From 1 August 2023 to 29 January 2024 a total of 1,271 persons sought asylum at the Finnish-Russian border. Well over 90% of the refugees are from Muslim countries like Syria (491), Somalia (360), Yemen (120), and Iraq (57). The total amount does not include some 200 Russians in legal limbo awaiting an interview by…
Tag: asylum
Aleksanterinliitto ry:* Hundreds of Russian asylum seekers left in legal limbo
About 800 Russians who have requested asylum in Finland have been waiting for over two years for a decision on their residence applications from the Migration Service (Migri). The overwhelming majority are young people with higher education (some holding multiple degrees) who have a long working life ahead of them. However, due to their uncertain…
Do you want Finnish citizenship? 40,000 euros, please!
THE STORY WAS UPDATED According to media reports, Finland is on the verge of forming its most right-wing and anti-immigration government, which is proposing a requirement for migrants seeking Finnish citizenship to earn an annual income of 40,000 euros. CORRECTION: The media, which reported earlier that the new government plans to place a 40,000-euro annual…
Amir’s tragic life as an asylum seeker in Finland
I got to know Amir* in 2016 when he was living in the Kolari asylum refugee center. Thanks to his help and those of others, the asylum seekers of the reception center organized a demonstration that ended with the deputy manager, Jari Sillantie, getting sacked. Amir, an Iraqi, came to Finland in 2015 like so…
A Russian asylum seeker’s escape to freedom from Russia and Finland
Migrant Tales insight: Ogneslav Shevchenko, 36, is a Russian national with Ukrainian parents seeking asylum in Europe. Once you get to know him a little, you notice that he has traveled for many years, searching for a country where he is free from persecution. His story is like others seeking asylum and traveling in the…
Challenging Finland’s racism problem:Raise your voice, trust yourself, and don’t succumb to fear and self-censorship
When I moved to Finland over forty years ago, there were only about 10,000 foreigners living in the country. The biggest national group were the Swedes, who were mostly Finns who had become naturalized citizens of that country. One of the questions we asked back then was about the level of racism in Finland.
Iraqi asylum seeker detained in Tampere by the police on Friday was released today
The nineteen-year-old asylum seeker from Iraq, who was detained by the police on Friday awaiting possible deportation was released today at about 1 pm, according to his representative.
After detention for 27 days in Finland, Iraqi asylum seeker gets rejection for work permit after half-a-year wait
Remember an Iraqi asylum seeker called Hayder Al-Hatemi who was detained for 27 days from January 6-February 2 pending a deportation order? He applied for a work permit on February 6 shortly after his release and had learned at the beginning of August that it had been turned down.
CORRECTION: Sixth Iraqi asylum seeker detained by police facing deportation to Iraq
Migrant Tales has learned of a new case of an Iraqi asylum seeker, DH, who was detained Sunday in Pori and is now awaiting deportation to iraq at the Metsälä detention center.
UPDATED (7:32 am): Iraqi asylum seeker MS’ deportation from Oulu Airport in Finland postponed due to diorderly behavior
Migrant Tales has access to a video published in the Facebook group called Suomi ja Pakolaiset where MS is awaiting deportation inside a police van at Oulu Airport in northern Finland. MS was detained by the police on Friday.