EnterFinland: Border management and immigration

With Accenture and Fjord, Migri began the project with a workshop to identify current challenges and difficulties. User tests included developing several identities to understand the overall experience in filling out different application types, creative exercises to explore the vision for the service, and a customer feedback review. Such a user-friendly and intuitive design would not affect the stringent criteria required to obtain a visa or citizenship, but adaptations could be made to help the application process flow more smoothly.

The new eService, known as EnterFinland, is an electronic case management system designed to put the user first. The service required reimagining the best way to provide online digital services for customers, from the front end through to final completion of the immigration application. Using a simple step-by-step structure, it aims to be straightforward to enable a user to finish the application in one sitting without being overwhelmed by information.

EnterFinland helps the Finnish Immigration Service to provide a better, more efficient user-oriented service for immigrants and their families. And since the applications can be mainly processed by the immigrants themselves, there are significantly shortened timelines and less work for the officials processing the applications.

The results of the redesign include:

• 49% of all citizenship applications are made using the EnterFinland eService
• 85% of students used EnterFinland to file their residence applications, with handling times 30% shorter— reduced from 33 to 23 days
• 37% shorter processing time, on average, using EnterFinland for a residence permit application for an employed person—reduced from 137 to 87 days

As the existing service is continuously improved, EnterFinland welcomes new people into the country by offering them an easy immigration process that reduces the time and resource demands on Finland’s public service agencies.