Finland and India Move Toward Formal Mobility Agreement

Finland and India are working to finalise a mobility and migration memorandum of understanding in 2025, replacing a 2022 declaration of intent. Finnish Ambassador to India Kimmo Lähdevirta stated that discussions are advancing, with an aim to finalize the pact within the year, although a specific date has not yet been announced.

Under the envisioned agreement, mobility would be facilitated for students, academics, researchers, business professionals and skilled workers, with particular emphasis on ICT (information and communications technology), healthcare, and other service-based sectors.

Drivers Behind the Partnership

Finland faces demographic and labour market challenges resulting from a rapidly ageing population and skill shortages. India, with its large pool of trained professionals and students in demand sectors, is seen as a strategic partner. Finland currently hosts over 20,000 Indian professionals and around 2,000 Indian students, and several major Indian IT firms like TCS, Infosys, and HCL operate extensively in Finland.

Education and Research Collaboration

In the education sector, India and Finland launched a high-level dialogue in 2024 covering school, vocational, and higher education, resulting in a joint statement on cooperation in early and senior secondary education, student mobility and skills development. Initiatives such as teacher capacity building, especially in STEM, and research partnerships in AI, quantum technologies, climate science, and sustainability are central to the collaboration. Additionally, Finland and India are also collaborating in the field of K–12 education, with the first Finland International School opening in Pune in April 2022.

Important institutional agreements include a five-year MoU between India’s NCERT and Finland’s EDUFI signed in March 2022, and academic partnerships under programmes like Finnish Indian Consortium for Research and Education (FICORE), the Global Innovation Network for Teaching and Learning (GINTL), the Scheme Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), and the Global Initiative of Academic Network (GIAN).

Talent Mobility and Funding

Finland’s Talent Boost programme aims to attract international students, researchers and workers to counterbalance labour shortages and declining birth rates. Targets include hosting 15,000 international students by 2030 and boosting labour immigration to 30,000 annually, with India identified as a key source.

The Team Finland Knowledge (TFK) programme 2025 further offers grants of up to €80,000 for mobility and cooperation projects between Indian and Finnish higher education institutions, running from August 1, 2025 through December 2027. Eligible projects span all degree levels and must include at least one institution from each country.

Once formalised, the mobility agreement is expected to:

• Provide easier access for Indian students and academics to study and conduct research in Finland;
• Enhance collaborations among institutions in both countries across education, research, skill development, and emerging technologies;
• Offer structured frameworks for funding, exchange programs, and institutional partnerships;
• Strengthen pathways for professionals and researchers to participate in Finland’s labour market in key sectors.

This initiative aligns with the broader India–Finland partnership deepening across digitalisation, education, innovation and sustainability. It complements Finland’s migration reforms and institutional strategies to attract international talent. India, in turn, continues to internationalise its higher education under NEP 2020, making cooperation timely and mutually advantageous.