The Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration entered into force on 1 January 2025. The objective of the Act is to promote immigrants’ employment or entrepreneurship, competencies and working life skills, the realisation of their inclusion and equality, and their health and wellbeing.
The Integration Act aims to provide all immigrants with basic information, guidance and advice about Finnish society, working life and services promoting integration. The Act also lays down provisions on municipalities’ integration programmes and the measures and services promoting integration included in these. The integration programme is a package of services designed for the initial stages of integration.
The Integration Act lays down provisions on integration measures and services intended for immigrants. An assessment of skills and the need for integration services is conducted to determine the competencies and employment, study and other integration skills of persons, their need for training and education and for the municipality’s or a service provider’s other services promoting integration as well as their need to take part in the activities of civil society organisations, associations or communities. The provision of integration services is based on immigrants’ individual service needs and on their family situation.
The Act also defines the duties and roles of the municipalities, employment authorities, wellbeing services counties, ministries and centres for economic development, transport and the environment (ELY centres), the Development and Administrative Centre for the ELY Centres and TE Offices (KEHA Centre), the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) and the regional state administrative agencies in promoting integration.
The Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration applies to all immigrants
The Integration Act applies to all immigrants residing in Finland who have a valid residence permit as referred to in the Aliens Act, whose right of residence has been registered or who have been issued with a residence card under the Aliens Act. The Act furthermore applies to citizens of the Nordic countries whose right of residence has been registered as agreed between the Nordic countries regarding registration of population. The Act applies irrespective of their reason for moving to Finland.
While all immigrants are entitled to receive basic information about Finland as well the low-threshold guidance and advice required under the Integration Act, individualised integration measures and services are determined together with the immigrant and their family on the basis of their needs.
Integration relies on families and communities
Besides promoting the employment of immigrants, the Integration Act focuses in particular on measures supporting the integration of families, children and young people. Their immediate network – home and family – have a key role to play in the integration process.
Each immigrant is a member of different communities and becomes a member of Finnish society. Participation and good relations between population groups are important to society as a whole, to its stability and public security. Immigrant participation in society and increasing dialogue between population groups are cross-cutting objectives of both the Integration Act and the Government Integration Programme.
Good to remember
- The Integration Act applies to immigrants meaning foreigners and stateless persons who have a residence permit, right of residence or a residence card.
- The Integration Act therefore does not apply to asylum seekers or other persons applying for their first residence permit before the permit has been issued. The Integration act also does not apply to persons staying in Finland on visa, or persons who are exempted from visa requirements.
- The Integration Act does not apply to Finnish citizens (unless they become subject to the legislation on victims of human trafficking) or to persons with dual nationality if they have Finnish citizenship.
- The Integration Act does not apply to a child if one of the parents is Finnish, and the child has been granted Finnish citizenship.
For more information on the objectives and scope of application of the Integration Act, please see sections 1 and 2 of the Act.
Further information:
The Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration (in Finnish)
Reform of the Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration
