Instruction for households who wish to accomodate asylum seekers at home

The Finnish Immigration Service has received numerous enquiries concerning the possibility of accommodating asylum seekers in private homes.

The law does not prohibit the accommodation of immigrants, and some asylum seekers may already be living with friends or relatives. At best, home accommodation can help them learn Finnish and become acquainted with Finnish culture, preventing many problems in adapting to Finnish society. However, the Finnish Immigration Service would like to ask private accommodation providers to take account of the following issues.

The asylum seeker must be registered at a reception centre

Even if an asylum seeker lives in a private home, he or she must be registered at a reception centre, to be entitled to reception services.

Accommodating asylum seekers is voluntary

The Finnish Immigration Service and reception centres cannot pay anyone for accommodating an asylum seeker. Accommodation is offered on a voluntary basis. Asylum seekers are paid a reception allowance. If you accommodate an asylum seeker, you must agree with him or her on everyday expenses and the way they are shared.

The asylum process may take a long time

Depending on the applicant's situation, the asylum process can take several months. You should talk to the asylum seeker and agree on how long they can stay in your accommodation. Naturally, private persons cannot commit to accommodating asylum seekers in their homes for longer periods of time and their personal situations may change – for example, they may need to move to another city. You should have a backup plan for such situations and the asylum seeker should be able to move back into a reception centre if necessary.

It is also important to remember that some applicants are not granted asylum. If the Finnish Immigration Service concludes that the applicant has no legal grounds for receiving international protection or other grounds for being granted a residence permit in Finland, he or she will be refused entry to Finland.

Draw up a written contract on accommodation

If you wish to accommodate an asylum seeker, you will probably need to sign a contract on home accommodation with a reception centre, an organisation organising accommodation on behalf of a reception centre, or another party. For this purpose, you will need to show an extract from a register of occupants or another housing certificate to the reception centre.

Health and health services

An asylum seeker is not entitled to use public municipal services. For this reason, his or her health care and social services are organised through the reception centre. If an asylum seeker is transferred to private accommodation, it must be clear how his or her health care and social services are to be arranged.

Everyone's safety must be ensured

The suitability of both the asylum seeker and the accommodation providers for home accommodation must be properly assessed in advance. It is important to avoid situations where either of the parties would feel vulnerable. Account must be taken of different cultural backgrounds, daily rhythms, habits, expectations and pressures on the asylum seeker due to the asylum process.

Accommodating an asylum seeker may affect the social benefits of the permanent resident

Accommodating an asylum seeker may affect the amount of social benefits you receive from Kela, such as your housing allowance. If you accommodate an asylum seeker, this will also affect the amount of social assistance you receive.

Reception centres have limited resources

Reception centres have only limited resources in support of home accommodation providers. In the current situation, there is a clear need for an external home accommodation organiser to take over the task of matching asylum seekers with suitable homes. Such a party could act as a go-between, taking care of practical training and providing support after the provision of accommodation has begun. This would ease the pressure on accommodation centres. It is important that reception centres can focus on their key tasks.

Volunteering through the Red Cross is another way of helping

If home accommodation feels too great a commitment, please consider helping asylum seekers by becoming a volunteer friend through the Finnish Red Cross. https://www.redcross.fi/news/20150904/3-ways-help-asylum-seekers

The “Refugees welcome Helsinki + Finland” community has brought together people who are interested in offering home accommodation. We recommend that you contact them if you would like to open your home to an asylum seeker.