Elina Immonen to take up post as new Deputy Director-General of Finnish Immigration Service

At present, Immonen works as Director of the Safety and Security Unit at the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Immonen has previously worked as Chief Specialist at the Migration Department of the Ministry of the Interior and in various other specialist positions.

“For the most part of my professional career, I have worked with migration issues, and I am very much looking forward to working with these issues again. The Finnish Immigration Service plays a very important societal role, and the efficiency of the agency's processes has a major impact on the economy and society as a whole. It is important to develop permit processes quickly and to make the queues that we see today a thing of the past,” says Immonen.

The Deputy Director-General heads the agency’s Management Support functions and serves as the superior of the Directors of the different units of its Enabling Services. The Deputy Director-General also deputises for the Director General.

Streamlined processing of residence permits a central aim 

The duties of the Deputy Director-General include developing the agency’s strategic work and the work of the Management Group as well as supporting the Director General in heading the effective operation of the agency.

The importance of automation and the implementation of automation-related reforms have been given particular emphasis in the development of the agency's operations. A central aim for the Finnish Immigration Service is to reach a processing time of one month for residence permits issued on the basis of work by 2023 and a two-week processing time for permits issued to specialists, start-up entrepreneurs and their family members during 2021.

The Deputy Director-General’s other responsibilities include leading the agency’s preparedness planning activities.