2009 - Maahanmuuttovirasto

◆ Summary ◆Finnish Immigration Service 2009Towards controlled immigrationControlled increased immigrationis the guiding principle of Finnishimmigration policy. The policy focuseson the promotion of employmentbasedimmigration and student andresearcher immigration as a provisionagainst future labour shortages.From the point of view of theimmigration authorities, controlledimmigration growth is a vital andhighly challenging goal. Aboveall the most challenging aspectfrom the perspective of the FinnishImmigration Service is the continuedrapid increase in the number of casesbeing processed, which is placing asevere strain on resources. In 2006 theFinnish Immigration Service receivednearly 35,000 cases. By 2009 thisnumber had grown to 47,700, and thefigure is expected to reach 60,000 overthe next few years.I believe the majority of Finns willaccept immigration if it is controlledand if immigrants are given sufficientopportunities to integrate. We cannothalt immigration, but we canmanage it. Controlled immigration isin the best interest of all.Jorma Vuorio, Director GeneralAsylum applications reachednew recordThe number of asylum-seekers toFinland reached a record figure in2009. The sharp increase placedsignificant strain on existing resources,and the impact on the FinnishImmigration Service operations was feltacross the board. Thanks to additionalresource injections and restructuring,the Finnish Immigration Servicenonetheless succeeded to swiftly andeffectively bridge the gap.The number of applicants forasylum reached an all-time high atthe end of 2009 with almost 6,000applications submitted, representinga 48 percent rise on the previous year.Director of the Asylum Unit EskoRepo: “This is a substantial figure forFinland. We’ve also seen rapid growthin applications in the previous years,with around 1,500 submitted in 2007and about 4,000 in 2008.”Sharp increase in familyreunificationsIn addition to the increase in asylumseekers,applications for familyreunification also saw a rapid rise.The biggest increase, and the mostcontroversial in the media, was seenin the so-called ‘other close relatives’category, which includes others thanmembers of the nuclear family, i.e.,relatives other than spouses, partnersand dependant underage children.“A record number of family tiebased applications were submitted bySomalis, with a year-on-year increaseof as high as 81 percent. This placedSomalia for the first time ahead ofRussia at the head of the Top 10 listfor family tie based applications,” saysPauliina Helminen, Head of Section.At the opposite end of the scale, theImmigration Unit also witnesseda record low. The total number ofapplications submitted fell overall byaround 9 percent. The biggest dropwas in employment-based immigrationwhich, following several years ofsteady increase, saw applications dropby nearly half due to the economicrecession.“We’ve never experienced a drop ofthis scale – i.e. 42 percent – before,”says Helminen.Citizenship applications downApplications for Finnish citizenshipfell by 14 percent in 2009. Accordingto Tiina Suominen, Director ofthe Nationality Unit, this figure issurprisingly high considering theoverall trend for steadily increasingimmigration.“One reason for the drop inapplications could be the languageskills requirement; we have issued a lotof negative decisions based on this inrecent years. The number of negativedecisions was about ten percent in2009,” says Suominen.More than 10,000 applicantswere granted Finnish citizenship. Thebiggest groups among those who weregranted the citizenship by applicationwere, as expected, Russians, Somalisand Iraqis. Sudanese nationals alsojoined the list of the biggest applicantgroups.Country informationgrowing in importanceThe rise in the number of asylumapplications also increases the needfor reliable and real-time contry of28 MAAHANMUUTTOVIRASTO 2009