Facts and Figures

IOM Member State since 1991 Capital: Helsinki Population (2011): 5.4 million Area: 338,145 sq km Major Languages: Finnish, Swedish Currency: Euro (EUR) GDP per Capita PPP (2010): USD 36,651 HDI Rank (2011): 22 of 187 Remittances (2011 estimate): USD 936 million Net Migration Rate (2010-2015): 1.7 migrants /1,000 population Immigrants (2010): 4.2% Women as a Percentage of Immigrants (2010): 50.5% Population under 15 (2011): 16.5% Adult HIV Prevalence (2009): 0.1%
Sources and Definitions More Facts and Figures Total Labour Force (2007): 2,695,000 Foreign-born Unemployment Rate (2007): 14.5%

Latest News

• Somali Diaspora in Finland Helps Revitalize Northern Somalia's Health Sector

Overview

As they become more important as destination countries for international migrants, the three Baltic and five Nordic States face numerous challenges across a wide range of migration issues. Since their accession to the European Union in May 2004, the Baltic States' eastern borders have become part of the EU's external frontier, bringing additional challenges and responsibilities for these countries especially in combating irregular migration and cooperation with their eastern neighbours, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

New demographic patterns characterized by the aging of local populations in the Nordic States, with related strain on local labour markets and social welfare systems, mark substantial shifts in Nordic countries' approach to migration management. Individual countries in the region are working together, to a varying extent, on the management of migration issues and the transfer of administrative and operational expertise aimed at finding regional solutions to regional challenges.

The IOM Regional Office in Helsinki (Finland) is overall responsible for IOM activities in the Nordic and Baltic region. Upon agreement with the Finnish Government, IOM established the "Regional Office for the Baltic and Nordic States" in Helsinki in 1994, covering Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. In February 2005, IOM Helsinki extended its regional coverage to include also Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

Most of the countries covered by the IOM Regional Office in Helsinki also have national IOM offices, except for Iceland and Sweden.

Migration Issues

Until the 1990s, Finland was largely a country of emigration with a relatively small immigrant population. However, in response to increased immigration, various Finnish governments have gradually concentrated more and more on migration issues, leading to the appointment of the first Finnish Migration Minister in 2007 as well as centralization of migration issues under the Ministry of the Interior in 2008.

Finland accepted its first refugees in 1973 (Chile) and in 1979 (Vietnamese 'boat people'). An annual refugee quota was established with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1986 and is currently 750 refugees per year. In recent years particularly nationals of Iraq, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been accepted for resettlement to Finland.

Family members of quota refugees and asylum seekers, who have been granted residence in Finland, are also accepted in the country under family reunification schemes.

Similarly to the other Nordic countries, an aging population has led the Finnish Government to focus on the need for labour migration, amongst others in the Immigration Policy Programme from 2006.

While supporting the Finnish Government particularly in issues related to quota refugees and asylum seekers – resettlement, assisted voluntary return, integration, and cultural orientation – IOM Helsinki has in constant development of its migration portfolio in Finland also carried out activities related to, as for example, capacity building, e-learning, counter-trafficking, and research.

Movement, Emergency and Post-crisis Migration Management

Since 2006, the IOM Regional Office in Helsinki operates as IOM's Nordic Resettlement Centre. In this capacity, IOM Helsinki manages all refugee resettlement and family reunification-related operations for Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. IOM provides its services under a range of different global programmes to the governments of these four Nordic countries and NGO partners, and since 2008 also to the government of Iceland.

IOM extends its services to persons who have been selected as quota refugees by the relevant national authority, or to those who have been admitted for family reunification to the Nordic countries. While the programmes are operated by IOM field missions in the respective departure locations, IOM Helsinki acts as the overall programme manager and coordinates all movement activities to the Nordic countries.

Services provided by IOM under family reunification and resettlement programmes include:

• Logistical arrangements;
• Facilitation of exit permission, immigration formalities and verification of travel documents in the country of first asylum;
• Transportation, including routing, booking, ticketing, and preferential baggage allowance;
• Escort of passengers through immigration procedures and assistance with embarkation, including visa waivers as needed;
• Pre-departure health assessments;
• Special assistance through medical and non-medical escorts;
• Arrival assistance; and
• Purchase of clothes, food and beverage upon request.

