|
Finland |
2019 |
Policy |
|
Reception of applicants for international protection |
The position of crisis and family counsellor was introduced in reception centres. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Finland |
2019 |
Policy |
|
Reception of applicants for international protection |
The AMIF-funded PSYYKE project was launched to train reception staff on mental health work and draft a mental health work manual for the reception system. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Finland |
2019 |
Policy |
|
Reception of applicants for international protection |
The Finnish Immigration Service gave reception centres several operating guidelines, including on health care services, work and study activities. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Finland |
2019 |
Policy |
|
Content of protection |
The Finnish Immigration Service developed an online course and exam on Finnish society and values. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Finland |
2019 |
Policy |
|
Access to information |
The website, Asylum in Finland, maintained by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, was improved. New information leaflets and videos with simple terminology were developed for applicants in the framework of the AMIF-funded ONE project. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Finland |
2019 |
Policy |
|
Processing asylum applications at first instance |
Based on the ECHR judgement in N.A. v. Finland, the Finnish Immigration Service reviewed the cases of around 500 applicants. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Finland |
2019 |
Policy |
|
The Dublin procedure |
The first transfer decision to Greece since 2011 was made. |
EASO Asylum Report 2020 |
|
Finland |
2021 |
Institutional |
|
The Dublin procedure |
The entire staff of the Dublin unit changed and new colleagues received extensive training throughout the year. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |
|
Finland |
2020 |
Policy |
|
Processing asylum applications at first instance |
Following an ECHR decision at the end of 2019, the Finnish Immigration Service reviewed approximately 500 cases. |
EASO Asylum Report 2021 |
|
Finland |
2022 |
Legislative |
|
Access to procedure |
The Border Guard Act was amended to allow the authorities to centralise the reception of applicants at the border during an exceptionally high number of arrivals. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Finland |
2020 |
Policy |
|
Reception of applicants for international protection |
The reception centres have started using the electronic skills assessment form, which was developed as part of the AMIF-funded OSAKA project and which finalised in 2019. |
EASO Asylum Report 2021 |
|
Finland |
2020 |
Policy |
|
Reception of applicants for international protection |
The Let's talk about children! method was fully rolled out in reception centres. The Finnish Immigration Service and MIELU adapted the method to the context of asylum in an AMIF-funded project between 2017-2020. |
EASO Asylum Report 2021 |
|
Finland |
2021 |
Legislative |
|
Special procedures to assess protection needs |
The Smart Border package was submitted to the parliament, bringing new technological means of processing at the border, concerning specifically the Aliens Act and other relevant legislative provisions. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |
|
Finland |
2021 |
Legislative |
|
Processing asylum applications at second or higher instance |
An amendment to the Aliens Act extended the time limit to 30 days to submit an appeal against a decision of the Finnish Immigration Service and before the Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |
|
Finland |
2021 |
Legislative |
|
Reception of applicants for international protection |
Legislative work continued to prepare for an eventual mass influx of migrants, and some amendments were introduced to the Reception Act. The Finnish Immigration Service must draw up a contingency plan for large-scale arrivals and has a central role in organising reception and giving instructions to other actors in this scenario. The amendments entered into force at the beginning of January 2022. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |
|
Finland |
2021 |
Legislative |
|
Legal assistance and representation |
Free legal aid was made available to all applicants for international protection during an interview, not only to vulnerable groups. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |
|
Finland |
2021 |
Legislative |
|
Legal assistance and representation |
People with a legal training but who are not qualified as public legal counsellors can no longer be assigned as legal assistants to third-country nationals in international protection procedures. Pay differences for legal assistants working on international protection cases were eliminated. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |
|
Finland |
2021 |
Legislative |
|
Content of protection |
Finland opened consultations on proposed amendments to the Citizenship Act (359/2003) and the Government Decree on Citizenship (293/2013). |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |
|
Finland |
2021 |
Legislative |
|
Content of protection |
A draft government proposal was sent out for comments to amend the Aliens Act provisions on the family reunification of beneficiaries of international protection. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2022 |
|
Finland |
2022 |
Legislative |
|
Access to procedure |
Government legislative proposal 132/2022 was submitted to parliament in order to enable applicants for international protection to be registered in the Civil Registry at an earlier stage and to ease the prerequisites for registration. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Finland |
2022 |
Legislative |
|
Special procedures to assess protection needs |
The government submitted a legislative proposal to the parliament to introduce a border procedure that could be triggered by a government decision if an exceptionally large number of migrants arrive in a short period of time or if hybrid activities aiming to exploit migration were directed against Finland. However, the parliament did not manage to consider the proposal by the end of the electoral term (29 March 2023) and it was allowed to lapse. The next government will decide if the changes are proposed again. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Finland |
2020 |
Policy |
|
Processing asylum applications at first instance |
The Ministry of the Interior launched a project to assess the impact of future migration trends on immigration administration, especially on the functioning of and resources for the Finnish Immigration Service. |
EASO Asylum Report 2021 |
|
Finland |
2020 |
Policy |
|
Reception of applicants for international protection |
The new, general medical screening protocol in Finland, developed through the AMIF-funded TERTTU project, was launched and started to be implemented in 2020. |
EASO Asylum Report 2021 |
|
Finland |
2022 |
Legislative |
|
Statelessness in the context of asylum |
The Ministry of the Interior proposed amendments to the Nationality Act to update the definitions of a stateless person, in line with international treaties, eliminating the distinction between voluntarily stateless and involuntarily stateless person. However, the parliament did not manage to consider the proposal by the end of the electoral term (29 March 2023) and it was allowed to lapse. The next government will decide if the changes are proposed again. |
EUAA Asylum Report 2023 |
|
Finland |
2020 |
Policy |
|
Persons with special needs in the asylum procedure |
A horizontal action plan against trafficking in human beings was drafted and completed in the beginning of 2021. |
EASO Asylum Report 2021 |