The European Migration Network's Annual Report 2025: immigration to Finland declined, citizenship granted to a record number of applicants
Finland's unfavourable economic outlook and more stringent aliens legislation were reflected as a decline in immigration to Finland in 2025. The number of applications from employees, students and those seeking international protection went down, whereas applications submitted by family members were similar in number as in 2024. Work-based immigration started to increase again in early 2026, however.
The recent Annual Report on Migration and Asylum 2025 of the European Migration Network (EMN) contains information on these and other phenomena relating to immigration, while the Finnish Immigration Service's Maahanmuutto Suomeen review examines immigration phenomena in early 2026.
The EMN (the European Migration Network) is a research and information exchange network coordinated and funded by the European Commission. The EMN National Contact Point in Finland operates in conjunction with the Finnish Immigration Service.
Economic situation affects work-based immigration
The number of work-based residence permits issued has been declining in recent years. In 2025, 8,384 first work-based residence permits were issued, which is around 24% less than in 2024. The most significant decrease in granted permits was recorded in the social welfare and health care sector with a drop of 81% as well as in the construction sector with a 24% reduction.
However, work-based immigration has started to grow again this year. From January to April, the number of first applications for work-based residence permits and EU citizens' registration applications increased by 11% compared to the same period in 2025.
“The increased number of applications during the early part of the year is explained by ongoing industrial projects in Finland, for which international labour force has been recruited. The impact of these projects is particularly visible in applications for residence permits for employed persons," says Johannes Hirvelä, Director of Information Services.
The highest number of residence permits issued on the basis of family ties
In 2025, family ties were the most common grounds for issuing a residence permit. Whereas the number of first permits granted to employed persons and students decreased last year, permits based on family ties were the only category that saw an increase. Around 10% more first residence permits on the basis of family ties were granted than in 2024.
"A clear majority of family members apply for a residence permit on the basis of a spouse or custodian residing in Finland with a residence permit for an employee or a student. Asian countries stand out in residence permits based on family ties, and nationals of the Philippines, Sri Lanka and India were the most prominent among the applicants," says Hirvelä.
In the first third of 2026, the number of family members’ applications decreased significantly compared to the same period last year (-23%). In total, 5,772 first residence permit applications were submitted in the January–April period.
Number of asylum seekers remained low
The number of asylum seekers arriving in Finland continued to decline in 2025. Last year, a total of 2,549 asylum applications were submitted (2024: 2,948). Approx. 19% of them were subsequent applications.
The highest numbers of asylum applications were submitted by citizens of Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia in 2025.
"The number of asylum applications submitted in the EU has dropped since 2024. Among other things, this situation has been influenced by changes in various countries' push factors and the difficulty of entering the EU territory," Hirvelä explains.
This year, the number of asylum applications has remained at 2025 levels. In January-April 2026, a total of 589 first asylum applications were submitted.
Record number of citizenships granted
In 2025, a Finnish citizenship was granted to a record-breaking number of 14,703 people (2024: 13,973). The highest numbers of citizenships were granted to Russian, Iraqi, Afghan, Syrian and Somali nationals. The increase in the number of citizenship decisions is explained by the fact that the Finnish Immigration Service has made an effort to clear a backlog of citizenship applications submitted in previous years.
In 2024–2025, the government reformed the Nationality Act and imposed more stringent criteria for obtaining a Finnish citizenship. Before the first amendments to the Nationality Act entered into force, the number of citizenship applications broke all records in 2023–2024. In 2025, however, the application numbers dropped to the preceding years' level: a total of 11,237 applications were submitted, representing a decrease of 34% compared to 2024.
The number of citizenship applications has been declining in the early part of 2026. The monthly number of applications started to drop once the second-phase amendments to the Nationality Act entered into force on 17 December 2025. Despite the downward trend, however, the number of applications was 35% higher than in the early part of 2025.
Webinar on trends and phenomena of immigration
The European Migration Network (EMN) and the Finnish Immigration Service will organise a webinar titled Trends and phenomena of immigration 2025–2026 on Friday, 29 May 2026 at 10:00–11:00.
At this webinar, experts from the Finnish Immigration Service and the European Migration Network (EMN) will give an overview of both work-based and humanitarian immigration in 2025 and 2026. They will discuss both statistical trends and changes in immigration policy.
The EMN’s Asylum and Migration Overview - Finland 2025 and the statistical review titled Key figures on immigration will be presented at the webinar. Additionally, the Finnish Immigration Service's latest Maahanmuutto Suomeen (Immigration to Finland) review focusing on the first few months of 2026 will be discussed.
The opening remarks will be delivered by Johannes Hirvelä, Director of Information Services at the Finnish Immigration Service, and Rafael Bärlund, Director of the EMN National Contact Point in Finland. They will be followed by Senior Specialists Tuukka Lampi from the EMN and Iris Lawson Hellu from the Finnish Immigration Service, who will report on different phenomena relating to immigration, including work-based immigration, family reunification and international protection.
The webinar will be recorded and published on the Newsroom page of the Migri.fi service.
- European Migration Network's Annual Report on Migration and Asylum 2025
- Key figures on immigration 2025
- Maahanmuutto Suomeen 2/2026 (Immigration to Finland, only available in Finnish)
Media enquiries
- Director of Information Services, Johannes Hirvelä, firstname.lastname@migri.fi, 0295 433 037 (Finnish Immigration Service's phone number for media representatives)
- Director of the EMN National Contact Point in Finland, Rafael Bärlund, firstname.lastname@migri.fi, 0295 433 037 (Finnish Immigration Service’s phone number for media representatives)
