Delightful interview with Mikko Rita at YLE News (in English & Finnish) asking me to share my personal views on the impact of the Finnish Government Program on immigrants in Finland, which is so very timely.
Let’s use our collective solidarity to inform the wider public and push policymakers & parliamentarians to devise more sensible policies for all migrants in Finland.
I also helped co-organize a public event on Migrant Rights X Finnish Immigration Policies, which offers great commentary & insights.
Thanks to Aalto University President Ilkka Niemelä for his bold and courageous statement and to everyone at Aalto for their support of our international community in this crucial moment!
Excerpts of the article below:
The new government programme includes a raft of measures designed to tighten the rules around moving to Finland.
The government’s plans have university professor Nitin Sawhney worried. That’s because the proposed measures to tighten immigration could, at worst, mean he would have to leave the country before he wants to.
One of the changes is a requirement that employers inform the authorities when an employee is fired or resigns, so that their residence permit can be revoked within three months.
Other plans include the requirement to live in Finland for six years in order to obtain a permanent residency permit, as well as passing a language proficiency test and having a two-year work history without long-term unemployment.
“It shows a lack of commitment to international colleagues, faculty, international students—to the international community,” Sawhney told Yle. “If you want to attract the brightest, best minds from around the world, you want them to feel they can make a home for themselves and their families for a very long time—that we are not just here as economic resources to improve the economy.”
YLE article in English: https://yle.fi/a/74-20048798
YLE article in Finnish: https://yle.fi/a/74-20048716
Nitin Sawhney 