Copyright: Finnish Government The objective of the reform is to attract international talent by streamlining the administrative procedures for processing residence permit applications based on work and education. This is expected to increase immigration of skilled workers and to improve the opportunities for international degree students to find employment in Finland. Consequently, the reform shall contribute to addressing labour shortages in specific sectors, notably by supplying experts, students and researchers in leading and growth sectors. The measure consists in an extensive cross-administrative project on improving immigration legislation (namely, amendments to Chapter 5 of the Aliens Act 301/2004) and shortening residence permit processes. Along with a reduction in the average number of days required for processing residence permit applications, a “fast-track” shall be created for growth entrepreneurs, specialists and their family members. The legislative reform is supported by an investment in digital infrastructure to ensure the readiness of the permit system and other information systems in the residence permit process to meet the needs of the work- and education-based immigration. The digital infrastructure shall include the following areas of development: new digital structures and functionalities; system integration and data transfer interfaces; system development related to the registration and processing of applications; implementation of the “Fast Track”; inter-sectoral knowledge-based management capabilities; customer guidance and instructions, communications and marketing that support the reformed process; improvements in usability and performance required by the reform, measures supporting deployment and increase in the automation code. The reform will be completed by 31 December 2024. A total of EUR 20 million in funding has been allocated to this project from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). More information can be found at the links below: https://tem.fi/en/promotion-of-migration-of-talents https://tem.fi/en/talent-boost-en ReferenceP3C1R3Project locations Finland Project websitehttps://tem.fi/en/promotion-of-migration-of-talents
