Finland is to abolish the existing system of granting Ingrian Finns ‘returning migrant’ status.
The Ingrian are descendents from Finnish émigrés who, in the 17th century, moved to an area inside modern Russia near the south-eastern shoreline of the Gulf of Finland. Up until now, they have been afforded special consideration under the returning migrant scheme if they chose to revisit their homeland.
However, if changes under a new government proposal are approved, Ingrians will have until July 1, 2011 to declare their intent to live in Finland. After this date, they will be treated as any other new migrants, with the same laws applying as to all foreigners from outside the European Union.
Finnish officials, meanwhile, are not expecting a sudden rush of applications from Ingrians looking to come back. “Those Ingrians who have been most affected by return migrant status have had 20 years to join the queue,” said Elina Setala of the Ministry of the Interior.
Applications already submitted by Ingrians for returning migrant classification are currently being processed as quickly as possible by the ministry. “In the future, residence permits can be applied for freely. The change favours active and motivated applicants with linguistic skills,” said Setala.
In recent years, around 500 returning Ingrian migrants have moved back to Finland per annum.
