Only the family of a person who has been granted refugee status may in the future apply for family reunification within three months without an income requirement

On 1 July 2016, the Aliens Act is amended so that the income requirement will also in most cases apply to family members of persons who have been granted international protection, when they apply for residence permits in Finland.

Only family members of persons who have been granted asylum or selected as quota refugees may apply for family reunification within three months without an income requirement, if the family ties existed before the asylum seeker came to Finland or before the quota refugee was selected for Finland’s refugee quota. The three month time limit begins when the sponsor is informed of his or her own decision. The amendments to the law will be applied to family members of persons who receive their asylum decision or are selected as quota refugees on or after 1 July 2016.

As of 1 July 2016, the income requirement always applies to family members of a person who has been granted other international protection, such as subsidiary, humanitarian or temporary protection. The reform also applies to those family members whose applications are pending.

An appointment to apply for family reunification has to be made within three months

The family members submit their residence permit applications abroad at a Finnish mission. As a rule, the applicant should make an appointment at a Finnish mission to submit his or her application. If submitting the application does not require an appointment, all applicants must, however, visit the mission in person within three months.

The time limit does not apply if a family member is unable to submit his or her application within three months because of the Finnish authorities, for example, because of delays in the appointments. However, in this case the family members have to book the first available appointment and use it to hand in their application. If the submitting of an application takes over three months and the delay is not caused by the Finnish authorities, the income requirement applies to the applicants.

Guidelines for the limits for secured means of support

The family members of a person who has been granted asylum or selected as a quota refugee may also apply for family reunification after three months, but then the family members have to have secure means of support. Secure means of support mean that the family has its own income and does not have to rely on benefits in Finland.

Salary, business income, pension and other assets as well as some benefits, such as child benefits, financial aid to students and housing allowance, are considered to be income. Work is always considered when making the decision and the guidelines for income limits are flexible.

The income requirement is already applied to new family members of persons who have been granted international protection, that is to say, members of a family that has been started after the sponsor has arrived in Finland.

Further information for the media

Arja Kallakivi, Head of Section, +358 295 430 431, firstname.lastname@migri.fi