Specialists working in Finland's integration sector have expressed deep concerns over the government's plans to overhaul the current system from the beginning of 2027.

The proposals, now in the feedback and consultation phase, were first revealed in the government's programme in 2023 but were then explained in more detail by a press release from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health in the first week of this year.

The new model would mean that people who move to Finland from abroad, but do not yet have employment, would no longer be entitled to the same level of unemployment benefit as native Finns, as is currently the case.

Instead, they will receive an 'integration support' benefit, a form of payment to be introduced under a wider reform of Finland's social security system.

"People integrate into Finland by working, and access to the job market requires sufficient skills in Finnish or Swedish. Integration support strengthens the incentives for immigrants to learn the language and, at the same time, their right to language training," Minister of Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen (NCP) wrote in the release.

Yle News understands that recipients of this integration support would receive 33.64 euros per day, which corresponds to roughly 90 percent of the amount received by other jobseekers.

Each recipient of integration support would remain at this rate for the first three years of their time in Finland unless they find a job or demonstrate a sufficient level of language skills in either Finnish or Swedish — effectively tying their unemployment benefit to their language skills.

The law change would also make it a legal obligation for municipalities to provide newly-arrived jobseekers with employment support services or language classes within six months of their registering as looking for work.

"The aim of the changes is to strengthen the meaning of work and language skills when integrating into Finland," the ministry's press release adds.

Yle News interviewed integration specialists from three of Finland's biggest cities to gauge their reaction to the government's proposals and to understand how the changes would affect immigrant jobseekers.

The three are Mari Taverne, who works as Service Director for the City of Tampere's International Talent Attraction and Migration unit; Suvi Lindén, Head of Migrant and Integration Services for the City of Vantaa; and Glenn Gassen, Director of Migration Affairs for the City of Helsinki.

"Serious questions concerning equality"

Despite the ministry's attempts to put a positive spin on the proposed changes in its press release, all three specialists interviewed by Yle News pointed out several problems arising from the plans.

Suvi Lindén of the City of Vantaa noted that while it is important for immigrants to learn the local language, find work as quickly as possible and contribute to Finnish society, the government's proposals "raise serious questions concerning equality".

"The proposal clearly states that it would place recently arrived immigrants, who are not yet integrated into the labour market and who have insufficient command of the national language, in a different position from other unemployed jobseekers," Lindén said, adding that the changes are unlikely to improve the status quo.

"I do not see how this new integration support would promote participation any more than the existing system," she said.

Mari Taverne of the City of Tampere echoed these views, noting further that the changes are likely to make an already difficult situation even more complicated and challenging for people newly arriving into Finland.

"I think the changes are quite overwhelming," she said. "All these benefits and rights and obligations for the customers will increase the need for guidance and counselling services provided by the municipalities, as people won't understand how the system works."

Glenn Gassen of the City of Helsinki pointed out that the capital region will be hardest hit by the changes, as Helsinki tends to receive the lion's share of Finland's newly-arrived jobseekers. In addition, he said, living costs in the capital are higher and therefore any changes that lower people's income or benefits will have an impact.

"At the same time, we have stronger symptoms of segregation than elsewhere. The

changes will rather increase social problems," Gassen said. "Integration needs support

and a receiving society. The government decided to look at only one part of it."

The unattainable carrot and the unavoidable stick

The government's plans can be broadly described as a carrot-and-stick approach, with newly-arrived immigrants rewarded for learning the language quicker, finding a job faster and integrating better — but the reform would also effectively punish people for failing to achieve any or all of these hard-to-reach goals.

Gassen told Yle News that the integration support benefit — which newcomers would receive for three years unless their circumstances change — corresponds to the most basic component of basic social assistance, Finland's last-resort form of financial aid.

He describes it as the "absolute minimum for living".

"In effect, the beginning in Finland will be much harder for those who are new, do not speak a national language and are in need of economic support," he said.

