The Finnish government wants to enshrine the use of biological age tests in legislation on foreigners. Age tests on asylum seekers had previously been conducted without any specific legislation, prompting the Deputy Parliamentary Ombudsman to take issue with the practice.
A bill on the matter is to be brought before Parliament on Friday.
Age testing was first implemented following suspicions that some asylum seekers were claiming to be under 18 in hopes of getting easier approval for their applications.
Immigration Minister Astrid Thors (Swed. People’s Party) says that simply talking about age tests has reduced the number of applications by minors.
In the future, families seeking asylum for foster children will be expected to give reliable evidence that the child really has been in a foster relationship with the main adult before arriving in Finland.
The government also proposes that residence permits on the basis of family connections could be denied if the family member in Finland is suspected of having given false personal information or lied about his or her family relations.
The government also wants to place further restrictions on the right of asylum seekers to work. At present, an asylum seeker can be granted the right to work in Finland after spending three months in the country. Under the government’s proposal, the right to work after three months in Finland would be restricted to those applicants who have a travel document that entitles them to enter Finland. Those who do not would have to wait for six months.
