Working group to prepare language allowance for labour market support and integration assistance
On 9 April 2024, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health appointed a working group to prepare a package of measures to facilitate immigrant integration, and a language allowance for inclusion in labour market support, as outlined in the Government Programme.
The Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government includes several entries on the incentives and obligations of immigrants to integrate into Finnish society. The measures have an underlying objective of assisting immigrants to integrate through work. To achieve this objective, the Government will reform the integration system to both encourage integration and introduce obligations. The Government will also reform unemployment security to provide more incentives for work.
The working group will prepare a new type of integration assistance to replace the income support and labour market support currently payable to immigrants. The working group will also examine how sufficient and verified knowledge of the Finnish or Swedish language could be taken into account in unemployment security. The preparatory work will include coordinating and taking into account the other entries in the Government Programme related to social security and benefits.
The key aim of the reform is to improve the employment prospects and integration of immigrants.
The government proposal is scheduled to be submitted to Parliament in autumn 2025.
Inquiries:
Liisa Siika-aho, Director General, tel. +358 295 163 085, [email protected]
Henna Huhtamäki, Director, tel. +358 295 163 072, [email protected]
Teresa Salminen, Special Adviser to the Minister of Social Security, tel. +358 295 163 109, [email protected]