Egyptian Grandmother Faces Deportation
Image: YLE
Migration Minister Astrid Thors says she does not plan to issue new rules on family reunification. Controversy on Finland’s family reunification rules erupted after Helsingin Sanomat broke the news of a deportation order handed to an Egyptian grandmother who has been living in Finland with her children.
Under current law, grandparents are not granted residence permits in Finland based on family ties. A foreign elderly relative must be totally dependent on her family to be allowed to stay in Finland.
The woman, a 64-year-old Egyptian, has been living in Finland for two years. She now faces deportation as she is not considered to belong to her sons' nuclear families. The woman’s son and grandsons are Finnish citizens.
The woman's family members in Finland say she is unable to live on her own in Egypt, where she has no relatives. As a Coptic Christian, she also faces persecution there. Authorities once revoked her citizenship, saying she could have it back if she converted to Islam. It was reinstated after her husband died.
It is up to the authorities to decide whether the woman is able to care for herself.
Officials have given the woman one month to leave Finland voluntarily. Several Finnish congregations have offered the woman sanctuary.
YLE, Helsingin Sanomat