Cinerary urns in an undertaker’s office.
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Foreign nationals working in Finland will soon be able to move more freely between jobs if they are employed in one of nine professions listed by the government as suffering from acute labour shortages.
The decision marks a shift in how work-based residence permits function. Currently, such permits are tightly tied to a specific profession or even a specific employer. Under the new policy, people with valid residence permits will be able to switch into these shortage occupations without needing to apply for a new one.
The professions include general and specialist medical doctors, audiologists, speech therapists, nurses, practical nurses, dental hygienists, metal processing operators, funeral service workers, and firefighters.
Several of these occupations require special qualifications or licences. Despite that, the government wants to ease restrictions to ensure staffing gaps do not widen in essential services.
The Interior Ministry confirmed that these categories were chosen based on data on job openings, the number of trained professionals available, and regional employment needs. To be included, an occupation must typically have at least 50 open job listings and a pool of at least 500 trained workers. Smaller professional groups are excluded from the list altogether.
The list is reviewed and updated at regular intervals.
Most of the shortage categories are in the health and social care sector, but the inclusion of funeral services highlights growing demand in less conventional areas. Labour shortages in emergency response, such as fire services, have also been acknowledged.
Under the current system, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) uses a labour market test when evaluating work-based residence permit applications. The test checks whether the job could be filled within a reasonable time from the domestic or wider EU labour market before approving a non-EU worker. The new list bypasses that requirement for the named occupations.
The policy also addresses a growing concern around residency status when employment ends. The government has introduced legislative changes requiring faster departure from the country if a foreign worker becomes unemployed. The shortage list gives an exception pathway by allowing such individuals to switch to another field in demand and remain in Finland legally.
The new approach is part of the government’s broader reform of the Aliens Act. The focus is increasingly on prioritising labour migration into sectors experiencing persistent and wide-scale shortages while tightening controls elsewhere.
Officials say further changes to the law are forthcoming as part of the government’s long-term strategy to reshape Finland’s immigration policy to meet economic needs.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
