Border Struggles within the State: <i>Administrative bordering of non-citizens in Finland</i>

Abstract

Drawing on interviews with non-EU citizens, who arrived as asylum seekers or students in Finland, I examine different aspects of materialisation of borders within the state. This article focuses on non-citizens' negotiations with the immigration bureaucracy, in particular on administrative procedures in residence permit applications. The analysis of non-citizens' immigration trajectories and various border struggles during the conditional period before obtaining a permanent residence permit reveals the non-linear nature of immigration. The immigration process involves transitions in the legal status, which consequently affect non-citizens' position in the labour market, access to welfare services, and the terms of family reunification. The concept of administrative bordering introduced in this article highlights the significant role of the bureaucratic procedures in migration management. I argue that administrative bordering related to the inclusion and exclusion of non-citizens creates pervasive insecurity about one's presence and future as it can potentially modify individual immigration trajectories.

Introduction

“…Prior to this study, no comprehensive research was conducted on undocumented migrants and their everyday lives in Finland. Very few researchers have addressed undocumented migrants, and usually only within a narrow scope (Keskimäki et al 2014;Kynsilehto and Puumala 2017;Könönen 2018aKönönen , 2018bKönönen , 2020Leppäkorpi 2011;Ollus et al 2013;Tervonen and Enache 2017;Tervonen et al 2018;Thomsen and Jørgensen 2012). Recognising such a research gap, scholars started to publish scientific articles about the topic (e.g.…”

Everyday Bordering in the Nordic Countries

“…The first three contributions deal with the everyday bordering on those legally residing within the state -and sometimes even citizens -who are nevertheless subject to forms of internal bordering affecting them and their family members. Könönen (2018b) analyses administrative bordering within the state, which often follows non-EU migrants for years. Drawing on interviews with non-EU citizens in Finland, he argues that while the right to residence is the primary border struggle faced by noncitizens, administrative bordering continues to affect the everyday lives of the migrants even after gaining the residence permit, differentiated by the type of permit issued.…”

Ambivalent Strategies: Student-Migrant-Workers’ Efforts at Challenging Administrative Bordering

“…This article demonstrates that the migrants in question find ways to bend the boundaries of the legal framework and subvert the aim of migration categories in order to secure their right to legal residence in Finland. I analyse the struggles over the right to reside in Finland in contexts of administrative bordering (Könönen, 2018) by underlining 'the will and the capacity to seek alternatives' beyond being reduced to a subject constituted solely by power and discipline (Weeks, 2018: 10, 36). Following theoretical insights from Gago (2017Gago ( , 2018, I approach the student-migrant-workers' strategies as pragmatic, that is, as employed in order to get by and to sustain their advancement towards their goals.…”