Last month, Fayez Bassalat, a 25-year-old Palestinian living in Helsinki, received a deportation notice from the Finnish Immigration Service Migri.
The reason, Migri explained, is that it no longer considers his Palestinian passport to be a valid travel document, a decision that threatens to uproot the life he has built for himself in Finland.
More than 145 countries around the world recognise the State of Palestine, but Finland is not one of them yet.
Bassalat, who grew up in Ramallah in Palestine's West Bank region, came to Finland in 2022 after completing a civil engineering degree in China. Drawn by the promise of Finland as a safe country full of opportunities, he enrolled in a Bachelor’s programme in Electronics Engineering at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.
"The first year was challenging. I came as an international student, paid tuition of 11,000 euros per year, and wasn't eligible for student aid or housing support. I worked as a waiter at a Chinese restaurant to get by," Bassalat tells Yle News.
Everything unfolded just as he had hoped — an internship at his university led to a part-time contract, which eventually turned into a full-time position as a project engineer and teacher at Metropolia.
Deportation notice from Migri
Bassalat initially applied for a residence permit based on employment when he got a full-time contract from his employer. But after graduating — and with his application still pending for several months — he updated it to a residence permit for people who have completed a degree in Finland.
His application was rejected, however, and last month, he received a 30-day deportation notice from Migri stating that "passports issued by the Palestinian Authority are no longer accepted as valid travel documents for purposes such as work-based residence permits". Yle has seen the Migri decision.
In addition, according to the Migri decision, the applicant can be "deported to their country of residence, Israel, in the West Bank area, without being subjected there to inhuman treatment" or "without the possibility of being sent from there to such an area".
"I cannot be in Israel without applying for prior permission, which is not realistic at this point. So if Finland is going to deport me to Israel, there is a likelihood that I will be thrown in prison since it would not be legal for me to be in Israel," he says.
Taissir Al Adjouri, Ambassador of the Mission of Palestine in Finland, confirms that Palestinians cannot be deported to Israel and that their lives would be at risk if such deportation were to take place.
"Firstly, Israel will not accept such a deportation. It would be very dangerous for Palestinians to be in Israel, with a risk of imprisonment and threats to their lives," said Al Adjouri.
Bassalat tells Yle News that the deportation decision shocked him.
"This threatens to destroy the life I have built here," Bassalt says.
"I have a full-time job and a degree, I pay taxes, speak Finnish and three other languages, and I passed the YKI test within two and a half years of arriving in Finland. I fell in love with the country, and have made friends who have become like family to me. To think about leaving after everything I've worked for is devastating."
Helsingin Sanomat was the first outlet in Finland to report on Bassalat's situation last week.
Bassalat says he also has a temporary passport issued by Jordan for Palestinians, which he submitted to Migri with his paperwork. However, Bassalat arrived in Finland with his Palestinian passport and used it to apply for his residence permit.
Migri is currently evaluating the matter
According to Migri, there has been a change in Finnish legislation — in the Finnish Aliens Act, section 35 — which concerns identification requirements for residence permits.
The amendment introduced a general requirement for a valid national travel document. "The requirement for a 'national document' was not there before", says Johanna Waal, Migri's Director, Legal and Specialist Services Unit, in an interview with Yle News.
"The change means that documents previously accepted, such as an alien's passport or refugee travel document, are no longer valid even if there are other grounds. The wording in the paragraph is very precise," she says.
According to Migri's interpretation, as Finland has not recognised the state of Palestine, Palestinian passports are not considered valid national travel documents.
However, Migri is now reconsidering the interpretation — Waal told Yle News that Migri has now recognised the need to evaluate "certain legal issues" in how section 35 of the Aliens Act is interpreted.
"We have been having discussions with public officials on this topic. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also raised points, especially on the definition of national travel document, and we have also had our own expert-level discussions in Migri on this matter."
"Whether our discussion leads to changes in practice is not yet possible to predict," Waal said, adding that the evaluation process will take a few weeks.
According to Waal, while not commenting on individual cases, Migri will always "apply the principle of non-refoulement — a principle of international law that forbids deporting someone to a place where they risk torture, persecution, or death.
