Finnish Immigration Service’s statistics for 2016: record number of decisions

Migri

11.1.2017 11.07

Press release

A total of 5,657 persons (2015: 32,476) applied for asylum in Finland in 2016. Roughly four times more decision on asylum matters were made than during the previous year, in total about 28,200 decisions.

Of the asylum decisions, 27 per cent were positive (7,745), 51 per cent were negative (14,282),14 per cent expired (3,855) and 8 per cent dismissed (2,326).

Number of asylum seekers in 2015 and 2016, monthly

“With the exception of the unusually busy years 2009 (5,988 asylum seeker) and 2015, the yearly number of asylum seekers has varied between 3,000 and 4,000 during the last ten years. Although the number of asylum seekers last year was much smaller than during the year before, it was still above this average,” says Esko Repo, Director of the Asylum Unit at the Finnish Immigration Service.

Most applications for first residence permits were made on the basis of family ties

In 2016, a total of 26,071 persons applied for a first residence permit. Most applications were submitted on the basis of family ties: a total of 10,579 applications.

Residence permit applications in 2016

The possibility to apply for a residence permit as an Ingrian returnee ended on 1 July 2016. In 2016, a total of 472 applications became pending compared to 224 applications in 2015, which means that the number of applications almost doubled.

Of the decisions made on residence permits, 85 per cent were positive.

A total of 9,644 persons were granted Finnish citizenship

In 2016, 11,918 persons applied for Finnish citizenship, which was almost as many as during the same period the previous year (2015: 11,041). Most applications for citizenship were submitted by persons from Russia, Somalia, Iraq, Estonia and Afghanistan.

A total of 12 088 persons received a decision on citizenship. Of the decisions, 80 per cent were positive and 20 per cent negative. The share of positive decisions increased compared to the previous year, when the number of positive decisions was 8,281.

“The most common reason for a negative decision is either insufficient language skills or an unclear identity,” says Ulla Vainikka, Head of Section at the Nationality Unit of the Finnish Immigration Service.

Citizenship applications and declarations in 2016

Reduced accommodation capacity and closure of several reception centres

During January and February 2016, there were 227 reception centres in Finland with about 29,000 inhabitants. During the year, the number of reception centres has been reduced as the number of asylum seekers has decreased: there are now 126 reception centres with about 16,000 inhabitants, and roughly 3,700 asylum seekers live in private accommodation.

During 2016, the number of asylum seekers staying in private accommodation with friends or relatives increased. At the moment, about 19 per cent of asylum seekers live in private accommodation.

As the number of asylum seekers was significantly lower in 2016 than during the year before, more reception centres will still be closed. The Finnish Immigration Service published information about the latest closures on 28 December 2016.

The Finnish Immigration Service has prepared itself for a sudden increase in the number of asylum seekers, even though this seems unlikely at present.

“The number of beds at the reception centres can quickly be increased by thousands and emergency accommodation can be established if necessary,” says Pekka Nuutinen, Director of the Reception Unit at the Finnish Immigration Service.