Iraq to issue passports for asylum seekers in Finland

Officials of Iraq's Interior Ministry are going to distribute passports to Iraqi asylum applicants in Finland, reported Finnish national broadcaster Yle on Wednesday.

According to information obtained by Yle, Iraq announced that it will set up a passport center in Helsinki to issue passports to its citizens in the asylum process in Finland without official identity documents.

Finnish Interior Minister Kai Mykkänen told Yle that the passport center will be opened at the end of next week and will start operation in a couple of weeks.

Currently there are about 7,000 Iraqi citizens living in Finland, and up to 500 of them have no legitimate identity documents to apply for work-related residence permits in Finland, said the Finnish minister.

"In cases that people do not have passports, their identities will be examined from other documents. This will be determined by Iraqi officials. They will also make security background checks," Mykkänen was quoted by Yle as saying.

He added that the goal of the move is to enable eligible migrants to work in Finland legally.

The Iraqi project is coordinated with the Finnish Immigration Service, said Yle.