Finland’s Basic Education Act has been amended to strengthen Finnish- and Swedish-language learning for pupils with an immigrant background, and the changes came into force nationwide on 1 August 2026. Municipal education providers must now offer additional preparatory teaching after a child completes the standard “integration class,” ensuring that newcomers achieve sufficient proficiency before transferring to mainstream subject courses. Only children born outside Finland qualify for the extended support, a move the government says will let teachers target resources where they are most needed. The reform is part of a broader immigration integration strategy that emphasises personal responsibility, language acquisition and quick entry to the labour market. According to the Ministry of Education and Culture, €8 million has been earmarked this academic year for extra Finnish-/Swedish-as-a-second-language lessons and for remedial instruction in the language of education. Schools can also apply for equality grants to fund after-school tutoring and culturally responsive teaching materials. For expatriate families relocating to Finland, the new rules mean children may spend longer in preparatory classes but receive more intensive language tuition, potentially smoothing their transition into regular classrooms. HR departments should update their relocation guides and be ready to coordinate with municipal education offices when arranging housing, as access to specialised language support can vary between cities and even individual schools. Education specialists welcome the focus on language but warn of staffing challenges. Demand for qualified S2 (Finnish/Swedish as a second language) teachers already outstrips supply, especially in fast-growing regions around Helsinki, Tampere and Oulu. Municipalities are recruiting abroad and offering supplementary training to class teachers to close the gap. The government will monitor outcomes through new indicators tracking pupils’ progression from the S2 syllabus to the mainstream Finnish/Swedish syllabus. If the policy succeeds, officials believe it will shorten the time immigrant youths need to complete compulsory schooling and improve their prospects in upper-secondary education—ultimately helping Finland reach its workforce participation targets for foreign residents.
