legal and social conditions for asylum seekers and refugees in ...

There are special training programmes for immigrants, which are open also to refugees and
which aims is to improve the readiness for working life and vocational training. They usually last
for one year. Attendance on these programmes may be part of the refugee’s integration
programme.
Refugees who wish to study are entitled to the same grants and special adult grants as Finnish
nationals. These grants cannot, however, be combined with the integration allowance.
Language tuition
Language tuition in Finnish and/or Swedish is part of the integration programme. There is no fixed
number of hours provided. The language tuition is usually provided by state-funded schools.
School attendance
All refugee children are entitled to attend Finnish comprehensive school (from 7 to 16 years of
age). It is free for everybody. In many schools, there are special preparatory classes for refugee
and immigrant children so that they acquire some basic knowledge of the Finnish/Swedish
language before going to normal classes.
Mother tongue tuition
Refugee children are entitled to receive mother tongue tuition provided that a group of four
children with the same language can be formed within the school, the municipality or even
amongst several municipalities
Unaccompanied minors
Once an unaccompanied minor has been granted a residence permit, he/she is settled in a
municipality, selected on the basis of individual requirements. Usually, the representative
continues to represent the child in all legal matters until he/she becomes of age or until
reunification with his/her family.
Most minors are placed in so called "group family homes”, where between six and eight children
are looked after by about the same number of adults, including Finnish nationals and at least one
employee with a foreign background. If the minor has stayed with a family of the same ethnic
background during the asylum procedure and if this is deemed to have been positive for the child,
he/she may then continue living with this family.
All expenses incurred by the municipality in relation with the settlement of a minor are reimbursed
by the state.
Freedom of residence/movement
Citizenship
Refugees may move and settle wherever they want within the country.
Refugees, de facto refugees and all persons with a permanent residence permit can apply for
Finnish citizenship after five years in Finland on the basis of such status. Basic knowledge of
Finnish or Swedish language is also required. In practice, however, the procedure is lengthy and
may take several years.
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Finland