EU funding supports processing of work-based residence permit applications and asylum examination
The Finnish Immigration Service has used EU funding to, among other things, pay salaries to 11 senior administrative officers who process residence permit applications.
The Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) of the European Union has granted the Finnish Immigration Service EUR 4,2 million for its personnel costs in 2023–2026. Of this sum, the Permit and Citizenship Department receives operational support amounting to EUR 1,706,205. The sum covers the salary expenses of 11 senior administrative officers during the three-year period.
As of September 2024, funding has been allocated for paying salaries of staff members who process residence permit applications submitted on the basis of work or studies.
“With the help of EU funding, senior administrative officers have issued 1,239 decisions on work-based residence permit applications between September 2024 and the end of February 2025. During the same period, ten senior administrative officers whose work is funded have also processed and decided residence permit applications from family members of applicants who have applied for a work-based permit, issuing 53 decisions in total,” says Kaj Swanljung,Head of Branch at the Permit and Citizenship Department.
The total number of residence permit decisions issued by senior administrative officers between September 2024 and March 2025 in these operations is 1,344, which is 123 decisions on average per person.
Asylum examination facilitated with the help of EU funding
The Department for International Protection at the Finnish Immigration Service has used EU funding to facilitate asylum procedures. The aim is to ensure that asylum applications are processed without undue delays in compliance with the obligation to process them within six months.
Funding has been allocated to pay salaries to staff members working in the asylum process. AMIF funding has been used to cover the salary costs of 11 senior administrative officers and four assistant administrative officers.
“With the help of this funding, more than one thousand asylum decisions have been made, and almost 1,200 asylum interviews or hearings have been conducted, among other things,” says Juho Repo, Head of Branch at the Department for International Protection.
