Comment: Here is a story published in Tampere-based Aamulehti that looks like a soap opera that backfired in the face of the authorities. The main characters of the soap opera are the embattled immigrants that move to Finland but do not know how many years they have to wait to apply for citizenship.
JusticeDemon says the following: “The documentation on this reform is on the website of Parliament here.
It is not uncommon for foreigners to be in a position where they have a choice between seeking citizenship or a residence permit, so this is nothing new.
Based on a quick survey of the parallel texts in the government bill, it appears that fixed penalties for petty offences (e.g. the 10 euro fine for jaywalking) will no longer be an obstacle to naturalisation, but there are no indications of any change in policy regarding serious crimes, so the first sentence of this teaser appears to be incorrect.”
Before a court ruling, the officials at the Finnish Immigration Service decided arbitrarily how many years you’d have to wait. If you were, for example, a student studying at the university your wait could take anywhere from 11 to 13 years. Usually those six to eight years that you studied at the university did not count towards naturalization. You would have to wait another five years to be eligible.
In effect, the new law may make it easier to get citizenship than a residence permit. Another aspect is that a person that has committed a crime in Finland can apply for citizenship, according to Aamulehti.
What are your experiences with the Finnish Immigration Service and do you think the new law is bad?
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Suomen kansalaisuus voi irrota jatkossa helpommin kuin oleskelulupa. Vakavakaan rikos ei estä kansalaisuuden saamista – toisin kuin monessa muussa EU-maassa.
Kansalaisuuden saaminen helpottuu eduskunnan hyväksymän kansalaisuuslain muutoksen vuoksi. Velvoitusta Suomessa asumisesta lyhennetään kuudesta vuodesta viiteen. Maahanmuuttovirasto pelkää, että rikolliset alkavat hakea kansalaisuutta oleskeluluvan sijasta.
– Tuleeko tilanteita, että kansalaisuuden saa helpommin kuin pysyvän oleskeluluvan? Jos henkilö hakee pysyvää oleskelulupaa eikä saa, pitääkin tyytyä kansalaisuuteen, Maahanmuuttoviraston kansalaisuusyksikön johtaja Tiina Suominen pohtii.
Lue lisää asiasta torstain Aamulehdestä
At least this puts an end to the discussion if Finland has or not an open door policy.
“Vakavakaan rikos ei estä kansalaisuuden saamista – toisin kuin monessa muussa EU-maassa.”
–At least this puts an end to the discussion if Finland has or not an open door policy.
What is an open-door policy? How does this apply to Finland?
That was an idiotic comment from Tony the Toby, but it’s also not your finest blog entry, Ricky. This Aamulehti teaser is inaccurate and misleading.
The documentation on this reform is on the website of Parliament here.
It is not uncommon for foreigners to be in a position where they have a choice between seeking citizenship or a residence permit, so this is nothing new.
Based on a quick survey of the parallel texts in the government bill, it appears that fixed penalties for petty offences (e.g. the 10 euro fine for jaywalking) will no longer be an obstacle to naturalisation, but there are no indications of any change in policy regarding serious crimes, so the first sentence of this teaser appears to be incorrect.
Insofar as petty offences can delay the issuing of a permanent residence permit to a foreigner residing continuously in Finland, it is therefore entirely possible that an applicant may be granted citizenship before qualifying for permanent residence. This is hardly earth-shattering, as an unsuccessful applicant for a permanent residence permit under such circumstances normally gets a temporary residence permit extension anyway.
The most common reason for these waiting periods is a petty speeding fine or other minor road traffic offence not classified as serious (the highest fine is 115 euros for exceeding a 60 km/h speeding limit by between 15 and 20 km/h). It could reasonably be asked why these petty offences are at all relevant to the residence permit system, as they come nowhere near the level of severity that justifies expulsion, so the offender gets a residence permit anyway.
A more interesting point is that a restraining order remains an obstacle to citizenship. Given the somewhat summary procedure and minimal evidence that suffice for obtaining a restraining order, this seems improper.
In many ways the most important reform concerns the contribution of periods of temporary residence in Finland towards the qualifying period. This applies to foreign students in particular. Under the new arrangement it will be possible to count half of the period of temporary residence towards the qualifying period for citizenship, provided that subsequent continuous residence has lasted for at least one year. This means that a foreign student who completes eight years of full-time higher education before securing a job and associated residence permit will be eligible for citizenship after just one more year (instead of six years).
JusticeDemon, I knew you would clear up the matter for all of us. I am basing my few thoughts on the matter on what some immigrants say and the Aamulehti article. So what we have here is another exaggeraton by the Finnish media? Not surprising at all.
I hope we will be able to open debate on this and get to the bottom.