Finland Times

 

Finnish Immigration department. File Photo Lehtikuva.

Interior Minister Petteri Orpo on Sunday asked for clarification from the Finnish Immigration Service regarding a situation in which members of an Iraqi family face deportation after they were denied family reunification and asylum.

 

Orpo took to the social media site Tweeter after the Finnish language daily Helsingin Sanomat reported that the father of the family has been allowed to stay in Finland as an asylum seeker, while the mother and her 3-year old girl have received a deportation order.

 

According to the Immigration Service, a decision regarding the fate of a 3-year-old baby has not been made, which in effect means the baby can still continue to live in Finland with the father.

 

Based on the Finnish Immigration Service’s evaluation, the mother and the 3-year-old baby would not be in danger in Iraq.

 

Interior Minister Petteri Orpo. File Photo Lehtikuva.

The woman applied for both asylum and family reunification. But both the applications have been rejected. The family reunification application was denied on the ground that the family income is too small.

 

The Helsingin Sanomat reported that the family appealed the decision to the Administrative Court, but the appeal did not go through.

 

Currently the family is waiting to see whether it would be granted leave to appeal by the Supreme Administrative Court and the deportation decision is overturned or not.

 

The mother and the child may be deported as soon as Friday.

 

The father was granted asylum in Finland seven years ago. The lawyer representing the family, Jari Vuorijoki told the news agency STT that the marriage took place after the man had been granted asylum.

 

“Sure, this is unreasonable for the children. I really do not understand the basis of Migri’s (Finnish Immigration Service) decision. Yes, the family is threatened in Iraq,” Vuorijoki said.

 

The negative decision was justified, according to the Helsingin Sanomat, since there was no justification to grant the applicants residence permits on individual and compassionate grounds.

 

Jaana Vuorio, the general director at the Immigration Service told STT that the woman’s situation has apparently been examined from the perspective of residence permit criteria, the need for international protection, family ties criteria, and income requirements as well as individual and compassionate grounds.

 

“The exceptions are very limited. The implementation of individual and compassionate reasons is very tight. It is very rare that its conditions are met,” Vuorio said.