Assalamu alaikum
We live in Sweden with a temporary residence permit. My father applied for a permanent residence permit, but the Migration Board requires that he must earn 1550 USD to get the permit. He earns 1422 USD. For lack of 128 USD, they rejected the application. We appealed. My father has also an income of 500 USD in his home country from renting a house. So his total income is 1422 + 500 = 1922 USD. Thus, he has the right to obtain the permit. But the Swedish Migration Agency also rejected the appeal because we could not show documents regarding that 500 USD because of our country system. My father appealed again. This time he asked his boss to increase his income and the boss increased it to 1590 USD. But the problem is that he will have to return the raise to his boss. So you can say that he has higher income on paper only. Is it halal what he has done? (Remember that he has an income of 500 USD and the Migration Board is not counting it).
If my father gets the permit, I will also get the permanent residence permit. If I get permanent residency I will get some money from the government for study purpose. This is a contribution for the students from the government. Will it be halal for me to take the money then?
Answer
Wa’alaykum as Salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,
The objective of the Migration Board is to confirm that your dad really earns $1550, so that they can be convinced that he does not become a burden on the state. Rather, he could contribute by paying tax.
Since he is really earning much more than that, the amount which is written by his boss is not a lie. The boss should make the intention that he is showing the total income of your dad, and not what he is paying. This is permissible, and your dad can return the funds once he gets the permit.
Once you get the permanent residency, you may enjoy the benefits from the state, and whatever funds they give to you will be Halal.
And Allaah Ta’aala knows best
Wassalaam,
Ismail Moosa (Mufti)