She added that any applicant who has received a deportation notice has the right to appeal, and removal is not enforced while an appeal is still pending.
According to Migri, the processing time of appeals may vary in courts and is difficult to anticipate.
"Should a Palestinian have dual citizenship, it is possible to consider in the residence permit process a valid national travel document of the other citizenship," Waal added.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Migri at odds
Last week, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that it "continues to recognise passports issued by the Palestinian Authority", adding that, however, Migri is "currently not issuing residence permits" for holders of Palestinian passports.
Taissir Al Adjouri, Ambassador of the Palestine mission in Finland, added that he is in contact with Migri and other Finnish authorities regarding the discrepancy between how Migri is interpreting the law and the government’s official position.
"This interpretation is outside of the common position of the government. It seems to be a position taken by political parties."
It's an important legal issue if Migri has a different policy than the foreign affairs ministry, according to Lena Näre, professor of sociology at the University of Helsinki.
"By law, civil servants need to interpret the law consistently, and there should be a shared consensus."
According to Näre, whose research focuses on migrants' struggles with bureaucratic processes, there have been long-term issues in Finland's residence permit system regarding what is recognised as a valid passport or travel document.
She said migrants face legal and bureaucratic hurdles, and that the human aspect is often ignored.
On Monday, the Left Alliance announced that MP Veronika Honkasalo (Left) has submitted a written question to Parliament on how the updated immigration legislation will apply to Palestinian passports and stateless persons, asking the government to ensure consistent, non-discriminatory application.
Finland's Palestinian community worried
The mixed messaging from Finnish authorities has left Finland's Palestinian community feeling anxious and uncertain, according to Majed Abusalama, a political activist who grew up in Gaza. He is now a Palestine researcher at Tampere University and chair of Sumud, the Finnish Palestine Network.
He said Palestinians in Finland are watching their families endure genocide from afar while facing bureaucratic hostility at home.
"Everyone feels overwhelmed and afraid to renew their permits or visas. These procedures are racist and discriminatory. Instead of focusing on sanctions against Israel, it feels like bureaucratic manoeuvres are being used to make Palestinians feel like second-class citizens."
Abusalama further called on Finnish civil society to act urgently, calling it hypocritical that Finland's government talks about recognising Palestine but not the Palestinian people. Abusalama added that the Finnish-Palestine network may also consider legal action against Migri and other authorities to ensure accountability.
According to Sumud, exact numbers are hard to confirm, but an estimated 3,000–5,000 Palestinians in Finland — many holding Palestinian Authority travel documents — could be affected by these decisions.
Ombudsman: Rights of foreigners weakened
The office of Finland's Non-Discrimination Ombudsman told Yle News via email that they cannot comment on this individual case as they are currently assessing it.
The office noted that it issued a statement when the law proposal was initially drafted, which drew attention to the fact that stateless persons or Somali citizens — whose travel documents are not accepted by Finland — would be unable to obtain a residence permit based on employment or study.
The office underlined that if these situations are not taken into account appropriately, the law may constitute a situation of "indirect discrimination based on a person's nationality".
"This means that all Palestinians who do not have a travel document that Migri would accept are in the same situation when they apply for a work or study permit or their extension," the office said, adding that in its view "the rights of foreigners have been weakened" as a result of these law changes.
Bassalat: I still have faith in Finland
Even as he goes through this ordeal, Bassalat told Yle News that he still has faith in Finland and he is deeply appreciative of the help he has received.
When he shared his story in a LinkedIn post last week after receiving Migri’s letter, it was met with an outpouring of support, with strangers reaching out to offer help, solidarity, and encouragement.
"People with wide social networks are offering to help and connecting me with the right people. My university community has also been incredibly supportive, even crowdfunding to help cover my legal fees. But it makes me think — while I'm lucky enough that my voice reached the right ears, there could be others in a similar situation in Finland without that support," he said.
Bassalat added that he is now weighing all his legal options, is determined to appeal the Migri decision and defend his right to stay in Finland.
"I came here to work and build a life for myself and my future kids. I know I have better opportunities here than I would ever have back home. But if Finland doesn't want me, maybe I'd have to go back, or try to start again somewhere else, from scratch," he said.
"I just hope it doesn't come to that."
