Finland’s inbound migration shrank by just over one-tenth in 2024, according to a new Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report highlighted by news outlet Verkkouutiset on 3 November. The drop ends a two-year post-pandemic rebound and places Finland among 13 OECD members—mainly in Northern and Central Europe—where inflows declined by double-digit percentages.
Family reunification remained the primary driver of permanent migration to Finland, while employer-sponsored entries slipped against a backdrop of slower economic growth and lingering labour-market uncertainty. By contrast, the United States saw a 20 percent surge in arrivals, underscoring divergent regional patterns.
![OECD Report: Immigration to Finland Fell More Than 10 Percent in 2024]()
Despite the contraction, overall immigration to Finland is still higher than it was in 2019. Demographers therefore caution against interpreting the figures as evidence of a structural turnaround: “What we see is a cyclical dip, not a demographic solution,” notes Professor Tuomas Martikainen of the Migration Institute of Finland. Finland’s rapidly ageing workforce means skills shortages persist in sectors such as IT, healthcare and construction.
The report rekindles debate over whether the government’s more restrictive visa and residence-permit policies—introduced in January 2024 and tightened again in May 2025—are inadvertently constraining much-needed talent flows. Business groups argue that while stricter screening helps national security, lengthy processing times for work-based permits continue to hamper competitiveness.
For global-mobility managers, the data underline the importance of early planning: companies seeking to relocate staff to Finland should file residence-permit applications well ahead of project start-dates and consider Finland’s new fast-track ‘specialist permit’, which promises decisions in two weeks for high-skill assignees who meet salary thresholds.
Family reunification remained the primary driver of permanent migration to Finland, while employer-sponsored entries slipped against a backdrop of slower economic growth and lingering labour-market uncertainty. By contrast, the United States saw a 20 percent surge in arrivals, underscoring divergent regional patterns.
Despite the contraction, overall immigration to Finland is still higher than it was in 2019. Demographers therefore caution against interpreting the figures as evidence of a structural turnaround: “What we see is a cyclical dip, not a demographic solution,” notes Professor Tuomas Martikainen of the Migration Institute of Finland. Finland’s rapidly ageing workforce means skills shortages persist in sectors such as IT, healthcare and construction.
The report rekindles debate over whether the government’s more restrictive visa and residence-permit policies—introduced in January 2024 and tightened again in May 2025—are inadvertently constraining much-needed talent flows. Business groups argue that while stricter screening helps national security, lengthy processing times for work-based permits continue to hamper competitiveness.
For global-mobility managers, the data underline the importance of early planning: companies seeking to relocate staff to Finland should file residence-permit applications well ahead of project start-dates and consider Finland’s new fast-track ‘specialist permit’, which promises decisions in two weeks for high-skill assignees who meet salary thresholds.
