Immigration to Finland

The most common reasons for immigration to Finland are work, family reunification, study, asylum, return migration and the pursuit of a high quality of life. Immigration is linked to discussions about ethnicity, economic effects, employment, integration and political developments. It also addresses labour shortages, supports the ageing population and contributes to innovation.

Historically, Finland has been predominantly ethnically homogeneous, with native Finns forming the majority of the population. Traditional minority groups include Finland-Swedes, Sámi and Roma communities. Immigration has increased significantly over the last three decades, leading to greater ethnic diversity. Major immigrant groups in Finland include Estonians, Russians, Ukrainians, Iraqis, Chinese, Somalis, Filipinos, Indians and Iranians.

, Statistics Finland has published data on the foreign population using three different methods. The Finnish population includes persons of foreign origin and background, who make up 11.7% of the total population. In additional calculations, the proportion of persons born outside Finland is 10.9%. Persons with a mother tongue other than Finnish, Swedish or Sámi account for 11.4%.

History

Under Sweden Under Swedish control, soldiers, priests and officers from Sweden started to arrive in Finland. With them came also Walloons. During this time Romanis migrated from Sweden to Finland. Nowadays there are around 10,000 Finnish Kale in Finland.Vilkuna, Kustaa H. J.: Arkielämää patriarkaalisessa työmiesyhteisössä: rautaruukkilaiset suurvalta-ajan Suomessa. Helsinki: Suomen historiallinen seura, 1996. Many Germans, Norwegians, Danes, Swiss people, Poles, Dutch people and Scottish people settled in Finland during this period. Many big modern-day companies in Finland were started by these emigrants, including Finlayson, Fazer, Fiskars, Stockmann, Stora Enso and Paulig.

Grand Duchy of Finland (Russian control)

When Finland became under Russian rule as Grand Duchy in the 1800s, Russians, Jews, Tatars and during World War I Chinese people started moving to Finland. This established small Jewish and Tatar communities in Finland. There are around 1,800 Jews and 1,000 Tatars living in Finland. When Finland gained independence in 1917, majority of the Russians and Chinese left Finland.JYRKI PAASKOSKI: Vanhan Suomen donataarit ja tilanhoitajat – katsaus aatelisten lahjoitusmaatalouteen vuosina 1710–1811 - Genos 64 (1993), s. 138–152

After independence and WW1

Finland's first immigrants arrived in the years 1917–1922, thousands of Russians escaped to Finland as a result of the Russian Revolution. Many of them died in the Finnish Civil War. In the beginning of 1919, statistics showed there were 15,457 Russians in Finland, however the actual number was likely higher. The largest refugee flow was in 1922, when 33,500 crossed over the eastern border to Finland. The refugees were St. Petersburg Finns, Ingrian Finns, Karelians, officers, factory owners and nobles, among them was the cousin of the Romanov Family, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich. In 1921, after the Kronstadt rebellion, 6,400 seamen escaped over the frozen Gulf of Finland to Finland. Many of them integrated to the Finnish society, while others continued to Continental Europe. Between 1917 and 1939, 44,000 refugees sought asylum in Finland. In other estimates, between 1917 and 1939 as many as 100,000 sought security in Finland.Leitzinger, Antero (2008), Ulkomaalaispolitiikka Suomessa 1812–1972, Helsinki: East-West Books.

Immigrant statistics from 1924: + Foreign citizens Country 1924 Soviet Union 16,921 Sweden 4,080 Germany 1,645 Norway 457 Denmark 379 Switzerland 269 Total 24,451

World War II Immigrants from opposing sides of the war were sent to Internment camps and Nazi concentration camps in Nazi Germany. During the war, Ingrian Finns and Estonians migrated to Finland. Most of the people that did not manage to escape to the west were sent to the Soviet Union.Leo Yllö: Inkerin maa ja luonto. – Inkerin suomalaisten historia. Inkerin kulttuuriseura, Helsinki 1969 When Finland ceded parts of its territory to the Soviet Union, 430,000 people from there had to be evacuated. This was 12% of Finland's population at the time. When Finland annexed these parts back in the Continuation War, 260,000 of them returned home. After the Soviet Union annexed these parts again, the population there had to be evacuated yet again. These evacuees were housed and settled to the remaining parts of Finland by the state.Seppo Varjus: Vieroksutut evakot. Evakot: Ilta-Sanomien erikoislehti 3. joulukuuta 2015, s. 52–54. Helsinki: Sanoma Media Finland.

After WW2 Immigration after the war halted. The geopolitical state of the country and difficult economic situation did not attract immigrants. The number of foreign citizens during this time stayed stable, at 10,000. Between 1950 and 1975 it only grew by 1,000.

The immigration during the 1970s and 1980s consisted mainly of returning Finnish expats. Between 1981 and 1989, 70% of all immigration were Finns returning. In 1980, there were 12,843 foreign citizens. The largest groups were from Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and Denmark.

+ Foreign citizens in 1980 Country 1980 3,105 1,493 980 858 403 306 290 282 275 262 252 240 162 123 114 81 44 42 38 34 31 25 20 Other Europe 53 Americas 1,650 Asia 833 Africa 349 Oceania 157 No citizenship 340 Unknown 1

Refugee waves The first refugee wave to Finland after the wars happened when the 1973 Chilean coup d'état started. 200 Chilean refugees arrived in Finland during the 1970s. They were not welcomed warmly, as they were one of Finland's very first non-white minorities. Most of the original 200 refugees returned to Chile. In 2017 there were 1,000 Chileans in Finland.

