Border Struggles within the State: Administrative bordering of non-citizens in Finland

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.