A woman is browsing job advertisements on her phone. Photo: Emmi Korhonen / Lehtikuva
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The Finnish government plans to reduce unemployment benefits for immigrants who cannot demonstrate proficiency in Finnish or Swedish. A new integration allowance will replace part of the existing jobseeker’s support for this group, with lower monthly payments unless language or work requirements are met.
Social Security Minister Sanni Grahn-Laasonen confirmed to Uutissuomalainen that a draft of the proposal will be circulated for public consultation later this year. The plan is intended to encourage employment and language acquisition among immigrants.
Under the proposal, immigrants who do not pass a language test or meet minimum employment criteria would receive a reduced benefit. The cut would bring monthly support to the level of basic social assistance, approximately €594 for a single adult, down from the current net unemployment benefit of around €640.
The maximum reduction would be just under €50 per month.
“That’s a reasonable assumption, without specifying the exact amount of the future integration allowance,” said Liisa Siika-aho, Director at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat, which first reported the story.
Immigrants would be able to raise their benefit to the current level by proving their language skills through a test or by meeting the employment condition required for full unemployment support.
The government has not yet decided whether the new rules will apply only to new arrivals or also to immigrants already living in Finland. The integration allowance would be time-limited, after which recipients would transition to standard unemployment benefits, regardless of language proficiency or employment history.
“It is not desirable for any group to remain permanently outside the main benefit system,” said Siika-aho. She added that keeping recipients within the primary system ensures stronger incentives and obligations to seek work than in the last-resort assistance framework.
Finance Minister Riikka Purra, leader of the Finns Party, described the change as a step toward a more citizenship-based social security model. She posted on X that the integration allowance aligns with her party’s broader objective to reform Finland’s welfare system, although achieving full reform would require constitutional changes.
A similar proposal was made by Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government in 2015, aiming to reduce immigrants’ unemployment benefits by 10 percent regardless of language skills. That plan was later withdrawn after constitutional law experts raised concerns about equality provisions.
Siika-aho acknowledged that legal concerns remain possible.
“It’s always a sensitive issue when rules are applied differently to one group. But I believe it makes a difference that in this case, people have a real opportunity to improve their situation through their own actions,” she said.
The new model would not immediately exclude anyone from support. The integration allowance would act as a lower starting point, with a clear path to higher benefits through active measures.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
