Finnish Immigration Service Accepts Palestinian Authority Passports for Residence Permits. The Finnish Immigration Service has officially revised its interpretation of travel document requirements for residence permits, now accepting passports issued by the Palestinian Authority. The decision represents a major policy shift that clarifies how Finland defines a national travel document under current immigration law.
This change came after the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior provided new guidance on the intent of legislation introduced in September 2024. Their clarification helped refine how citizenship and travel document status are interpreted under both the Aliens Act and the Citizenship Act.
In 2024, Finland tightened its residence permit rules, requiring all applicants to present a valid national travel document. That change was controversial because the preparatory documents suggested that stateless individuals, including Palestinians, would not meet the requirement. The Finnish Immigration Service warned at the time that this could lead to unreasonable results for people without recognized nationality.
Initially, the agency classified Palestinians as stateless and therefore unable to provide an acceptable national travel document. No amendment was made to the law to address this issue, leaving Palestinian applicants in a difficult position when seeking residence in Finland.
Following renewed consultation, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs presented new legal and technical arguments. It confirmed that passports issued by the Palestinian Authority meet international standards for identification and can be considered reliable. The Ministry of the Interior also reaffirmed that the core purpose of the law was to ensure accurate identity verification, not to exclude applicants based on political or diplomatic recognition.
As a result, the Finnish Immigration Service has concluded that Palestinian Authority passports meet the technical and legal standards required by the Aliens Act. These documents are now accepted for residence permit applications, as long as all other conditions are met.
Passports issued by Hamas in Gaza remain excluded. The agency emphasized that these documents do not qualify as national travel documents under Finnish law and will continue to be rejected, consistent with previous policy.
The agency explained that Finnish law requires a national travel document to be both technically secure and issued by the applicant’s country of nationality. Importantly, the Citizenship Act does not demand international recognition of that state for citizenship to be valid. This means that an individual may be recognized as a national if treated as such by the issuing authority, regardless of diplomatic recognition.
The Finnish Immigration Service highlighted its legal duty not to limit the rights of foreign nationals more than necessary. It stated that balancing this principle with the need to confirm identity supports the revised interpretation of the law.
Although some areas of responsibility and definition remain complex, the agency pledged to monitor future legal developments and update its guidance accordingly. It will also review how this policy change affects previous residence permit and citizenship decisions that may have been denied under the earlier interpretation.
