Finland does not refuse entry to anyone in mortal danger

Finland never refuses entry to an asylum seeker to an area where he or she may face death penalty, torture or other inhumane treatment or treatment violating human dignity. This forms the basis of the principle of non-refoulement, which is dictated by the international human rights treaties binding on Finland.

By Thursday morning, the Finnish Immigration Service had received more than a hundred petitions for Egyptian citizen ”Mark”, who has received a negative asylum decision. Increasing amounts of similar petitions have been delivered to the agency since Monday 5 August, when the ”Turvapaikka kristitylle Markille!” campaign (‘Asylum for Christian Mark’) was created on Facebook. The campaign urges people to contact the Finnish Immigration Service directly to demand reprocessing of the matter.

All petitions will be read, and the receipt of e-mail petitions acknowledged. Unfortunately the Finnish Immigration Service cannot issue more detailed individual replies due to lack of time. The result of an individual asylum case cannot be influenced through petitions, since all asylum seekers must receive equal treatment, and Finland's independent judicial system ensures that everyone has the opportunity to confirm the legality of a decision that concerns them.

When processing applications, the Finnish Immigration Service investigates all grounds for granting asylum or a residence permit. The risk of facing persecution in their home country is individually assessed for each applicant. The agency's decisions are based on Finland's Aliens Act and established judicial procedure. Up-to-date information on the applicant's home country is used in the making of every decision.

The Finnish Immigration Service may open a decision to reprocessing if it has made a mistake in applying the law or processing an application. If such mistakes have not occurred, but the applicant considers the decision to be wrong, he or she can appeal to the Administrative Court of Helsinki through his or her representative. After the administrative court has made its decision, it is still possible to apply for leave to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court.

If the person who has been refused asylum has new grounds for a residence permit, such as a job or study place, he or she can submit a new application for a residence permit on these grounds. Every attempt will be made to make a decision regarding the new application before the person is removed from Finland, unless the application has been submitted at the last minute.

The Finnish Immigration Service cannot publicly comment on the asylum application of an individual, even if the person has provided information on the matter to the public. For the protection of the applicants' safety, asylum matters are confidential by law.

Further information for the media

Jaana Vuorio, Director General, The Finnish Immigration Service, tel. +358 71 873 0431, e-mail: firstname.lastname@migri.fi