Residence permits were most often issued on the basis of employment or family ties in the first half of 2014

The Finnish Immigration Service granted 7,887 residence permits between January and June 2014. The number was slightly higher than in the same period last year when the total number of residence permits issued was 7,487.

The number of positive decisions was 9 % higher than last year, and 83 % of all decisions were positive (2013: 74 %).

The highest number of permits was, even now, issued on the basis of employment or family ties. In total, 41 % of the permits were issued on the basis of family ties (3,250, Jan–June 2013: 3,155) and 35 % were issued for working (2,740, Jan–June 2013: 2,615).

The nationality groups with the highest number of residence permit applications were the same as in the first half of 2013. The highest number of residence permit applications was submitted by Russians (1,753, Jan–June 2013: 1,832), Indians (1,024, Jan–June 2013: 951) and Chinese (792, Jan–June 2013: 687).

Work-based permits were most often granted to Ukrainian and Russian citizens

Almost 60 % (1,730) of the work-based residence permit applications concerned such employment which requires a partial decision. A partial decision is made by a Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, which will first examine whether the work in question could be performed by employees within the EU.

The second highest number of residence permit applications (597) was submitted by persons employed as special experts, and the third highest number (281) by researchers.

The Finnish Immigration Service issued 1,510 residence permits for employed persons (Jan–June 2013: 1,513), 596 residence permits for persons employed as special experts (Jan–June 2013: 538) and 243 residence permits for scientific research (Jan–June 2013: 226). The figures are almost the same as last year.

The highest number of residence permits for employed persons was granted to Ukrainian (502) and Russian (286) applicants, whereas the highest number of residence permits for special experts was granted to Indians (444).

Online applications are most often submitted by students

The third highest number of residence permits, 1,652 in total, was granted to students (Jan–June 2013: 1,427). The peak season for students’ residence permit applications is typically in the middle of the summer and does not show in the statistics from the first half of the year. The number of residence permit applications submitted by students is expected to be a lot higher at the end of the year.

Students are the most active users of the e-service, and even this spring most of the residence permit applications for studies (74 %) were submitted electronically.

The e-service has considerably reduced the processing time for applications by students. Between January and June 2014, the average processing time for a residence permit application for studies was 22 days. The processing time was even shorter, 18 days, for residence permit applications submitted by special experts.

Improved method for compiling statistics on residence permits

In 2013, the Finnish Immigration Service made the method for compiling statistics on residence permits more accurate. Currently, the type of residence permit used in the statistics is based on the decision, not the grounds for the application. If the customer has, for instance, submitted the application incorrectly as “other relative of other foreign national”, but the grounds for the application have been corrected to “other relative of a recipient of international protection” when the decision is made, the decision is entered in the statistics according to the correct grounds for the application.

Therefore, some of the figures may differ slightly from the figures published in previous years. The differences in the statistics are, however, very small.

More detailed statistics available online

A more detailed report on residence permit matters between January and June 2014 can be found on the website of the Finnish Immigration Service www.migri.fiunder For the media > Statistics > Statistics on residence permits.

Further information for the media

Tiina Suominen, Director of Immigration Unit
tel. +358 295 430 431 , e-mail: firstname.lastname@migri.fi