comprehensive reform of training that promotes integration and language skills seeks to achieve savings of EUR 15 million. In addition, the proposal aims to achieve the EUR 1.8 million savings agreed in the General Government Fiscal Plan for 2025–2028 in spring 2024 by reducing the imputed specified transfer paid for persons aged 18 or over from 2027 onwards. The proposal would also implement the savings of EUR 30 million decided in the autumn 2025 budget session.

Funding for training that promotes integration and language skills would be reformed. In the future, the funding for integration training would be under a single umbrella, the central government transfer for basic municipal services, which would also include the funding for literacy training.

The proposal would implement the cost-saving measures decided for funding the promotion of integration. Only some of the savings could be achieved by addressing the overlapping funding for integration training. Therefore, some of the cost-saving measures would target other funding for the promotion of integration received by municipalities, wellbeing services counties and the health and medical care authorities of the Åland region. To implement these savings, the proposal would amend the Integration Act by revising and repealing certain provisions on the reimbursement of costs. 

Central government transfers for the organisation of multidisciplinary cooperation promoting integration would be discontinued. In addition, reimbursement for costs arising from supplementary or preventive social assistance, from preparing for reception and from services and support measures provided to victims of human trafficking would be ended. Ending reimbursement for costs arising from supplementary and preventive social assistance and from services and support measures provided to victims of human trafficking would not result in savings for the public sector, as their funding would be transferred to wellbeing services counties, but savings would be achieved by the resulting reduction in administrative work. 

A significant part of the savings would be realised by reducing the imputed specified transfer paid to municipalities, wellbeing services counties and the health and medical care authorities of the Åland region.

• Ending reimbursement for reception preparation costs: EUR 0.9 million
• Discontinuing central government transfers to municipalities for organising multidisciplinary cooperation promoting integration: EUR 2 million
• Addressing overlapping funding for integration training: EUR 6.927 million
• Preparing an integration plan in connection with the assessment of skills and service needs related to integration: EUR 1.8 million
• General reduction to the imputed specified transfer paid to municipalities, wellbeing services counties and the health and medical care authorities of the Åland region: EUR 35.173 million.

A total of EUR 46.8 million would be saved.

Reimbursement for reception preparation costs would be ended as part of the Government's savings targets. Ending the reimbursement would result in estimated savings of EUR 0.9 million.

Ending the reimbursement may affect municipalities' willingness to receive quota refugees and to conclude an agreement with the Economic Development Centre on the reception of quota refugees in the municipalities.

Ending reimbursement for costs arising from supplementary and preventive social assistance (section 63 of the Integration Act) and from services and support measures provided to victims of human trafficking (section 68 of the Integration Act) would reduce administrative work in wellbeing services counties. 

Applying for reimbursement creates administrative work for wellbeing services counties in many ways. Compiling reimbursement applications, especially for the costs of services and support measures for victims of human trafficking, is often an administratively complex process to gather information on the granted services and support measures and their costs. Several documents, such as statements on health and social welfare measures, must be attached to the reimbursement claim. 

Reducing administrative work would also contribute to the Government Programme's objective to promote healthcare and social welfare professionals' possibilities to focus on direct care and to reduce the amount of written work required of them, such as statutory statements and various certificates.

Ending reimbursement for costs arising from services and support measures provided to victims of human trafficking is not expected to affect immigrants or the services provided to them, as it does not remove their right to receive service. 

Although wellbeing services counties, municipalities and the health and medical care authority of the Åland region may apply for reimbursement under the Integration Act for measures and services organised for the special needs of victims of human trafficking, the obligation to organise these services is not linked to reimbursement under the Integration Act. Wellbeing services counties and municipalities must organise the services for their residents regardless of whether the Economic Development Centre reimburses the costs incurred for the service. Wellbeing services counties do not have separate services for victims of human trafficking. Instead, health and social services are provided based on the client's personal needs.

Municipalities and wellbeing services counties are obliged to organise the services their residents need even if the reimbursements under the Integration Act are ended.

Funding at the current level (EUR 700,000) would be transferred to the basic funding of wellbeing services counties as a result of the reform.

Ending reimbursement for costs arising from supplementary and preventive social assistance would not have an impact on the livelihood of immigrants. The proposal would not change the individual's right to supplementary or preventive social assistance if necessary.

Going forward, municipalities would no longer receive central government transfers for multidisciplinary cooperation promoting integration, and correspondingly, the obligation to organise it would be removed. Discontinuing the central government transfers may, at least to some extent, influence how municipalities continue to develop and organise multidisciplinary cooperation, centres of expertise and similar activities. It has been estimated that discontinuing central government transfers for multidisciplinary cooperation promoting integration would achieve savings of EUR 2 million.

