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19.2.2025 | Following legislative amendments that entered into force on 17 February, wild-berry picking carried out by foreign nationals is treated as seasonal work. Companies must hire foreign berry pickers for a contractual employment relationship to enable them apply for an entry permit to Finland. In future, berry pickers will apply for a seasonal work visa for stays up to three months.

27.8.2026 | On 27 August, the Government submitted to Parliament a proposal for legislation on the criminal intelligence activities of the Finnish Border Guard. The proposal would improve the Border Guard’s ability to prevent and combat organised crime involving illegal entry into Finland and human trafficking, as well as other serious crime.

29.12.2022 | The status and the right to services of victims of human trafficking will improve as the help provided through the Assistance System will no longer depend on the progress of the criminal proceedings related to human trafficking. Primarily, assistance will be based on an assessment of the victim’s individual situation. The President of the Republic approved the related legislative amendments on 29 December and they will enter into force on 1 January.

13.11.2023 | To prevent labor exploitation and human trafficking, foreign workers need to have access to information in their native language about working in Finland.

23.5.2023 | A study commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior examined the reflection periods granted to victims of human trafficking during which the victims can decide whether to cooperate with the authorities in apprehending those suspected of human trafficking. The study also examined how suspicion of trading in sexual services was applied as grounds for denial of admittance or stay.

4.11.2021 | Nordic authorities and civil society actors working against trafficking in human beings will meet at a seminar in Helsinki on 18 November 2021. The aim with the seminar is to share information and expertise and thus support the participants in their work for strengthening the anti-trafficking efforts. Registration for the live-streamed parts of the seminar is open until 15 November 2021.

7.6.2022 | The Ministry of the Interior has commissioned a study on the reflection periods granted to victims of human trafficking during which the victims can decide whether to cooperate with the authorities in apprehending those suspected of human trafficking. At the same time, it will be examined how suspicions of trading in sexual services are taken into account in cases where denial of stay is being considered.

17.6.2022 | The Ministry of the Interior has sent out for comments draft amendments to the Act on the Reception of Persons Applying for International Protection and on the Identification of and Assistance to Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings. The amendments aim to weaken the link between the provision of assistance to victims of human trafficking and criminal proceedings. In accordance with the Governm...

18.2.2022 | The Ministry of the Interior has set up a legislative project to review the provisions on the Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking. This builds on the Government Programme, which states that the status of victims will be improved, regardless of the progress of related criminal proceedings in a human trafficking case.

18.11.2021 | Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished seminar participants here in Helsinki and over the live stream,

14.10.2022 | Human trafficking is a serious offence where the offender takes advantage of the vulnerability, trust or dependency of the victim and subjects him or her to labour exploitation or sexual abuse. The Centre of Expertise in Immigrant Integration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has published an instruction card to help authorities to recognise labour exploitation and human trafficking.

20.10.2022 | The Government aims to improve the status of victims of human trafficking and strengthen their right to services, regardless of the progress of related criminal proceedings in a human trafficking case. The purpose is to loosen the link between assistance to victims and criminal proceedings by amending the Act on the Reception of Persons Applying for International Protection and on the Identification of and Assistance to Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings.

18.11.2021 | Trafficking in human beings is a global phenomenon, and even individual human trafficking offences often extend to more than one state. The ministers speaking at an anti-trafficking seminar in Helsinki on Thursday consider cross-border measures against human trafficking to be of utmost importance.

25.1.2024 | The European Commission strives to increase police cooperation in the fight against migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. In November, the Commission proposed a regulation that would reinforce Europol's role and increase information sharing between Member States. The Government expressed its position on the Commission's proposal in its communication submitted to Parliament on 25 January 2024.

23.8.2021 | The Ministry of Justice has made new operational commitments to sustainable development. The Ministry of Justice is committed to combating trafficking in human beings, strengthening the rule of law in international cooperation, using research data that takes better account of different population groups, and reducing the carbon footprint of its administrative branch.

18.3.2021 | The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment have ordered a review of the grounds on which victims of human trafficking are granted residence permits. The review will be conducted by the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman acting as the national human trafficking rapporteur. The aim is to investigate how the Finnish Immigration Service applies the special regulation of the Aliens Act to the continuous residence permit granted to trafficking victims.

28.9.2021 | The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman investigated the residence permit practice relating to victims of human trafficking. One of the key questions of the study commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment was how the vulnerability of victims of human trafficking has been assessed. According to the study, the assessment was diverse, but varying. Hu...

18.11.2021 | Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished seminar participants here in Helsinki and over the live stream,

18.11.2021 | Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished seminar participants here in Helsinki and over the live stream,

22.2.2021 | Madam President, Madam High Commissioner,  Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,