Personal relationships appear to be more important than work in determining the volume of immigration to Finland by Russians, according to an article by Aku Alanen, head actuary at Statistics Finland.
The article in a Statistics Finland publication examines trends of Russian immigration to Finland between 2000 to 2004.
One-third of all Russian citizens settling in Finland did so because of a Finnish spouse. One in four came in order to be with a relative or acquaintance, and only one in six had a job as the primary reason.
In his article, Alanen assumes that the importance of a job as a motivation for immigration to Finland will increase in the future. Tougher rules for immigration that came into effect in 2003 can already be seen, and net migration from areas near Finland has decreased.
The greatest net immigration - the difference in the number of those arriving and leaving the country - was in the areas of Uusimaa in the south, Northern Karelia, South Karelia, and Kymenlaakso in the southeast, and in Finland Proper (Varsinais-Suomi) in the southwest.