The proposed changes to reimbursements under the Integration Act are not expected to have an immediate impact on the livelihood of immigrants, as the reimbursements are not paid to immigrants but to municipalities and wellbeing services counties as well as to the health and medical care authorities of the Åland region. However, cuts to municipalities and other actors could reduce funding for services promoting integration, which could have an impact on the organisation of services and thus immigrants.

The immigrants' responsibility would be increased by clarifying the objectives specified in the Integration Act, laying down provisions on the binding nature and obligations of integration, enhancing the immigrants' responsibility and obligations in a cross-cutting manner in the Integration Act and streamlining the tasks of municipalities.

In addition, it is proposed that an integration plan for persons referred to in section 2, subsections 3 and 4 of the Integration Act (persons entitled to international protection and those treated as such) be drawn up based on the assessment of skills and service needs related to integration, unless it is clearly unnecessary. This integration plan should at least include an agreement on participation in multilingual civic orientation and in integration, literacy or self-motivated training, unless it is clearly unnecessary. The amendments strive to make integration more binding and to further accelerate the early stages of the integration process and the referral to services that promote integration.

The aim is to ensure that integration is possible in both national languages in accordance with the Government Programme. The goal of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's Government Programme is for about 5–10 per cent of immigrants to integrate in Swedish. The authorities must provide clearer information on the possibility to integrate in Swedish, and immigrants must be able to choose the integration language. This objective will be promoted by various means, including giving equal consideration to Finnish and Swedish in statutory objectives as well as services promoting integration and their objectives. A total of EUR 300,000 would be added to the central government transfer for basic municipal services to organise integration training in Swedish. Municipalities are already responsible for organising Swedish-language integration training, as they must provide integration training that matches the needs of the integration clients living in the municipality.

In addition, EUR 1.3 million would be allocated to the provision of Swedish-language training promoting integration in liberal adult education during the transition period from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2028.  

Municipalities are already responsible for organising Swedish-language integration training, as they must provide integration training that matches the needs of the integration clients living in the municipality. Municipalities receive central government funding for the organisation of integration training. Going forward, municipalities would also be responsible for implementing literacy training as labour market training. Municipal employment authorities can choose the method of providing integration and literacy training. They can also utilise liberal adult education institutions that have experience in organising integration and literacy training in Swedish. 

Economic Development Centres would no longer monitor the availability, quality and impact of early-stage integration services provided to integration clients outside the labour force. In addition, the section on the regional cooperation group for promoting immigration and integration would be repealed. 

The government proposal does not include any changes to the statutory tasks of the KEHA Centre. Going forward, the KEHA Centre would have to manage client data related to literacy training organised as labour market training and to produce related monitoring data. The legislative proposal would require some information system development at the KEHA Centre. The proposed changes to imputed specified transfers and to certain reimbursements for special costs would reduce the administrative and payment-related work of the KEHA Centre.  

The Government Integration Programme would be abolished and the relevant section repealed. In the future, the national objectives for promoting integration for each administration would be confirmed by the Government on a proposal from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, and the objectives would be prepared in cooperation with other ministries and any other key actors promoting integration. The inter-ministerial cooperation body would also be abolished. In its place, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment would appoint a cooperation group consisting of key actors, such as ministries and municipalities, to support the implementation of its tasks. 

Section 47 concerning the coordination of municipal services promoting integration would be repealed. Coordination would be considered part of the multidisciplinary planning of the implementation of services and the promotion of integration, which are laid down in other sections of the Integration Act.

Organising literacy training would be a new task for the municipal employment authorities. Going forward, organising integration training would be the sole responsibility of the employment authority, not the municipality. 

The early-stage service process under the Integration Act would be streamlined so that an integration plan would, as a rule, be drawn up in connection with the assessment of skills and service needs related to integration, if the immigrant requires integration services. 

In addition, it is proposed that an integration plan be drawn up based on the assessment of skills and service needs related to integration for persons entitled to international protection and those treated as such (persons referred to in section 2, subsections 3 and 4 of the Integration Act), unless it would be clearly unnecessary. This integration plan should at least include an agreement on participation in multilingual civic orientation and in integration, literacy or self-motivated training, unless it is clearly unnecessary. The amendments strive to make integration more binding and to further accelerate the early stages of the integration process and the referral to services that promote integration.