The newly published government programme states that the link between work and work-based residence permits will be strengthened by stipulating that permit holders will have to leave the country if they fail to re-employ themselves within three months following the end of their previous employment.
Employers in Finland will be obliged to inform the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) of the end of employment relationships with people who have a work-based residence permit under the threat of a penalty payment.
Ayse Pekdiker, a 27-year-old marketing student from Turkey at Aalto University, told Helsingin Sanomat that the three-month requirement is strict particularly for professionals in certain sectors and for people whose employment ends in late spring given that many employers do not recruit during the summer months.
“In the IT sector, for example, lots of employees are furloughed and laid off and it doesn’t look like the situation is improving,” she said to the newspaper at the protest.
The government programme will certainly have a negative effect on the appeal of Finland, predicted Buket Karakas, a 25-year-old cybersecurity student from Turkey.
“I’m starting work in August, so I’m personally staying for the time being, but I’m sure there are many who going forward will rather choose Sweden or Denmark,” she commented to the newspaper. “[The provisions] will definitely have an impact on the country brand.”
The government programme also proposes revisions to the conditions for receiving nationality and permanent residence permit in what the soon-to-be ruling coalition argues is an attempt to encourage immigrants to integrate into Finnish society. The coalition is set to raise the residence requirement for nationality to eight years and decrease the maximum duration the applicant may have spent abroad during the period.
The requirements for a permanent residence permit are to be toughened by stipulating that applicants must demonstrate “sufficient language skills” in a test, have worked for at least two years and have relied on unemployment security or income assistance only on a short term basis while in Finland.
Yesterday’s protest was organised by a group that represents immigrants working in expert tasks in Finland, according to YLE.
“We believe the changes proposed to immigration policy and the citizenship act in the government programme are unfair to us, as well as go against the interests of Finland. We are integrated members of society, we pay taxes and provide our expertise and education to Finland,” the group stated in a press release linked on Facebook.
Finland Chamber of Commerce, in turn, has criticised the government programme for failing to forward substantial measures to boost work-based immigration, warning that labour shortages could end up hamstringing the economic and competitiveness growth pursued in the programme.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT