The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) announced that it will temporarily halt issuing negative residence permit decisions for Palestinians while it reassesses its policy on acceptable travel documents. According to Migri’s press release the review process is underway but it remains uncertain whether this will result in any changes to current practices. The evaluation is expected to take several weeks.
Published: 5/09/25 | 17:43
This issue stems from an amendment to residence permit legislation that took effect in September as part of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government programme. The reform introduced a requirement that applicants must present a national travel document to obtain a residence permit. Since the change Palestinians have faced rejections because Finland does not recognize Palestine as a state and therefore Migri has not accepted Palestinian passports as valid proof of identity.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has now suggested that its definition of a national travel document should also be applied to residence permit legislation. Consular Officer Jussi Tanner explained that the Ministry has accepted Palestinian passports as travel documents since 1995. He emphasized that while Finland does not recognize Palestine this does not automatically render all Palestinians stateless, these are separate issues. He also noted there is no conflict between the Foreign and Interior Ministries.
Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen (PS) stated that it is Migri’s responsibility to interpret and implement the law. She stressed that the government proposed the reform, Parliament passed it and that concludes the legislator’s role. Rantanen sees no reason to amend the law despite the differing interpretations by Migri and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
