Expatriate Finns are united by their Finnish identity
Expatriate Finns are Finnish citizens or people of Finnish origin who live permanently outside Finland. Approximately 300,000 Finnish citizens live outside the country, and according to some estimates, the number of people with a Finnish descent is up to 1.6–2 million worldwide. Most Finns move to Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States and Spain.
Important issues for expatriates include:
- citizenship issues and consular services
- voting and other opportunities to have a say and be involved
- schools that teach the Finnish language and culture (Suomi-koulu)
- maintaining the Finnish language and culture abroad
- support for those who wish to return, especially in employment matters
- provision of expertise for Finnish companies in the country of residence.
Finnish Expatriate Parliament as a link between central government and expatriates
The Ministry of the Interior has a coordination role in central government related to the affairs of expatriate Finns. The link between the central government and expatriates is the Finnish Expatriate Parliament. Every few years, the Finnish Expatriate Parliament asks expatriate Finns for suggestions and ideas and submits them to the Finnish Government.
The Finnish Expatriate Parliament is part of the Finland Society, which promotes the affairs of Finns living abroad. The Finland Society has been the link between expatriate Finns and Finland for over 90 years.
Position of expatriates undergoing change
Net migration of Finnish citizens was negative throughout the 2010s, which means that more Finnish citizens left the country than returned to the country. However, the year 2020 was a notable exception. In particular, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the UK's withdrawal from the EU have increased interest in moving back to Finland.
The position of expatriates is changing. The physical location is no longer as important as before in terms of work, and living and working in two or more countries are becoming more common. Moving abroad can also be a temporary decision.
Strategy on Expatriate Finns responds to the needs of Finns living abroad
The Ministry of the Interior has published the Strategy on Expatriate Finns 2022–2026. It seeks to strengthen the contacts of expatriate Finns with Finnish society: the aim is to ensure that Finland is better able to serve its citizens regardless of time and place, and to support Finnish identity and culture abroad. On the other hand, the Strategy also aims to make it easier for expatriate Finns to return to Finland.
The Strategy sets objectives and actions to respond to the service needs of expatriate Finns and to make better use of their expertise. Implementation will be monitored by the new governmental working group on expatriate Finns.
The Strategy is a continuation of three previous policy programmes. It was prepared by a cross-government working group, with the Finland Society (Suomi-Seura ry) and the Migration Institute of Finland also involved in the process. Expatriate Finns and Finnish expatriate communities were widely consulted during the preparation process.
Questions and answers
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Expatriate Finns usually mean persons residing permanently outside Finland who are either Finnish citizens or their descendants. Descendants are not necessarily Finnish citizens or born in Finland. However, expatriate Finns are united by their Finnish identity, which means that they consider themselves Finns.
In the strategy on expatriate Finns, the term expatriate Finn refers to Finnish citizens living permanently outside Finland and to the descendants of Finnish citizens who personally identify themselves as Finnish.
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Of the expatriate Finns, about 300,000 are Finnish citizens. Citizens' rights and obligations do not disappear even if they move abroad. For example, Finnish citizens always have the opportunity to vote and thus influence policymaking in Finland.
Expatriate Finns are also an important resource for Finland. Many expatriate Finns work for Finnish companies in their country of residence. Finland's vitality will also benefit from returnees who can bring with them knowledge and skills from abroad.
All expatriates have the opportunity to return to their roots. In order to maintain their Finnish identity and make it easier for them to return, it is important that their ties with Finland remain.
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Since 2006, the management of affairs concerning expatriate Finns has been guided by the Government policy programme for expatriate Finns drawn up for five years at a time. This time, the approach was more strategic than before.
The Strategy on Expatriate Finns 2022–2026 was drawn up in a new way from the very beginning and it included expatriate Finns themselves. The key idea behind the preparation was that expatriate Finns are not only a group for whom the central government must offer certain services but also a resource that could be utilised better than before.
During the preparation, workshops and consultations were organised for different groups of expatriate Finns. Service design, which means the development and planning of services using design methods, was applied to involve the expatriate Finns in the preparation.
In addition to consultations with expatriate Finns, the work utilised, for example, the Migration Institute’s survey Changing Nature of Being an Expatriate Finn, information collected on policies concerning expatriate citizens in reference countries and resolutions of the Finnish Expatriate Parliament.
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The Strategy covers many issues that are important for expatriate Finns, such as those relating to access to services provided by the authorities, strengthening Finnish identity and culture, and ensuring smooth return migration.
Each action set out in the Strategy is assigned to a specific ministry, which is responsible for its own administrative branch. The seven ministries that have participated in the strategy work monitor the implementation of the Strategy in the working group on expatriate Finns. The working group will meet annually under the leadership of the Ministry of the Interior and review how the measures have progressed. The Finland Society and the Migration Institute of Finland, both of which also participated in the preparation of the Strategy, will be consulted in the monitoring.
Based on the working group’s meeting, an annual webinar for expatriate Finns will be planned and organised at the end of the year. At the webinar, expatriate Finns can present their proposals and views on the progress.
With the implementation of the Strategy, the aim is to coordinate affairs of expatriate Finns more smoothly in central government, to increase the services provided to expatriate Finns and their awareness of the services available, and to make better use of the expertise of expatriate Finns.