An article in The Guardian on an asylum seeker who asks, “‘Why can’t I be legal anywhere?’ Exploited and left stateless by Sweden.” His story is not an anomaly but reveals what is happening to stateless persons, even in countries like Finland. Helsingin Sanomat and Migrant Tales published a story about the column. The author,…
Tag: stateless persons
Strict banking laws in Finland leave refugees without bank accounts and discourage foreign investment
Stateless refugees cannot still open bank accounts in regions like Etelä-Savo in Eastern Finland, according to Länsi-Savo, a Mikkeli-based daily. Not only are stateless persons affected but different municipalities that want to attract foreign investment. Some small- and medium-sized companies that want to relocate in Finland from Russia have a difficult time opening bank account…
Some Finnish banks require Somalis to be Finnish citizens to have access to online banking
Migrant Tales understands that employees of banks like Nordea, Osuuspankki and Handelsbanken in Kouvola and Mikkeli tell Somalis that they must be Finnish citizens in order to have access to online banking. A blog entry published in March 2012 highlighted the difficulties that stateless persons face in opening a bank account never mind gaining access to…
When the state and regulations scheme to make life difficult for immigrants
The lives of stateless persons in Finland isn’t easy by a long shot. On the one hand we want newcomers to adapt to our society but deny them a basic right like opening a bank account. Think for a moment how complicated life would be without a bank account. If you are a stateless person…