The Finnish Immigration Service plans to open new reception centres

The Finnish Immigration Service is examining the possibility of opening four or five new reception centres for asylum seekers in early autumn. Each reception centre would have at least 150 accommodation places.

The Finnish Immigration Service is also searching for new premises for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers: the primary intention is to increase the number of accommodation places for children at present group homes in one or two municipalities. The reception centres that accommodate adults and families, however, are already so large that it is necessary to open new centres instead of increasing their capacity.

The municipalities and the Finnish Red Cross are responsible for establishing new reception centres in practice. The role of the Finnish Immigration Service is to coordinate the reception activities on a national scale. The Ministry of the Interior makes all final decisions on the establishment of reception centres and on additional accommodation places.

Almost no accommodation places are currently available at the reception centres and group homes for unaccompanied minors.

Some of the centres are new, some have been closed in recent years

The possibility of opening new reception centres is now being examined in five municipalities in cooperation with the Finnish Red Cross.

Some of the planned centres are new, and some of them are old reception centres that have been closed down in recent years when the number of asylum seekers has decreased. The decisions to open the reception centres of Punkalaidun and Ruukki, which were closed in the autumn of 2014, have already been made: the reception centre in Punkalaidun received its first customers last week, and the Ruukki Reception Centre will be opened before the end of August.

When locations for new reception centres are considered, the wider picture is taken into account:

• the location of the other reception centres and the authorities that process asylum applications, that is the Finnish Immigration Service, the police and the Border Guard
• the availability of suitable premises
• the cost of the activities to the state
• the municipalities that are interested in having reception activities in their area
• the effects on job creation and the economy within the area.

The Finnish Immigration Service aims to increase the accommodation capacity especially in the Helsinki metropolitan area and in its vicinity. The majority of all asylum applications are filed in Helsinki. Therefore, the examination of applications is concentrated to the Helsinki Police Department and the Asylum Unit of the Finnish Immigration Service in Helsinki in particular. However, it is currently necessary to look for new accommodation places in other parts of the country as well.

The number of asylum seekers is already as high as the total amount last year

The number of asylum seekers has never been as high in Finland as it is at the moment. Up to now, 3,500 people have sought asylum this year, whereas the total number of people seeking asylum in Finland last year was 3,651. Most asylum seekers have come from Iraq (970 by the end of last week), Somalia (800) and Albania (320).

At least some of the 792 asylum seekers who will be transferred to Finland from Italy and Greece due to the EU decision on distribution of asylum seekers will arrive in Finland this year. They will be accommodated in the same reception centres as the asylum seekers who arrive in Finland by themselves.

The Finnish Immigration Service closely follows any changes in the number of asylum seekers, both in Finland and in the other Nordic countries. The number of asylum seekers has increased generally in Europe.

The accommodation capacity is increased or decreased according to the number of asylum seekers, as it would be too expensive to maintain excess capacity just in case. Each accommodation place costs more than 40 euros per day.

Further information

• increased accommodation capacity:
  Olli Snellman, Senior Adviser, Reception Unit, tel. 0295 430 431 (switchboard), e-mail: firstname.lastname@migri.fi
• asylum applications and decisions:
  Juha Similä, Head of Section, Asylum Unit, tel. 0295 430 431 (switchboard), e-mail: firstname.lastname@migri.fi