Seasonal employers across Finnish Lapland breathed a sigh of relief on Monday, 5 January, as the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) reopened its Rovaniemi service point after a week-long holiday shutdown. The counter—one of only two Migri offices north of Oulu—handles biometrics for residence-permit renewals, EU registration and refugee travel documents for roughly 3,000 third-country nationals who staff ski resorts, hotels and battery-mineral projects during the peak winter season.
While the closure from 29 December to 4 January was planned for staff holidays and building maintenance, it forced applicants to travel up to 600 km south or wait for appointments in February, triggering concern among tourism and mining operators whose right-to-work deadlines were fast approaching. Migri has now introduced extended Thursday hours (08:00–18:00) through March and installed EU-funded self-service kiosks that scan passports and supporting evidence in minutes, cutting counter times by up to 40 percent.
The reopening comes just days after a nationwide fee hike raised electronic permanent-residence applications from €240 to €380 and first work-permit fees from €530 to €750. Employers warned that higher costs, combined with northern Finland’s limited appointment slots, could undermine Lapland’s appeal to foreign talent. Migri counters that the new hours and kiosks will clear the 1,100-case holiday backlog by mid-February and restore the 14-day biometric-capture target.
![Migri Reopens Rovaniemi Service Point, Eases Permit Bottleneck in Lapland]()
Visa facilitators such as VisaHQ report a spike in remote document-pre-screening requests from hotel chains and adventure-tour operators eager to avoid repeat trips for rejected paperwork. Mining firms developing battery-materials projects near Sodankylä say any delay in permit extensions risks pushing skilled drillers and geologists to Sweden, where residence-permit renewals are fully digitised.
For foreign employees who would rather not gamble on limited northern appointments, VisaHQ can coordinate end-to-end application packs, book the earliest available slots and submit digital copies directly to Migri, all through its dedicated Finland page (https://www.visahq.com/finland/). The platform’s multilingual advisers check forms against the latest fee schedules and biometric requirements, helping applicants cut down on travel and avoid costly resubmissions.
Migri will evaluate the Lapland pilot in March and may roll out longer opening hours to sparsely populated regions such as Kainuu and North Karelia. If successful, the initiative could become a template for tackling permit bottlenecks in remote labour-market hotspots across Finland.
While the closure from 29 December to 4 January was planned for staff holidays and building maintenance, it forced applicants to travel up to 600 km south or wait for appointments in February, triggering concern among tourism and mining operators whose right-to-work deadlines were fast approaching. Migri has now introduced extended Thursday hours (08:00–18:00) through March and installed EU-funded self-service kiosks that scan passports and supporting evidence in minutes, cutting counter times by up to 40 percent.
The reopening comes just days after a nationwide fee hike raised electronic permanent-residence applications from €240 to €380 and first work-permit fees from €530 to €750. Employers warned that higher costs, combined with northern Finland’s limited appointment slots, could undermine Lapland’s appeal to foreign talent. Migri counters that the new hours and kiosks will clear the 1,100-case holiday backlog by mid-February and restore the 14-day biometric-capture target.
Visa facilitators such as VisaHQ report a spike in remote document-pre-screening requests from hotel chains and adventure-tour operators eager to avoid repeat trips for rejected paperwork. Mining firms developing battery-materials projects near Sodankylä say any delay in permit extensions risks pushing skilled drillers and geologists to Sweden, where residence-permit renewals are fully digitised.
For foreign employees who would rather not gamble on limited northern appointments, VisaHQ can coordinate end-to-end application packs, book the earliest available slots and submit digital copies directly to Migri, all through its dedicated Finland page (https://www.visahq.com/finland/). The platform’s multilingual advisers check forms against the latest fee schedules and biometric requirements, helping applicants cut down on travel and avoid costly resubmissions.
Migri will evaluate the Lapland pilot in March and may roll out longer opening hours to sparsely populated regions such as Kainuu and North Karelia. If successful, the initiative could become a template for tackling permit bottlenecks in remote labour-market hotspots across Finland.
