Helsinki: To promote education and labour-based immigration and streamline entry procedures, Finland has extended the use of D visas to expedite entry of students and researchers into the country.
With a D visa, one can enter Finland immediately after they have been issued a residence permit. Finland’s long-term D visas will be granted to students, researchers, persons in managerial positions in companies, and family members of these individuals.
“The Finnish Immigration Service will issue a D visa in connection with a favourable decision on a residence permit,” the Embassy of Finland in India said in a statement. The move will allow people who have been granted a residence permit to travel to Finland sooner than at present, as they will not need to wait for a residence permit card abroad.
Instead, a visa sticker attached to the travel document at a Finnish mission will prove their right of entry. This will make it easier for students to start their studies, research and work on time, facilitate the recruitment of experts and enhance Finland’s attractiveness, the statement read.
A D visa can also be issued for entry to a residence permit holder residing abroad whose residence permit card has been lost, stolen or expired.
The approved proposal also includes an amendment to the Aliens Act, which will enable the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to grant a temporary residence permit to young people from diplomatic families arriving in Finland until they reach the age of 20. Until now, young people from diplomatic families had had to apply to the Finnish Immigration Service for extension of their residence permit.
The D visa was introduced in Finland in June this year. At that time, legislative amendments prepared by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs entered into force. Under these amendments, a D visa can be issued to specialists, high-growth startup entrepreneurs and their family members.
The Finnish Embassy announced that despite the fact that the changes would become effective on December 22, some of the information system changes required for the use of this kind of visa will not be completed until spring 2023.
To address acute skilled labour shortage, Finland plans to bump up the number of work immigrants entering the country and triple international student placements by 2030, according to Finnish Economic Affairs and Employment Minister Tuula Haatainen.
