The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) warned on Monday that demand for foreign labour visas is cooling much faster than expected. In a press release summarised by Daily Finland, Migri revealed that only 9,593 first-time applications for work-based residence permits were filed between January and October 2025—about 29 percent fewer than in the same period of 2024. Applications from international degree students also dipped five percent year-on-year despite the government’s long-standing plan to double the number of foreign students.
Behind the drop is a cocktail of sluggish GDP growth, higher unemployment and global economic uncertainty that has made Finnish employers more cautious about recruiting abroad. Migri now projects just 11,000 first-time work-permit applications for the full calendar year and a similar volume in 2026. Even if the economy rebounds, officials say labour-market recovery—and thus foreign-talent demand—typically lags by up to 18 months.
![Finland’s Work-Based Residence Permit Demand Falls 29 % as Economy Slows]()
Student numbers are also feeling the squeeze from policy changes. A new €100 application fee introduced in January plus the full-cost pricing of tuition fees for non-EU/EEA students have cooled demand, reversing several years of double-digit growth in higher-education migration. Migri estimates 13,000–14,000 student-visa applications for 2025, down from more than 15,000 in 2024.
For mobility and HR managers, the data points to a more competitive landscape for residence-permit approvals—fewer applicants could shorten processing queues, but the shrinking pool of foreign talent may intensify salary bidding among companies that still need specialist skills. Organisations relying on project-based expatriates should revisit workforce-planning assumptions and build longer lead times into assignment schedules.
Practical take-aways include budgeting for higher minimum-salary thresholds that take effect on 1 January 2025 (€1,600 a month) and monitoring the forthcoming transfer of work-permit decision-making from regional TE Offices to Migri on 1 January 2025 for possible teething delays.
Behind the drop is a cocktail of sluggish GDP growth, higher unemployment and global economic uncertainty that has made Finnish employers more cautious about recruiting abroad. Migri now projects just 11,000 first-time work-permit applications for the full calendar year and a similar volume in 2026. Even if the economy rebounds, officials say labour-market recovery—and thus foreign-talent demand—typically lags by up to 18 months.
Student numbers are also feeling the squeeze from policy changes. A new €100 application fee introduced in January plus the full-cost pricing of tuition fees for non-EU/EEA students have cooled demand, reversing several years of double-digit growth in higher-education migration. Migri estimates 13,000–14,000 student-visa applications for 2025, down from more than 15,000 in 2024.
For mobility and HR managers, the data points to a more competitive landscape for residence-permit approvals—fewer applicants could shorten processing queues, but the shrinking pool of foreign talent may intensify salary bidding among companies that still need specialist skills. Organisations relying on project-based expatriates should revisit workforce-planning assumptions and build longer lead times into assignment schedules.
Practical take-aways include budgeting for higher minimum-salary thresholds that take effect on 1 January 2025 (€1,600 a month) and monitoring the forthcoming transfer of work-permit decision-making from regional TE Offices to Migri on 1 January 2025 for possible teething delays.