Migration Health

IOM Helsinki follows the overall IOM objective to promote migrants' health not only in countries of origin but also in countries of destination. IOM Helsinki aims at contributing to the delivery of high quality and culturally sensitive health services to migrants as well as promoting cooperation and coordination among key stakeholders in migration health issues in the Nordic countries.

In 2010, IOM Helsinki launched an innovative development project to improve health and well-being of refugees and asylum seekers in Finland, on one hand, and the knowledge and capacity of various Finnish health professionals, on the other hand. The project aims at developing a comprehensive resource package for refugees and asylum seekers offering them tools for health promotion as well as means to properly and appropriately make use of the Finnish health care system. In addition, the project will introduce new approaches amongst Finnish health professionals to facilitate their interaction and treatment of patients with refugee or asylum seeker background. Specific features related to reception of refugees and asylum seekers will be demonstrated in a DVD to describe best practices for their integration into the daily work/praxis of the health professionals.

Project

• Developing a Resource Package for Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Finnish Health Professionals

Migration and Development

IOM Helsinki's approach to Migration and Development (M&D) seeks to actively engage migrant communities in the Nordic countries with the development of their countries of origin.

IOM Helsinki mobilizes the skills and competencies of qualified migrants living in the Nordic countries through temporary return programmes. IOM Helsinki M&D programmes (sometimes termed RQN for "Return of Qualified Nationals") give migrants a possibility to become agents of change for social rehabilitation and prosperity in developing and post-conflict countries.

Over the last decade, IOM Helsinki has built a lasting relationship with the Nordic-based Somali Diaspora, particularly those residing in Finland, in an attempt to explore possibilities for their participation in IOM M&D projects.

In July 2008, IOM Helsinki launched the first ever Migration for Development in Africa (MIDA) project involving a Nordic-based diaspora, and the first targeting a Somali community worldwide, supported by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The objective of this initiative was to strengthen the capacities of local health sector professionals in the regions of Somaliland and Puntland (Somalia) through the transfer of skills and knowledge acquired abroad by qualified health professionals from the Finland-based Somali diaspora.

After the closure of the MIDA Health project, IOM Helsinki has sought to expand its M&D activities to other Nordic countries and to other migrant communities residing in the region.

Project

• MIDA Health Somaliland-Puntland (Somalia)

Regulating Migration

Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) is a key tool in regulating migration and aims at the orderly, humane, and cost-effective return of migrants, who wish to return voluntarily to their countries of origin.

AVR is a field in which IOM Helsinki has considerable experience, thanks to a number of AVR programmes implemented in cooperation with Nordic governments since the founding of the IOM Helsinki office in 1994. Return and reintegration services are offered to migrants, who wish to return voluntarily to their countries of origin. Assisted migrants include asylum seekers, persons with refugee status, and irregular migrants.

Services provided to migrants returning voluntarily from Finland generally include information and counseling, assistance in acquiring travel documents, flight bookings, and assistance at airports of departure, transit and arrival. If returnees have particular needs, special assistance can also be arranged as, for example, medical or operational escorts.

In January 2010, IOM Helsinki launched a three-year AVR project in Finland, under which eligible returnees may, in addition to travel arrangements, receive support towards their reintegration in the country of return. The project, "Developing Assisted Voluntary Return in Finland", has received funding from the EU Return Fund.

IOM Helsinki Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration activities in Finland are carried out in cooperation with different partners, as for example the Finnish Immigration Service, reception centres, and local municipalities.

IOM Helsinki also directly implements Assisted Voluntary Return programmes in Denmark and Sweden.

Project

• Developing Assisted Voluntary Return in Finland (2010-2012)

Facilitating Migration

IOM Helsinki's work in the field of integration has focused on finding new and innovative approaches to support migrant communities and individuals recently arrived in Finland. IOM Helsinki has amongst others been working towards improving knowledge of anti-discrimination legislation among members of the judiciary through the development of an e-learning tool. IOM Helsinki has also initiated cooperation with religious communities and their leaders in order to facilitate the dialogue between them and the Finnish society with the aim of advancing integration among immigrants.

Project

• Judges Online: Capacity Building for the Judiciary through E-Learning (2002–2006)
• Integration: A Multifaith Approach (2007–2008)
• Dialogue for Integration: Engaging Religious Communities (2009 – 2011)

Last updated:
Main text: May 2010
Facts and figures: May 2012