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Work is considered when evaluating the income requirement for family reunification

Migri
Publication date 16.6.2016 12.09
News item

There has been a lot of public discussion about the income requirements for family reunification. The requirement for a monthly income of 2,600 euro has been used incorrectly in traditional and social media.

The Finnish Immigration Service considers the work situation of family members who apply for a residence permit in Finland. The income requirements are meant to be guidelines and can be deviated from. If both parents in a family with two adults have a salary, it is possible to deviate from the income requirement for their children. This means that the family should have an income of approximately 1,700 euro per month.

The assumption in Finland is that both parents take part in supporting the family. The reason for deviating from the income requirement is to consider the applicant’s work situation and the fact that it should be possible to secure one’s means of support in Finland by working full time.

The income requirement for one adult is 1,000 euro per month

The starting point for the income requirement for one adult is approximately 1,000 euro per month. The family needs to have an income of approximately 700 euro per month for the second adult in the family. The income has to come from salary, business, pension or other assets. Some benefits, such as child benefits, financial aid to students and housing allowance are also considered to be income.

According to the Aliens Act, a family member coming to Finland needs to have secure means of support. The Finnish Immigration Service’s guidelines for income requirements have been established to create common guidelines for the agency for what is to be considered as secure means of support according to the Aliens Act.

The income requirements have been decided together with experts at the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The guidelines for income requirements are based on changes starting from the year 2000 in the basic part of the income support for a person living alone. They are reviewed as living costs rise.

As a general rule the family member’s means of support need to be secure

A family member coming to Finland needs to have secure means of support, if nothing else is stated in the Aliens Act. There is no requirement for secure means of support in cases when, for example, the person in question is a family member of a person who has been granted international protection and the family has been created already before the sponsor has arrived in Finland or when he or she is a family member of a Finnish citizen.

According to the government proposal, secure means of support would also be required of family members of a person who has been granted international protection in cases when the family has been created already before the sponsor has arrived in Finland, with the exception of cases when the person in question is a family member of a quota refugee or a person who has been granted asylum and the application has been submitted within three months from the service of the sponsor’s positive decision.

Further information for the media

Tiina Suominen, Director of Immigration Unit, tel. +358 295 430 431, firstname.lastname@migri.fi

Kerstin Söderlund, Head of Section, tel. +358 295 430 431, firstname.lastname@migri.fi

Leena Turku, Senior Adviser, tel. +358 295 430 431, firstname.lastname@migri.fi

Press release