In view of stricter rules adopted with legislative amendments of 1 September 2024 to the Aliens Act on identification requirements for residence permit applications, the Finnish immigration Service reviewed its policy and guidelines about accepted travel documents. It clarified that it accepts passports issued by the Palestinian Authority for applications for a residence permit on the basis of work, studies and family ties (family reunification) but not passports issued by Hamas in Gaza. It reiterated that other conditions must be met for issuance of a residence permit.
The Finnish Immigration Service review the definition of a national travel document and found that the Aliens Act refers to national travel document which must be technically reliable and issued by the person’s country of nationality. Thus, a state that considers the person to be a citizen of that state on the basis of its legislation must have issued that national travel document. However, it noted that the Citizenship Act does not require that a state is recognised in order for a person to be considered a citizen of a certain state.