North Karelian Regional Group Project to Support Immigrant Integration and Employment

The project, Stay and Live in North Karelia – Elä ja osallistu Pohjois-Karjalassa (ELO), seeks to strengthen the availability of labour, improve immigrants’ employment rate, and help them integrate into local communities. The project aims to accomplish this by developing integration services, providing residence permit counselling for both individual clients and employers, and promoting the participation of foreign-born residents.

The project is led by the City of Joensuu in cooperation with several regional partners, including Liperi, Kontiolahti, Nurmes, Juuka, Kitee, Outokumpu, Lieksa, Ilomantsi, Tohmajärvi and the Regional Council of North Karelia.

A reform of Finland’s integration legislation, which took effect at the start of 2025, transferred responsibility for integration services to municipalities. While Joensuu and a few other municipalities in North Karelia have long had established services, many others have just begun to systematically build their integration services this year. According to project staff across the region, the ELO project’s regional network has provided essential support for new integration specialists.

Several municipalities have already launched new practical initiatives

“In Nurmes, Finnish-as-a-second-language courses introduced at the start of 2025 have expanded rapidly and received highly positive feedback. In addition, the city’s integration services and the ELO project organize monthly Language Cafés, and are continuously seeking new collaboration partners,” says Outi Meriläinen, Integration Specialist of the City of Nurmes.

With immigration contributing to population growth in North Karelia, successful integration is increasingly important. Immigrants bring new skills, languages and international perspectives that boost the region’s vitality and competitiveness.

“Our demographic outlook requires us to welcome new people to help build the welfare state, contribute to working life and become part of our communities. Successful integration is therefore essential — it doesn’t happen by accident, but through determined effort,” says Markus Hirvonen, Regional Mayor of North Karelia.

The ELO project runs from 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2027 and is co-funded by the European Social Fund.

More information is available from local municipal integration services or the project staff in Joensuu, who are happy to forward your questions to the appropriate service providers.

Contact information

Marit Roosvalt
Coordinator
+358 504713215
marit.roosvalt@joensuu.fi

Tiina Kähkönen
Residence Permits Specialist
+358 505357280
tiina.kahkonen@joensuu.fi

Polina Popova
Network Coordinator, Integration Adviser
+358503509307
polina.popova@joensuu.fi