Finland has seen a clear uptick in residence permit applications by foreign specialists, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) said on Monday.
In the first seven months of this year, the number of such applications more than doubled from the same period of last year, climbing to 1,627 from just 621 between January and July of 2021.
Migri said that such specialists include IT experts and employees with academic degrees, whose work in Finland requires special expertise.
The busiest month for such applications was June, when 345 applications were submitted – up by more than half from May.
June was when specialists, start-up entrepreneurs and their family members became eligible to apply for permits through a fast-track service. It promises decisions within 14 days, and allows approved applicants to move to Finland immediately.
Migri said that specialists are moving to Finland from Russia, India and China in particular. The agency suggested that the number of applications submitted by Russians this year reflects employees of Finnish companies who are transferring to work here. Most Finnish firms with operations in Russia have pulled out of the market in response to Moscow's attack on Ukraine.
"This year, the number of specialists moving to Finland is record-high. Last year's figures were already exceeded in July, and more applications keep coming in. We at the Finnish Immigration Service are pleased to say that despite the huge increase in incoming applications, we have been able to grant the residence permits within less than two weeks, often in an even shorter time," Deputy Director Elina Immonen said, citing increasing digitalisation.
This year, residence permit applications for specialists have been processed in nine days on average. Migri said it has been able to accelerate processing through improvements in automation.
"The feedback we have received has been very positive. Most customers have experienced the fast-track service as easy and fluent," said Kaj Swanljung, head of Migri's work and studies unit.
Last year, Migri processed a record number of applications for work-based residence permits, despite the pandemic. The service received more than 36,000 first-time residence permit applications, some 15,000 more than the previous year.