Immigration to Finland declined in 2025 as weaker economic conditions and tighter immigration policies reduced the number of people arriving for work, study and international protection, according to new figures released by the Finnish Immigration Service and the European Migration Network.
The annual review found that most major migration categories recorded lower application numbers last year, continuing a trend that emerged as Finland’s labour market slowed and the government introduced stricter immigration and citizenship rules.
Despite the overall decline in arrivals, Finland granted citizenship to a record number of people during the year.
The European Migration Network’s latest migration and asylum report showed that work-related residence permits continued to fall from the levels seen in previous years.
Finland issued 8,384 first work-based residence permits in 2025, a drop of around 24 percent compared with 2024.
The sharpest decreases were recorded in the social and healthcare sector and the construction industry. Residence permits issued for social and healthcare jobs fell by 81 percent, while permits linked to construction declined by 24 percent.
According to Johannes Hirvelä, Director of Information Services at the Finnish Immigration Service, economic conditions played a major role in the slowdown.
The report notes that labour migration has started to recover during the first months of 2026. Between January and April, applications for first work-related residence permits and registrations by EU citizens rose by 11 percent compared with the same period a year earlier.
Hirvelä said ongoing industrial projects in Finland have increased demand for international workers, particularly in sectors linked to large-scale investments.
While work and study permits declined in 2025, family ties became the most common basis for obtaining a first residence permit.
Family-based permits were the only major category to record growth during the year. Authorities granted about 10 percent more first permits on family grounds than in 2024.
Most applicants were joining spouses or parents already living in Finland under work or study permits. The largest groups of applicants came from the Philippines, Sri Lanka and India.
The trend shifted during the opening months of 2026. Family-based residence permit applications fell by 23 percent compared with the same period last year. A total of 5,772 first residence permit applications were submitted between January and April.
Asylum applications also remained at relatively low levels.
Finland received 2,549 asylum applications in 2025, down from 2,948 in the previous year. Around one in five applications were repeat claims.
Citizens of Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia accounted for the largest groups of asylum seekers.
Hirvelä said the decline reflects wider developments across Europe, where asylum application numbers have been falling since 2024.
The strongest growth was seen in citizenship decisions.
Finland granted citizenship to 14,703 people in 2025, the highest annual figure on record and an increase from 13,973 in 2024.
The largest groups receiving Finnish citizenship were citizens of Russia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia.
Officials said the record figure was driven largely by efforts to clear a backlog of applications accumulated in previous years.
At the same time, the number of new citizenship applications fell sharply.
A total of 11,237 citizenship applications were submitted in 2025, representing a 34 percent decline from the previous year.
The decrease followed a surge in applications during 2023 and 2024, when many applicants sought to submit paperwork before planned changes to citizenship legislation took effect.
The Finnish government introduced reforms to the Citizenship Act in stages during 2024 and 2025, tightening eligibility requirements.
According to the Immigration Service, monthly application numbers began falling after the second phase of the legislative changes entered into force in December 2025.
Even so, citizenship applications submitted during the opening months of 2026 remained 35 percent higher than during the same period a year earlier.
HT