Image: Jarkko Heikkinen / Yle

The five are part of a group of eight Spanish nurses who came to the west-coast town of Vaasa last autumn on two-year contracts under the auspices of the Bothnia Work Project.

This is a regional body that promotes work-related immigration as a way of helping small and medium enterprises in recruiting professionals from abroad. It is run by the Employment and Economic Development Office of Vaasa and co-financed by the European Social Fund.

Project Director Riitta Lehtisalo says the decision of the five nurses was influenced by the high cost of living in Finland, the difficulty of the Finnish language and the cold climate.

The five have all found permanent jobs in London.