The Finnish government has proposed tightening conditions for granting permanent residence permits by, among other things, requiring an extended period of residency and having skills in one of the country's two official languages, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
The ministry unveiled the details of its proposed Aliens Act amendments in a press release on Monday, as the proposal was sent out for comments.
"One of the objectives set out in the Government Programme is to encourage immigrants to comply with the rules of Finnish society, to work and to study the language. In future, successful integration would be a prerequisite for obtaining a permanent residence permit," Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Finns) said in the release.
The proposal calls for permanent resident permit applicants to live continuously in Finland for six years, rather than the current four-year requirement.
Additionally, if the changes go ahead, successful permanent residence applicants will also be required to have "sufficient skills" in either Finnish or Swedish, as well as have a two-year history of work in the country.
Proposed exceptions, requirements
However, people could still obtain permanent residence permits after four years of residency if they meet one of three requirements: earning at least 40,000 euros per year, having master's or postgraduate degrees that are "recognised in Finland" along with a two-year work history, or having "particularly good skills" in Finnish or Swedish as well as a three-year work history in the country.
"In all cases, the requirement concerning a work history of a certain length would also include a requirement of the applicant having accumulated their work history without recourse to unemployment security or social assistance other than for a maximum of three months," the ministry press release stated.
Another exception would concern applicants who have obtained a bachelor's, master's or postgraduate degree at a Finnish educational institution who have also attained a "certain level of proficiency" in Finnish or Swedish. Additionally, such applicants would also need to meet other requirements and conditions for being granted a permanent residence permit, the ministry stated.
The government has also proposed that certain criminal convictions would affect residence permit applications.
"Furthermore, the Government proposes that an unconditional sentence of imprisonment would in future affect the calculation of the period of residence required for a permanent residence permit and a long-term resident’s residence permit," the ministry's release stated.
Users with an Yle ID can leave comments on our news stories. You can create your Yle ID via this link. Our guidelines on commenting and moderation are explained here.
