Virtual Finland aims to make it easier for foreign employees, companies, and students to relocate to Finland
 

Our Goal
The purpose of Virtual Finland, a project headed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, is to make it easier for foreign employees, companies, and students to relocate to Finland. We aim to speed up the relocation process by providing digital tools based on trusted standardized data and digital identification of the applicant. 

Building a National Data Space

Despite the enormous amount of digital information available globally, the much talked about data economy is still in its infancy. One of the main reasons is that much of the data remains unstructured and siloed, rendering it virtually useless from an economic standpoint. Being able to agree on data standards is therefore a key ingredient in becoming a data economy forerunner.

Virtual Finland is constructing a data sharing infrastructure  – a national data space  – that can help transform the current disconnected public services into smooth service paths without the need for massive integration processes. Based on the data sharing principles outlined in the European Commission's European Strategy for Data, the national infrastructure can help foreign employees, students, and companies to interact with Finland more easily. 

Beyond Immigration
While we focus on foreign employees during the piloting phase of the project, solutions based on data sharing can be used for much more. For instance, the Nordic Smart Government & Business (NSG & B) project aims to create new opportunities for Nordic companies by building a digital ecosystem where business data can be exchanged between Nordic countries in real-time. Virtual Finland has taken part in the testing phase of the project. During spring 2023 we also collaborated with major listed companies on a project focusing on industrial data sharing (details to be announced).

One of Many
Helping employees, companies, and students to relocate to Finland is a joint effort. Virtual Finland works with many stakeholders, among them the Finnish Digital Agency, Finnish Immigration Service, Tax Administration, Business Finland, as well as many ministries and companies. If you’d like to join us in shaping the digital Finland of tomorrow, do not hesitate to contact us.