Helsinki (02.08.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) The usual reason for moving to Finland is love, when foreigners meet a Finnish man or woman and decide to get married and live in Finland. Finland is certainly not a major hub for immigration and throughout its history it has been mostly a country of emigration. As little as three per cent of people living in Finland are foreign citizens.
This pattern is slowly beginning to change. One reason is the economic crisis in Southern Europe. Many people who find themselves unemployed in countries like Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal are looking for work all over Europe. Though the major flow goes to countries like Germany and Britain, or in the Nordic region, to Sweden and Norway, Finland is also getting a growing share.
The Service Union United PAM last year made a survey among its 8,191 immigrant members. One of the questions asked was the reason for coming to Finland. In the 2002 survey a total of 47 per cent said it was because of love, in 2012 the figure was down to 41 per cent. In 2002 work was named as a reason by 9 per cent, but today 37 per cent of those who replied cited work as being the reason for their being in Finland.
According to Statistics Finland, 31,280 persons immigrated to Finland from other countries during 2012. This is 1,800 people higher than in 2011 and the highest figure during Finland's independence.
The major trade unions and central confederations offer comprehensive information about working life and union membership in English and several other languages.
Clear growth from the EU countries
The growth of immigration was especially strong among EU citizens. The latter can work without registration for three months and many do not register even after that. However, based on the registrations made the number of Spanish, Greek, Italian, Irish and Portuguese citizens doubled from 300 to some 600 last year. One third arrived from Spain. And in the current year the figures seem to double again.
This year from January to June 13,200 persons immigrated to Finland and 5,720 persons emigrated. Almost four thousand of both immigrants and emigrants were Finnish citizens.
Last year the five biggest groups of foreign citizens living permanently in Finland were Estonians, Russians, Swedes, Somalis and Chinese.
There are also a growing number of foreign seasonal workers in Finland. Last year the strawberry picking season provided short time work for some 8,500 people outside the European Union, mainly from Russia and the Ukraine. This year the figure is more or less the same. The new phenomenon is the growing - though still small - number of applications from Greece, Italy and Spain.
Wild forest berry pickers are also a growing group of seasonal workers. This year 3,200 people will arrive from Thailand mainly to work in the big forests of Northern Finland. A total of 17 Finnish companies are recruiting berry pickers this year, three more than last year.
The companies do not employ Thai pickers; they travel at their own risk and expense. In spite of this most of them will earn more in a couple of months picking berries than in the rest of the year back home.