Speech of the Free Movement at the demonstration at Säätytalo on the 5th of May
VL participated in the demonstration “Seeking asylum is a human right!” at Säätytalo on Friday 5th of May 2023. The message of the event, organized by Amnesty International, was aimed at the negotiators of the new government program.
There are thousands of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers who have lived in Finland for many years without a residence permit. The “Lupa elää” citizens’ initiative was submitted to Parliament in June 2022. The initiative was signed by more than 50 000 citizens. It was created by the Free Movement together with other organizations and groups. It called for the legalization of all people who had applied for asylum in Finland before 2017 and who did not have a permanent residence permit.
The Administration Committee in the Finnish parliament chaired by Riikka Purra did not take the “Lupa elää” initiative into consideration at all. The initiative expired after the end of the last parliamentary term.
A large number of those undocumented people, who are currently living in Finland, arrived here already during the summer and autumn of 2015. When the text of the initiative was written, six years had passed. Soon many have been here for eight years without any certainty about their future. Many have worked here, studied and have friends and family in Finland.
Undocumented status and uncertainty about the right of residence cause significant and psychological harm and health problems for people caught in this limbo. The situation contributes to the grey economy and exposes people to exploitation. These problems and intolerable living conditions did not end with the change of parliament but are facing the new government in office.
The True Finns have proposed tightening the conditions for obtaining international protection and other residence permits. Such tightening will not only affect the lives of refugees and migrants who may be heading to Finland. They also directly affect the situation of asylum seekers and migrants in precarious positions who have arrived here. Already, cumbersome immigration bureaucracy and high thresholds for asylum push migrants into undocumented status, leaving them outside the formal labour market.
As people try to make a living without a formal status, they are vulnerable to forms of exploitation such as exploitation and trafficking. Organizing accommodation as an undocumented person also often means exposure to exploitation.
Unfortunately, there have also been some suggestions that family migration should be made more difficult. In the Free Movement, we support many immigrants every year who want to bring their families to Finland. The Finnish state does not financially support family reunification processes for refugees or other immigrants. The costs can run into thousands of euros, including visa fees, trips to the embassy, fees for other documents and permit fees. Many family reunification workers are very poor, for example, because they have only just obtained their permits, have not had time to find work or work for a long time, or are minors.
For many, having a family in the country is a prerequisite for integration and lengthy family permit processes are very emotionally draining. The future government should make it easier to bring a family to Finland, not more difficult.
Preparations for a comprehensive reform of the Aliens Act were launched during this government term. If it is to be continued, or completed, in this term of government, it is extremely important that it is done on a fundamental and human rights-friendly basis. The current law gives too much discretion to the authorities on many points and allows for the denial of permits on the basis of bureaucratic tricks.
The future government should legalize undocumented migrants and those asylum seekers who have been living without a permit for a long time! Any tightening of permit conditions will only increase the number of undocumented migrants and exploitation in the labour market and should therefore not be done under any circumstances.
The Free Movement demands that the future government prioritizes the basic and human rights of all migrants in its government programme, instead of implementing short-sighted racist and nationalist policies.
