HS Analysis | Get out of Finland if you can’t find a job in three months – The disputed reform is not really radical

The government ajama has received the so-called three-month rule for those who moved to the country after work exceptionally broad review. In the opinion round, the proposal was rejected by, among others, both employer and employee organizations.

A person who came to Finland from outside the EU with a work-based residence permit should find a new job within three months in the future if he or she is dismissed or resigns from his or her job. If a new job is not found within three months, the process of revoking the residence permit and removal from the country can begin.

For those who have been in Finland for more than two years and for special experts, the time limit is six months instead of three months in the presentation.

In the light of the statistics and the examples of reference countries, the proposal is not as radical as one might conclude from the public robbery. However, the images created by the performance are also important.

The government the goal is to encourage unemployed immigrants to quickly find a new job. According to the business community, too strict a rule weakens Finland’s attractiveness in the eyes of foreign experts.

The government’s proposal largely follows the line of the other Nordic countries. In Sweden, the three-month rule applies to all those who came with a work-based residence permit. In Norway and Denmark, the time limit is six months.

For example, the Finnish Confederation of Business and Industry EK defends many of the government’s working life actions using Sweden as an example. In this matter, however, EK does not miss the example of Sweden.

Thus, the government’s reform differs from other Nordic countries in that in Finland the obligation to notify the end of the employment relationship is falling to the employer instead of the employee.

Others Of course, the practices of the Nordic countries are not automatically the best solutions for Finland. Many may understandably think that three months is an unreasonably short time to find a new job.

However, based on the Vatti report of the State Economic Research Center, very few people living in Finland with a work-based residence permit are unemployed for more than three months. In the years 2018–2020, the share of those who were unemployed for more than three months was approximately 1–2 percent each year.

Based on the report, the law change would affect a fairly small number of people. In addition, for special experts and those who have stayed in the country for more than two years, the time limit is six months instead of three months.

Even after the time limit has expired, possible removal from the country does not take place immediately. The process to cancel a residence permit takes time. If the unemployed person manages to find a new job during that time, he can get a basis for a new residence permit.

The government the change being driven is therefore not exceptional. Even in the government’s draft presentation, it is still stated that the images created by the presentation also have effects.

“The presentation may cause negative images of the position of employees and Finland’s landscape as a destination for skilled immigration, which has been the subject of a lively public debate, especially after the publication of the government program in the summer and fall of 2023,” the draft presentation says.

The new EU directive sets a time limit of three months for those who have stayed in the country for less than two years and six months for those who have stayed for more than two years. Member states can still, if they wish, provide for looser time limits, as Finland intends to do with special experts.

If the government wanted to exclusively increase work-based immigration, it would probably loosen the time limits from the planned ones. It is unlikely, because the Basic Finnish people are not enthusiastic about accelerating work-related immigration.