900 Thai berry pickers get Finnish residence permit this summer
Published : 17 Jul 2024, 00:07
Updated : 17 Jul 2024, 00:28
About 900 Thai berry pickers got residence permit to pick wild berry in Finland for this summer, said Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) in a press release on Tuesday.
The Migri processed a total of about 1,300 applications submitted by wild-berry pickers and about 400 of them received negative decisions.
According to the observations made by the Migri while processing the applications, there are still challenges in the sector.
If indications of labour exploitation or human trafficking have been found in the application under the Aliens Act, the decision has been negative.
“Even if the terms of employment comply with the requirements on paper, we also use interviews to assess the situation. If the information given by the employee and the employer about income or terms of employment have differed essentially and considerably, we have investigated the matter,” said Tuuli Huhtilainen, who is responsible for the processing of residence permits for employed persons.
The Finnish Immigration Service pays special attention to the risk of labour exploitation if the applicant’s net income is unreasonably low or if the charges for accommodation or meals are unduly high.
At worst, the applicant has been at risk of getting into debt for working. The Migri also paid special attention to the applicant’s limited possibility to contact authorities independently.
“Wild-berry pickers are often in a vulnerable position, because they may not share a common language with their employer or know their rights in Finland, for example,” said Huhtilainen.
The Migri examines the conditions of pickers in Finland as a whole in close cooperation with other authorities. After the wild-berry pickers have arrived in Finland, the Regional State Administrative Agency monitors that the terms of employment are applied in practice.
The applications were mainly submitted at the end of May or in June.
This summer, the average processing time for positive decisions has been 20 days. The processing time for negative decisions has been slightly longer, 35 days.
After receiving a residence permit in Finland, wild-berry pickers still need permission to leave Thailand from local authorities. Finnish authorities cannot influence the processing of permits by Thai authorities.
“We will process wild-berry pickers’ applications throughout the summer, if necessary, and follow a new procedure next year,” said Huhtilainen.
Wild-berry pickers who come from Thailand to Finland are required to have a residence permit for an employed person this summer.
Wild-berry pickers from Thailand are not granted Schengen visas for the 2024 summer harvest season.
When making the decision, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has taken into consideration the serious charges and suspicions related to trafficking in human beings during the 2023 harvest season and the legislative amendments that have entered into force in Thailand.
Wild-berry pickers are required to hold a residence permit for an employed person, as working in Finland as a foreign national is subject to a permit and wild-berry picking falls outside the scope of the Seasonal Workers Act.
For the first time, the same requirements and the same examination apply to wild-berry pickers’ work as to other employment relationships of employees recruited from abroad.