Opposition to government's plan to hike the income requirement for family reunification has been broad-based, involving Parliamentarians from both the government coalition and the opposition.
Head of the Greens parliamentary group Outi Alanko-Kahiluoto pulled no punches in her criticism of the planned reform, saying that individuals' fundamental rights shouldn’t be tied to their financial means.
"From now on the children of poor families will not have the same right to family life as the children of wealthy parents. The income requirement is unreasonably high, and a majority of Finns would also fail to reach the limit," Alanko-Kahiluoto noted on Yle’s Aamu-tv breakfast programme.
Finns Party MP also critical
Sampo Terho, chair of the Parliament’s most immigration-critical party, the Finns Party, agreed. He said that in his view the income limit should not be applied to Finns.
"In this regard the income limit is unnecessary for Finns. They don’t represent the original intention, which has been to eliminate pull factors specifically with respect to asylum seekers," Terho said.
Government is proposing a minimum income requirement for persons living in Finland who wish to bring their non-EU spouses to join them. The lower monthly income limit would be 1,700 euros. If the spouse is accompanied by two children, the minimum required monthly income would rise to 2,600 euros. However the government bill would also apply Finnish citizens.
Leader of the National Coalition Party's MP group Arto Satonen stressed that the planned reforms to the Aliens' Act are primarily intended to address the asylum seeker situation. He said that the draft bill could still be amended following its commenting rounds.
"Personally I think that that the income limit shouldn’t affect Finnish citizens," Satonen told Yle Monday morning.
The proposal is currently being circulated for comments. The Finns Party’s Sampo Terho said that the proposal should be re-evaluated.
SDP MP: What about exchange students, workers abroad?
Meanwhile chair of the Social Democratic Party MP group Antti Lindtman also weighed in against the new income requirements for Finns.
If some [Finnish) exchange student or someone on a work trip happens to fall in love, in practice they would need an above average income to bring their loved one to Finland. That doesn’t sound at all rational," Lindtman declared.
Centre Party parliamentary group leader Matti Vanhanen said he preferred not to adopt a position on the matter, since the bill was still in its commenting round. However he said he understood the concerns raised.
"I’m not surprised that these financial limits have sparked critical comments," he said.
Vanhanen said that Centre Party MP MPs have not yet discussed the income limits to be introduced for family reunification. He added that the proposal is part of a larger concept that the government had agreed last autumn.