Asylum is granted to people fleeing persecution or serious harm in their own country and therefore in need of international protection. Asylum is therefore a fundamental right, granting it is an international obligation. (EU Commission. Migration, and home affairs)
There is greater need to improve asylum application processing time in Finland. The EU revised asylum procedures directive aims at a fairer, quicker, and better-quality asylum decisions. Also, the revised qualification directive clarifies the grounds for granting international protection and as such will make decisions more robust. It will also improve the access to rights and integration measures for beneficiaries of international protection.
The EU new law for processing asylum applications should be six months maximum. However, many asylum applications are still taking more than half a year or even longer to process. This is very frustrating and exhausting to the asylum seekers.
First, seeking asylum has always been a tough and risky adventure to most of the asylum seekers who make very difficult trips to get to mainland Europe and to Finland. Sometimes asylum seekers must walk for long hours, stay out in nature, crossing the dangerous Mediterranean Sea in small boats that can easily sink. Life for such asylum seekers irrespective of the basic care and needs provided by reception countries, is never easy. The long time in processing asylum applications only brings more mental challenges to an already fragile state of mind as most have already experienced trauma, deaths, wars, and immense suffering in their home countries. Asylum seekers spend way too much time worrying about their asylum application whether it will be accepted or not. Asylum seeking should not be like a lottery. Short processing time will ease integration and reduce the risks of stress and frustration and assist asylum seekers to plan for their respective futures as well.
References:
https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/asylum_en
Suurin osa Showcasen blogeista on toteutettu osana Laurean opintojaksoja. Koko koulutustarjontaamme voi tutustua nettisivuillamme. Tarjoamme kymmenien tutkintoon johtavien koulutuksien lisäksi myös paljon täydennys- ja erikoistumiskoulutuksia sekä yksittäisiä opintojaksoja avoimen AMK:n kautta!
It is really sad that after going through all the difficulties there is still so much uncertainty. Many peoples don’t know that the waiting time for the decision can be very hard for the family. The negative decision can affect the whole family’s future. I agree that the whole situation shouldn’t be a lottery. Every situation should be looked at as an individual case and support the family especially in the time of difficulties.
“Asylum seeking should not be like a lottery” is a powerful statement, and I could not agree with you more. The maximum time to process applications is already terribly long, and I was unaware that it can really take much longer than that. Like you mentioned, this time can be very stressful for asylum seekers which should be paid attention to; we need to learn to put ourselves in other peoples shoes more and really try our best to understand what others are going through – in order to do this, we have to really listen to the experiences and feelings of people who are in this situation. This is useful for us to know the best ways to help out, but even then we are not able to grasp what people seeking for asylum have had to go through. Thank you for your post.