The attractiveness of Finland to welfare-seeking economic migrants reduces

A couple of days ago, I mentioned that during this year, a total of 1 897 Bangladeshis, 1 445 Pakistanis, 1 120 Nigerians, 1 048 Turks, and 923 Iranians had submitted their first residence permit application to the Finnish Immigration Service.

These numbers are small compared to the figures from nearly ten years ago. In 2015, for instance, more than 20 000 Iraqis applied for international protection in Finland, and over 5 000 Afghans sought the same.

However, this does not mean that large numbers of people from developing countries are no longer trying to reach the EU. According to Verkkouutiset, the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) recorded a total of 513 000 asylum applications in the first half of this year alone, so the number of migrants in the Union is expected to exceed one million this year — just as it did last year.

This might indicate that the international "grapevine" has worked effectively, and asylum seekers are aware of the Finnish government's actions to more strictly target humanitarian immigration to those in genuine need.

Therefore, it is absolutely crucial that Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s (National Coalition Party) government continues to effectively communicate and broadly publicize its immigration policy program. At the time of writing, two key sections of this program are in preparation and currently under review.

The first concerns family reunification, which is being amended to "tighten the requirements for family reunification by implementing the changes made possible by the family reunification directive". The second section relates to detention and entry bans, stating that "the regulations on detention will be tightened, the regulations concerning entry bans will be reformed, and it will be made possible to impose entry bans on individuals residing outside of Finland".

Just as important as making these changes is communicating them to people outside of Finland. This is the only way to minimize the motivation of  migrants looking for high social services to head to this cold northern country.

It is also essential to highlight that the government program still includes further restrictions related to humanitarian asylum, such as limiting reception services and tightening the requirements for obtaining permanent residence. Additionally, it has already been decided that, starting in October, a longer residence period in Finland will be required to apply for Finnish citizenship.

However, it remains to be seen how, for example, the tightening of Germany's immigration policy will affect the number of migrants from developing countries coming to Finland. Will those from developing countries in search of a provider turn their eyes to Finland under the North Star, or will they head elsewhere? And if so, where?

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Information for Asylum Seekers in Finland
Afghans Had to Go
Sweden's Gang Crime Recruits Children – Is It Time for the EU to Reevaluate Asylum Policies?

Healthcare Services for Undocumented Immigrants are a Pull Factor for Harmful Immigration

The Finnish government's intentions to restrict healthcare services for people living in the country illegally have received harsh criticism. The issue is that the change proposed by the current government would effectively overturn a decision made during the last parliamentary term, which granted undocumented individuals the right to essential non-urgent healthcare services.

In a statement from the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS), which is responsible for providing specialized medical care in the region, it was suggested that "the underlying reasons for the proposed legislative amendment are more political than due to observed real problems." It was also stated that "tightening the regulations to approximately previous levels would thus likely increase the resources used for treating patients living illegally in the country."

The South Karelia social and health care district also opposed the legislative amendment, suggesting that "the benefits of the proposed legislation for the state budget and healthcare capacity would be marginal, but the risk of increased human suffering is significant." The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare claimed that "the proposed regulatory solution could lead to an increase in overall healthcare costs instead of achieving savings."

Helsinki Mayor Juhana Vartiainen (National Coalition Party) also commented on the issue, stating that "there is no reason to exclude part of the undocumented population from essential healthcare on the grounds that it would particularly burden the healthcare system." Therefore, the City of Helsinki does not support the legislative amendment.

In my view, each of these statements is foolish, as providing healthcare services to those living illegally in the country is part of the overall system that attracts social welfare-based economic migrants, which causes enormous costs and, on top of that, fosters a breeding ground for sexual and gang-related crime.

For this reason, healthcare services for people living illegally in the country are extremely detrimental to Finnish society and the safety of those legally residing here. Hence, the government's effort to further restrict healthcare for illegal residents is highly commendable, although it is too lenient and insufficient on its own.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Immigration issue
Mass immigration is the greatest concern for EU youth
The human rights of immigrant women are not important in Finland