Following a policy review, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) has started accepting travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority.
However, the agency noted that it would continue rejecting travel documents issued by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Following a recent change to the Aliens Act, Migri has not accepted passports issued by the Palestinian Authority, because Finland has not recognised the state of Palestine.
Migri announced plans to examine the issue in early September. It announced that it was accepting Palestinian-issued documents in a recent press release.
"The Finnish Immigration Service has reviewed both the definition of a national travel document and determination of citizenship status. The agency finds that a national travel document referred to in the Aliens Act must be technically reliable and issued by the person’s country of nationality," Migri's press release stated.
"This requires that there is a state that considers the person to be a citizen of that state on the basis of its legislation. The Citizenship Act, on the other hand, does not require that a state is recognised in order for a person to be considered a citizen of a certain state," it continued.
Palestinian Authority documents
"Travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority meet the requirements mentioned above and are considered national travel documents. In order to be issued with a residence permit, the other requirements laid down by law must also be fulfilled. Passports issued by Hamas in Gaza will not be accepted as national travel documents, as has been the case so far."
Following a review of the Aliens Act and Citizenship Act, Migri said it considered it a legal obligation to not restrict the rights of foreign nationals "any more than necessary".
"Even though travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority now are accepted, the definition of a national travel document in the legislation and questions of competence are still not unambiguous," it said.
Migri added that it plans to further examine how the guideline changes end up affecting citizenship and residence permit applications, "and the consequences for the negative decisions that have already been issued".
Last month, Yle News reported about the situation of Fayez Bassalat, a 25-year-old Palestinian living in Helsinki, who received a deportation notice from Migri, because it did not consider his Palestinian passport to be a valid travel document.
In late August, the Foreign Ministry issued a news brief stating that Finland continues to recognise passports issued by the Palestinian Authority, but that Migri had changed its policy.
The ministry noted that Finland has recognised Palestinian passports as valid travel documents for travel to the country since 1995.
In late September, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's (NCP) government survived a confidence vote called over its policy regarding Palestine.
Three of the four main opposition parties — the SDP, Greens and Left Alliance — filed a challenge to the government over its indecision about recognising Palestinian statehood.
Finland is now the only Nordic country that has not recognised the state of Palestine, with the exception of Denmark, which has begun the process.
