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A major step that is also evident as a bid to reviewing the immigration policies in the country is the recent proposal by the Finnish Government to parliament on the passing of new rules that require residence permit for employed persons to earn at least EUR 1600. This presentation was made on June 7, 2024 whereby the proposal is among other many strategies that the government has put in place to ensure that immigration in Finland is sustainable while protecting the country’s Economic and social well being.
Identifying some of the critical elements of the proposal of the feasibility study.
The provided income limit is aimed at preventing employment oriented residence permit applicants in Finland to become a burden on the country’s social welfare services. The condition to provide EUR1600 monthly income means the intention of the government to set a cap for attracting the skilled employees and ensuring that social support structures in Finland are protected from the abuse.
The proposal entails that the income threshold would only apply to the new applicants in the country who wish to be issued with the residence permits based on employment. It will go a long way to affect the employers and any would-be employee who is an immigrant from outside the European Union and seeking for a job in Finland to reside in.
Consequences of Implementing Strategies on the Employers and Employees
From the employers’ perspective, the new regulation means that they will need to guarantee that the offered salary for foreign employees corresponds to the minimum income rates. It may lead to higher operational costs, but at the same time, shows why it’s necessary to pay proper salaries to good people. Business may require the need to have a change in policies on recruitment or the set budgets to be able to conform to the new standards.
As far as the potential employees are concerned, there is a certain criterion defined in terms of income that is necessary to fulfill in order to obtain the residence permit in Finland. This could assist the persons interested in immigration to prepare adequately for their trip and be in a position to satisfy the essentials of qualify immigration.
Government’s Justification
The government has mentioned quite a few reasons as to why this income limit has been implemented. First of all, immigration should correspond to the economic needs of the country; thus, people who come to Finland for work, must be capable of sustaining themselves and contributing to the nation’s economy. Secondly, it is one link of several intended to avoid social dumping and to ensure that foreign employees have not been paid wages which keep them in a state of dependency.
Employment Minister Tuula Haatainen described the proposal as significant: “This income limit is a critical tool in guaranteeing that immigration policies are useful for the economic development and social welfare within this country; they ensure that appropriate employment procedures and systems are in place and social amenities are not abused. ”
Next Steps
Parliament has considered the proposal, and as it stands the proposal will undergo scrutiny in a parliamentary session before it can be passed as bill to join the list of enacted laws. If accepted, the new income limit will be implemented this year depending on the outcome of further debate.
Following the rises and challenges of globalization in the labor market, this proposal can be seen as a historic moment of developing the future of Finland’s workforce and its immigration policy.
Stay tuned to FinlandNews.Today for more details of this unfolding story and more news making headlines across the nation.
