Finland has fired the starting gun on the 2026 global talent race by reminding engineers, data-scientists and AI researchers that its “Fast Track” residence-and-work-permit can be approved in as little as 10–14 days.
According to new interviews published by Business Insider, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) is partnering with more than 30 growth companies—including Oura Health, Wolt and quantum-computing start-up IQM—as well as Aalto and Tampere Universities to market the programme in the United States and other major talent pools.
If you’re piecing together the paperwork from abroad, VisaHQ can step in to simplify the process. Its Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) outlines required documents, reviews applications for common errors, and can book biometric appointments on your behalf—helpful touches that keep the Fast Track truly fast.
![Finland courts global tech talent with 10-day “Fast Track” specialist visa]()
The Fast Track was created in 2022 but has been upgraded for 2026: applicants with a job offer paying at least €4,086 a month can file completely online, give biometrics on arrival, and bring spouses and children on dependent permits that are processed in parallel. Employers see the scheme as a hedge against immigration slow-downs in the U.S. and UK; Finnish officials pitch it as a gateway to EU free movement plus a Nordic lifestyle where the average work week is 37 hours and healthcare and education are taxpayer-funded.
The catch is compensation: engineers can expect salaries 20–30 percent lower than in Silicon Valley, and English-only newcomers sometimes find integration slow. Still, Migri says specialist-permit approvals rose 18 percent year-on-year in Q4 2025, and it expects a further bump as layoffs and visa uncertainty spread through big U.S. tech firms.
For mobility managers, the message is clear: if you need to relocate staff to continental Europe fast—and avoid Schengen visa queues—Finland now offers one of the quickest compliant pathways on the market.
According to new interviews published by Business Insider, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) is partnering with more than 30 growth companies—including Oura Health, Wolt and quantum-computing start-up IQM—as well as Aalto and Tampere Universities to market the programme in the United States and other major talent pools.
If you’re piecing together the paperwork from abroad, VisaHQ can step in to simplify the process. Its Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) outlines required documents, reviews applications for common errors, and can book biometric appointments on your behalf—helpful touches that keep the Fast Track truly fast.
The Fast Track was created in 2022 but has been upgraded for 2026: applicants with a job offer paying at least €4,086 a month can file completely online, give biometrics on arrival, and bring spouses and children on dependent permits that are processed in parallel. Employers see the scheme as a hedge against immigration slow-downs in the U.S. and UK; Finnish officials pitch it as a gateway to EU free movement plus a Nordic lifestyle where the average work week is 37 hours and healthcare and education are taxpayer-funded.
The catch is compensation: engineers can expect salaries 20–30 percent lower than in Silicon Valley, and English-only newcomers sometimes find integration slow. Still, Migri says specialist-permit approvals rose 18 percent year-on-year in Q4 2025, and it expects a further bump as layoffs and visa uncertainty spread through big U.S. tech firms.
For mobility managers, the message is clear: if you need to relocate staff to continental Europe fast—and avoid Schengen visa queues—Finland now offers one of the quickest compliant pathways on the market.
