Finland Finnish Immigration Concerns

FINLAND: FIGHT IN PARLIAMENT OVER REUNIFICATION RULES FOR FINNS…….

Tempest in a teapot.

Insuring that the rules only apply to those who do not have Finnish spouses should keep the lionshare of undesirables from moving in and tapping into the Finnish welfare system (which should be done away with altogether). No one has a ”right” to move to Finland just on their say so. End this stupidity once and for all.

NOTE: When I first moved here in 1987, I wasn’t handed a state funded language course, I couldn’t work without a permit, I had to have my passport stamped with a yearly visa costing me a X amount of Finnish Markka’s, and I couldn’t own land, as well as having to give up my American citizenship If I wanted to become a Finnish citizen ( I didn’t). I once again long for those days, they were far better than the tomfoolery parading as ”tolerance” today.

Broad MP pushback against tighter family reunification rules for Finns

MPs from both the government and opposition have lined up to condemn the impact on Finns of tighter family reunification regulations planned by the government. The lawmakers said the introduction of stricter income requirements for family reunification was meant to discourage asylum seekers, not Finnish nationals.

Pariskunta halaa lumisessa puistossa.
MPs are concerned about the impact of the proposed changes on Finnish exchange students and workers on overseas postings, who may want to bring loved ones to live in Finland. Image: Roman Pilipey / EPA

Opposition to government’s plan to hike the income requirement for family reunification has been broad-based, involving Parliamentarians from both the government coalition and the opposition.

Head of the Greens parliamentary group Outi Alanko-Kahiluoto pulled no punches in her criticism of the planned reform, saying that individuals’ fundamental rights shouldn’t be tied to their financial means.

“From now on the children of poor families will not have the same right to family life as the children of wealthy parents. The income requirement is unreasonably high, and a majority of Finns would also fail to reach the limit,” Alanko-Kahiluoto noted on Yle’s Aamu-tv breakfast programme.

Finns Party MP also critical

Sampo Terho, chair of the Parliament’s most immigration-critical party, the Finns Party, agreed. He said that in his view the income limit should not be applied to Finns.

“In this regard the income limit is unnecessary for Finns. They don’t represent the original intention, which has been to eliminate pull factors specifically with respect to asylum seekers,” Terho said.

Government is proposing a minimum income requirement for persons living in Finland who wish to bring their non-EU spouses to join them. The lower monthly income limit would be 1,700 euros. If the spouse is accompanied by two children, the minimum required monthly income would rise to 2,600 euros. However the government bill would also apply Finnish citizens.

Leader of the National Coalition Party’s MP group Arto Satonen stressed that the planned reforms to the Aliens’ Act are primarily intended to address the asylum seeker situation. He said that the draft bill could still be amended following its commenting rounds.

“Personally I think that that the income limit shouldn’t affect Finnish citizens,” Satonen told Yle Monday morning.

The proposal is currently being circulated for comments. The Finns Party’s Sampo Terho said that the proposal should be re-evaluated.

SDP MP: What about exchange students, workers abroad?

Meanwhile chair of the Social Democratic Party MP group Antti Lindtman also weighed in against the new income requirements for Finns.

If some [Finnish) exchange student or someone on a work trip happens to fall in love, in practice they would need an above average income to bring their loved one to Finland. That doesn’t sound at all rational,” Lindtman declared.

Centre Party parliamentary group leader Matti Vanhanen said he preferred not to adopt a position on the matter, since the bill was still in its commenting round. However he said he understood the concerns raised.

“I’m not surprised that these financial limits have sparked critical comments,” he said.

Vanhanen said that Centre Party MP MPs have not yet discussed the income limits to be introduced for family reunification. He added that the proposal is part of a larger concept that the government had agreed last autumn.

Yle

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