Suvi Lindén noted that the integration support benefit would leave recipients, and their families, on a very weak financial footing and could potentially lead to their further marginalisation.

"A proposal so fundamentally rooted in unequal treatment of people is deeply problematic and therefore should be amended," she said.

Although it is possible for someone in this position to reach the next level of jobseeker support within the proposed three year period, in order to do so they would need to demonstrate proficiency in either Finnish or Swedish to a B1.1 level.

Mari Taverne, of the City of Tampere, welcomes the language-learning incentive but she considers the B1.1 requirement an unrealistic target.

"It's too high. The level of A2.1 or A2.2 would be more realistic after even an intensive language course," she said. "There is a contradiction here, when the government is cutting the support from the municipalities to provide these services, so it's going to be even more difficult for individuals to reach that level."

Less funding, more responsibility

Each of the specialists interviewed by Yle News pointed out that the government's latest move comes on the back of first shifting the responsibility for providing integration services to municipalities, and then cutting their funding.

The latest proposed changes will mean that each municipality must provide integration support and/or language training within 6 months of an individual registering as unemployed, but meeting this objective will be immensely difficult for cash-strapped integration units.

"You cannot reduce funding and still expect better and more efficient services," Lindén said. "The government does not recognise that there is a difference in state-led migration policy and local level led integration policy. Integration processes need to be sufficiently funded."

Glenn Gassen estimates that the City of Helsinki's funding for providing integration services has been cut by about 50 percent during the current government's term in office.

"The government should understand that integration, foremost learning a local language and finding a job, needs effective support and resources," he said, citing Germany as an example of the importance of supporting and funding effective integration policies.

"For example, the employment rate of male refugees who arrived in Germany in 2015/16 is higher than the employment rate of native German men. In Germany, no one would question that integration services are needed," he added.

A constitutional question

The government's plans were reviewed by a cross-ministry working group of specialists, including representatives from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

The proposals were sent out for comment on 5 January, with interested parties given until 16 February to provide feedback on the plans via the lausuntopalvelu.fi online service.

Although still in the developmental stage, the government's stated objective is for the changes to take effect from 1 January 2027, with the new law only applying to people who move to Finland after that date.

Nevertheless, the information provided by the ministries so far has raised many questions.

For example, the specialists interviewed by Yle News wondered how and by whom an individual's language proficiency will be assessed; or which specific services will a municipality be legally required to provide within the proposed six month period.

However, the question that has swirled around the government's plans since they were first announced in 2023 relate to their constitutionality.

"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," Maija Dahlberg, Associate Professor of Public Law at the University of Eastern Finland, said at the time.

Silja Dahlgren, a Lawyer attached to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, replied by email to Yle News' question about whether the government's plans are in contravention of Section 19 (the right to social security) and Section 6 (equality) of the Finnish Constitution.

Dahlgren replied that in the draft proposal, the changes are considered to be in line with constitutional requirements, but added that the bill will be reviewed by a parliamentary committee once it passes the comment and consultation stage.

"The government considers it appropriate to ask for the Constitutional Law Committee’s statement once the proposal is passed to the parliament," she wrote.

Sending the wrong message

While the bill moves through the bureaucratic pipeline, Suvi Lindén of the City of Vantaa laments that the government's proposal "sends altogether the wrong message" to people thinking about re-locating to Finland for work.

"Integration does not happen in a vacuum. Yes, it requires active participation from the immigrant’s side, but also a welcoming and supporting environment, especially during the first years," she said, noting that Finland faces the twin challenges of a rapidly ageing but shrinking population.

In this context, she said, more immigration is needed if Finland will have "any kind of welfare state in the future".

"If we continuously push people to the “immigrant box” and label them as different, when most are here to make a life, to study, work, start a family, and want to be a part of this society, how are they ever to integrate to a society that does not welcome them?"

The All Points North podcast asked if Finland was making integration more difficult for foreigners. Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena, via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.