The second, and much larger refugee wave happened when Vietnamese boat people came to Finland in the 1980s. Around 800 of them arrived. The Vietnamese community has grown into 10,817 by 2017. In 1990 after the breakup of Yugoslavia, thousands of refugees came to Finland, with most being Kosovars and Bosniaks. Immigrants from Yugoslavia now constitute the fourth or third largest immigrant group in Finland. They have established huge communities in Vantaa, Turku, Espoo and Närpes.

The most notable refugee waves are from Somalia and Iraq. The first Somalis arrived to Finland via the Soviet Union. The Somali-speaking population in Finland has grown from zero to 21,000 between 1990 and 2018. In 2017, 55% of Somalis in Finland were unemployed.

In 2014, Finland took 1,030 quota refugees, and an additional 3,651 people sought asylum. Of the asylum seekers, 1,346 were positive and 2,050 negative. Nearly one in two asylum seekers identity is not verified, mainly due to lack of passports. In 2008, 4,000 asylum seekers arrived in Finland. This grew to 6,000 in 2009, though it dropped to 4,000 in 2010. In 2011, 2012 and 2013 3,000 asylum seekers arrived in each year. The number grew to 32,400 in 2015, which was Europe's fourth largest in terms of population. It then dropped to 5,600 in 2016 and 5,100 in 2017.

On 13 September 2015, it was reported that the local authorities had estimated the flow of 300 asylum seekers per day entering via the northern land border from Sweden into Tornio, which is the main route of migration flow into Finland. The total number of asylum seekers for the year was reported to be over 2.6 times the total amount for the whole of the previous year. During October 2015, 7,058 new asylum seekers arrived in Finland. In mid-October the number of asylum seekers entering Finland during 2015 reached 27,000, which is, in relation to the country's size, the fourth-largest in Europe. In late November, the number passed 30,000, nearly ten-fold increase compared to the previous year.

More than 60% of asylum seekers who arrived during 2015 came from Iraq. In late October, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) changed its guidelines about areas in Iraq which are recognised as safe by the Finnish authorities, putting Iraqi asylum seekers under closer scrutiny. The Interior Minister Petteri Orpo estimated that two in three of recent asylum seekers come to Finland in hopes of higher standard of living. In November, the Permanent Secretary of the Interior Ministry stated that approximately 60–65% of the recent applications for asylum will be denied.

In 2017, hundreds of Muslim asylum seekers from Iraq and Afghanistan converted to Christianity after having had their first asylum application rejected by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri), in order to re-apply for asylum on the grounds of religious persecution.

+ Asylum seekers 1990–2019 Country 1990–2019 Iraq 33,448 Somalia 11,007 Yugoslavia 10,708 Afghanistan 9,504 Russia 8,101 Bulgaria 3,504 Syria 3,235 Iran incl. (Kurdistan province) 3,172 Slovakia 2,896 Turkey 2,813 Nigeria 1,960 Romania 1,953 Poland 1,603 Albania 1,569 Ukraine 1,088 Belarus 1,034 Algeria 1,030 Other 18,403 Total 117,028

Other refugee groups have arrived from Eritrea, Lebanon, DR Congo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Georgia and Pakistan.

EU membership and the 1990s The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Since then immigration into Finland has greatly increased. By joining the Schengen Area, immigration to Finland has been easier. Finland allowed Ingrian Finns to migrate back to Finland as returnees. Since then, around 35,000 Ingrians have moved to Finland.

Finland joined the EU in 1995. This enabled freedom of movement. This has brought construction workers from France, Estonia and Poland.

Change in immigrant population of the EU 2004 and 2007 enlargement countries between 2003 and 2021: +41,837 +4,721 +4,464 +3,234 +2,524 +1,789 +1,499 +751 +419 +92 +63 +29 Total +61,422

During 2021, 2,368 Estonian citizens, 655 Romanian citizens, 604 Latvian citizens and 453 Polish citizens immigrated to Finland. A total of 4,954 people immigrated from the Eastern EU member states, 61% of all incoming EU immigrants and 18% of all immigrants.

Modern day

The most common reasons to immigrate to Finland are family reasons (32%), work (30%) and education (21%).

In 2017, hundreds of Muslim asylum seekers from Iraq and Afghanistan converted to Christianity after having had their first asylum application rejected by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri), in order to re-apply for asylum on the grounds of religious persecution.

In September 2022, Finland announced that it would not offer asylum to Russians fleeing mobilization.

Chronology of 2015 On 13 September 2015, it was reported that the local authorities had estimated the flow of 300 asylum seekers per day entering via the northern land border from Sweden into Tornio, which is the main route of migration flow into Finland. The total number of asylum seekers for the year was reported to be over 2.6 times the total amount for the whole of the previous year. During October 2015, 7,058 new asylum seekers arrived in Finland. In mid-October the number of asylum seekers entering Finland during 2015 reached 27,000, which is, in relation to the country's size, the fourth-largest in Europe. In late November, the number passed 30,000, nearly ten-fold increase compared to the previous year. In September, The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) estimated that processing time of an asylum application may be extended from normal six months up to two years. In late November, the reception centers were reported to be rapidly running out of space, forcing the authorities resorting to refurbished shipping containers and tents to house new asylum seekers. The Interior Minister Petteri Orpo estimated that two in three asylum seekers come to Finland in hopes of higher standard of living. In November, the Permanent Secretary of the Interior Ministry stated that approximately 60–65% of the recent applications for asylum will be denied. More than 60% of asylum seekers who arrived during 2015 came from Iraq.