Immigration | Minister of the Interior Mikkonen to HS: There is no fast lane for the rights of municipal residents for Ukrainian refugees – The reason is schedules and equality

War for the fugitives Ukrainians are not allowed a “fast lane” to their homeland in Finland, says the Minister of the Interior Krista Mikkonen (green) for HS.

According to Mikkonen, the necessary changes to the law would take so much time that they would not come into effect until next spring. At that time, a large part of those who fled Ukraine have already been in Finland for a year, when they can apply for domicile in Finland based on the current regulations if they wish.

“According to the report, changes to the Household Act would therefore not be possible to significantly speed up the transfer of Ukrainians to municipal services,” Mikkonen states in his e-mail statement to HS.

Mikkonen refers to a recent report by the ministries, which mapped the possibility of offering Ukrainian refugees living in Finland an accelerated path to municipal citizenship. This would give refugees the opportunity to use municipal services instead of asylum services.

The board discussed the report last week.

There are currently around 30,000 Ukrainian refugees in Finland. They have not had to apply for actual asylum, as they are covered by the temporary protection provided by the directive issued by the EU due to the war in Ukraine.

The purpose of the EU directive is to open access to education and the labor market. Temporary protection was initially granted for one year, but the period is ready to be extended if necessary.

Finland according to the current law, you must reside in Finland for at least one year in order to apply for the right of domicile. Municipal registration would open the possibility for Ukrainians to become clients of, for example, the municipal employment experiment, and would make children compulsory for education.

For Ukrainian refugees, the situation will start to change in the spring of 2023, when they will be able to apply for municipal citizenship. A possible “fast lane” would have accelerated this process.

Based on estimates received from non-governmental organizations and interviews conducted by the Ministry of the Interior, about one in three of the Ukrainians who fled to Finland already know at this stage that they will remain living in Finland even if the war ends.

However, for a large part of the new arrivals, the situation is very uncertain regarding the future. The reasons are the organization of other living arrangements, finding a job and the well-being of the children.

Passing lane on behalf of in public the chairman of the center has spoken, among others Annika Saarikko (center).

“I would be ready to give them municipal rights quickly. The same rights and opportunities as other municipal residents. They are granted a residence permit on the basis of temporary protection, which means they already have a special lane in any case. All unnecessary bureaucracy must be stripped away,” said Saarikko in an interview with Ilta-Sanomie in May.

However, according to the ministries’ report, the planned overtaking lane would face challenges due to equality and the constitution. For example, whether Ukrainians can be given different rights than other groups that have fled to Finland would have come to be considered.

Correction July 7, 2022 at 7:20 p.m.: Changed incorrect statement, which indicates that TE services and language training are only open to municipal residents. However, Ukrainians are currently entitled to both. Corrected: without municipal status, you cannot participate in the municipal employment trial organized by TE offices.