
United Kingdom
The Netherlands
Germany
Italy
European Union
Poland
Finland
Country profile
Finland
Finland resembles other Nordic countries in that the number of irregular migrants is modest. Irregular migrant work force is often the by-product of complex bureaucratic residence permit processes and highly regulated labour force, especially in the case of EU and non-EU seasonal workers. Research in Finland will focus on domestic work and cleaning and agricultural labour. The former will be carried out in the metropolitan region, comprising four cities; Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen. Migrants with various legal statuses and diverse national backgrounds work in the domestic and care sectors in this region. The work on agricultural labour will be conducted in the rural areas near Pietarsaari, a town in the region of Ostrobothnia with a significant share of the foreign-born population (11% in 2022). Migrants from Eastern Europe, including Eastern European Roma and Ukrainian workers, are seasonal workers in the region’s greenhouses. Research participants in these two case studies include non-EU migrants without residence permits and intra- EU migrants working without a contract in these sectors.

Academic Partner:
University of Helsinki

Lena Näre
Professor
Steering Committee member, WP3 Leader
Lena Näre is professor of Sociology at the University of Helsinki. Her research focuses on migration, precarious work, intersectionality, care and ageing. She is Associate Editor of Global Social Challenges Journal (Bristol University Press) and served as the Editor-in-Chief of Nordic Journal of Migration Research (Helsinki University Press) in 2012-2022.

Paula Merikoski
Post-doctoral researcher
Researcher
Paula is a sociologist at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Her research interests include migration, intersectionality, home, citizenship and border studies, and gender studies. She focuses on ethnographically driven qualitative methods. In her doctoral dissertation (2023), she studied private hospitality for asylum seekers in Finland.
Country Engagement Partner
Deaconess Foundation

Anne Hammad
Director of Immigrant Services
I-CLAIM Partner
Working on projects: Undocumented community project (incl. day center services and detective work), Work life coaching program for victims of human trafficking, Support program for undocumented families (incl. special support for children’s activities)