The Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration, which took effect at the beginning of the year, transferred the main responsibility for integration to municipalities.

From now on, learning about Finnish society and its norms will be an integral part of integration, and must be done in a language that immigrants know well.

The orientation stipulated by the law includes issues such as Finnish values ​​and legislation, work and study opportunities, and everyday life in the country.

"The goal is for immigrants to be prepared to function independently in Finnish society," says Eija Asikainen, who oversees working life and integration services for the eastern city of Joensuu.

More responsibility, less money

Municipalities have previously offered voluntary courses for immigrants about Finnish society, but the law has made orientation mandatory.

In addition, the law dictates a framework for orientation: social orientation must include 70 hours of teaching and self-study. Teaching must primarily be face-to-face and must take place in a language that the immigrant knows well.

It remains unclear how well municipalities will be able to meet the requirements of the law.

Project Manager Maija Niskavirta from the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities says that in many municipalities, employment and integration service personnel are just settling into their new positions.

"In general, resources for integration services are scarce in municipalities," says Niskavirta.

This year, the government cut the integration compensation paid by the state to municipalities and wellbeing services counties by 58 million euros.

Asikainen notes that municipalities are starting to build new integration services from very different starting points.

"In small municipalities, it is challenging to get groups together. The goal is for the orientation to be interactive, meaning that you can discuss things with other people," she told Yle.

In North Karelia, the problem has been solved by offering immigrants from smaller municipalities the opportunity to participate in training courses organised by the city of Joensuu.

This spring, Joensuu will offer orientation in English, Russian and Arabic.

Interpreters are available to assist with orientation if necessary. For more rarely spoken languages, training can also be arranged as distance learning.

Differences in immigrants’ technical skills

Pakistani Iffat Abraiz moved to Joensuu six months ago for university studies. Her husband, Hasnat Ali Awan, followed a few months later and is now looking for work.

The couple speaks fluent English, but have nevertheless encountered a language barrier several times.

"There is information on the internet, but many pages are still only in Finnish. For example, our bank's website only recently became available in English," says Hasnat Ali Awan.

Abraiz points out that electronic transactions can be difficult for some immigrants.

The law also takes this into account: if distance learning is not suitable for the immigrant for some reason, orientation must be offered as face-to-face instruction.

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