Govt to change handling of residence permit to check labour abuse

The government has taken an initiative to examine and prepare the necessary amendments to residence permit procedures with the view to combat labour exploitation, said the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in a press release on Thursday.

A project is underway to identify and introduce the necessary changes to residence permit procedures and the government intends to submit its proposal to Parliament during the autumn 2026 session seeking amendments to the respective laws.

The amendments may concern, for example, the effects of suspected offences by employers, clarifying employer responsibility and developing a residence permit granted to victims of exploitation.

“Long‑term and broad cooperation between authorities has brought cases of labour exploitation to light in recent years. The Government is pressing ahead with reforms to tackle and prevent labour exploitation. With this legislative project, we are addressing shortcomings in how residence permits are granted and processed,” said Minister of Employment Matias Marttinen in the press release.

Legislative amendments have already been made to improve the status of natural product pickers. Efforts have also been made to ensure that people arriving in Finland for work receive multilingual information about their rights through several channels. Ethical recruitment practices have been developed in countries partnering with Finland for international recruitment.

The legislative project will also include the amendments to the Seasonal Workers Act required by the European Commission.