The new government programme includes a series of measures to tighten immigration policies, specifically aiming to reduce refugee quotas, tighten the conditions for obtaining residence permits and citizenship, as well as social benefits for immigrants.

Simultaneously, there will be a significant increase in immigration-related expenses, such as allocating additional funds for processing asylum applications.

In total, the government aims to achieve cost savings in immigration amounting to 160 million euros.

One of the primary means of achieving these savings would be through a new language supplement applied to unemployment benefits. The benefit would decrease by several euros for everyone, but it will be higher for those who have proficiency in Finnish or Swedish. This includes those who understand either language at least at a B1 level or have a comprehensive school diploma.

That level of language skill is mentioned in a background paper from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, but is not defined in the government programme. It is the level aimed for in language classes provided as part of immigrant integration courses.

According to the government's plan, individuals who have sufficient command of Finnish or Swedish will receive more money than those who do not speak the language or have weak language skills.

In practice, this means that immigrants will receive lower unemployment benefits than others.

According to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health's estimates, unemployment benefits without the language supplement would amount to just under 700 euros per month.

Experts surveyed by Yle said they believe that introducing the language supplement may violate the constitutional prohibition on discrimination. They also feared that the government program will create a negative attitude towards those who have moved to Finland and their children.

"According to the Finnish constitution, it is prohibited to discriminate between people without a valid reason, for example on the basis of age, language, origin or other personal grounds. The government should present an acceptable reason for putting people in a different position," said Maija Dahlberg, Associate Professor of Public Law at the University of Eastern Finland.

The bill will be submitted for evaluation to the Constitutional Law Committee of Parliament.

Minister of Employment Arto Satonen (NCP) defended the new initiative. In his opinion, language proficiency helps immigrants integrate into society.

"The idea is that knowing the local language, Finnish or Swedish, will help integration into Finland considerably and also improve employment opportunities," Satonen explained to Yle.

Would you like a roundup of the week's top stories in your inbox every Thursday? Then sign up to receive our weekly email.

EDIT 24.8.2023 Added background and attribution on the language skill level.