More Somali Families Apply for Reunification

A record number of Somali families can expect to be reunited this year in Finland, according to the daily Aamulehti. By the end of July, nearly 2,500 family reunification applications were filed from Somalia. This is more than the total number of applications in all of 2009.

The Finnish Immigration Service predicts it will receive 4,500 applications this year. That’s over double last year’s number of 2,200. Each application is reviewed by one person.

The Finnish Immigration Service says it is only able to process 1,200 applications a year due to a lack of resources. EU regulations call for applications to be reviewed within nine months.

The average Somali family has five children, so officials expect the number of family reunifications to rise. According to the law, the nuclear family is made up of parents and underage children.

Source: yle.fi