The entry of expert and start-up entrepreneurs is accelerating – Express service will be introduced 1.6
From 1.6.2022The migration of experts, start-up entrepreneurs and their family members to Finland will accelerate with the introduction of the express service.
Experts include IT experts and employees with a university degree, whose work in Finland requires expertise.
The processing time for an accelerated application shall not exceed two weeks.
The express service will be introduced together with a new type of permit, the national D visa. The national D visa enables travel to Finland as soon as the residence permit has been issued and the customer has proved his or her identity. Unlike before, customers now receive their residence card in Finland.
“The fast track service is an important signal of the desire of Finnish society to welcome international experts to Finland and improve the customer-friendliness of the authorities. they will come, “he says Elina Immonensee Director General of the Finnish Immigration Service.
Even easier and faster access to the ground
Applicants through the express service will receive a residence permit decision within a maximum of two weeks. In order to move to Finland by express procedure, the customer must submit and pay for the application online and prove their identity at a foreign service point within five working days.
If the application contains all the required information and annexes, processing will begin immediately and proceed quickly. After payment and submission of the application, applicants will prove their identity abroad and will be fingerprinted for the residence card.
The decision is submitted via the Finnish Immigration Service’s online service Enter Finland. Customers who also apply for a D visa or who come from a visa-free country or do not need a visa to enter Finland do not have to wait for their residence card abroad.
Instead, the residence permit card is delivered to the address in Finland specified in the application.
More detailed instructions for applying through the express service can be found on the Finnish Immigration Service’s website. The Finnish Immigration Service has invested in customer service in the express service, and customers and their employers are often instructed through automated messages.
The fast track service is the result of close development cooperation
The Finnish Immigration Service has been actively involved in the preparation of the expert expressway and D-visa. Preparatory work has been done throughout the year.
The express service has been developed through extensive and close cooperation. The Ministry of Employment and the Economy, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, Business Finland, ELY and the Digital and Population Information Agency have participated in e.g. preparation of a fast service.
The preparation and implementation of the express service has already received praise and positive feedback from customers and companies. The new procedure has been described as a welcome improvement and an excellent development.
“The views of customers and companies have played an important role in the preparatory work. Fast service meets their expectations for a more predictable and transparent permitting process. Now the customer is aware of what is happening at every stage of the process and when. here in many different ways, “says Immonen.
The processing of expert applications is partially automated and development work continues. Increased automation has been the main way to speed up permit processing. In addition, the authorities involved in the process have, for their part, committed themselves to strict deadlines in order to keep the 14-day service promise.
The number of residence permit applications has increased every year and more and more people are moving to Finland to work, study or join a family. International employees, students and researchers are important for Finland’s innovation and growth. As international competition for employees is fierce, moving to Finland to work or study must be quick and easy.
In addition to permits for experts and start-ups, the goal is to process other work or study permits within a maximum of one month in 2023.
More information:
Source: Finnish Immigration Service