Our national coat of arms features a lion, even though no wild lions have ever roamed Finland. The only lion sighting in Finland in 1992 turned out to be spoon-made imprints. Our national anthem was composed by the German Fredrik Pacius, reportedly inspired by a drinking song from Hamburg. The lyrics are based on a poem written in Swedish. The same melody also serves as the national anthem of Estonia and the Livonian people.

Finnish identity was built through international sports success. We ran ourselves onto the world map because we trained harder and more efficiently than others. With the same drive, we ventured abroad to sell paper, elevators, and later, phones and games. The Finnish welfare state could not have been financed if we had not looked beyond our borders.

Or if we had kept our borders closed.

Many of Finland’s most iconic companies were founded by immigrants. Finnish chocolate originates from Switzerland, coffee from Germany, the paper industry has roots in Norway, our tableware comes from Sweden, bed linens from Scotland, and beer from Russia. In the impoverished and undereducated Finland of the early 20th century, there weren’t enough highly skilled professionals. With foreign entrepreneurs came the top international experts of their time: engineers, technicians, and machinists.

We might not have remained independent without the humanpower, materials, and moral support received from other nations during trying times. Today, our defense forces are among the best in the world, but we now face a different kind of challenge: from within our own borders. As our population ages, we no longer have enough people to sustain our welfare society.

By 2030, Finland will need at least 130,000 people just to compensate for an aging population and declining birth rates. And this is not just a theoretical calculation to compensate for workforce shortage. We need foreign experts and skilled professionals not just to survive, but to thrive on the global stage—just as we always have throughout Finnish history.

Without immigration, we will not have enough people to care, build, produce, develop, design, research, innovate, and create businesses. Is Finland today a country that truly welcomes those who can make a difference?

Our goal is to build a Finland where people come to work—and stay to contribute.