Accommodation places at reception centres to be cut by over 200

During spring and summer, the Finnish Immigration Service will reduce the number of accommodation places in the reception centres for asylum seekers by a total of 226.

The reason for the reductions is that both positive and negative asylum decision recipients leave the sphere of the reception system faster than before. More than 200 people a month leave the system, which is almost as many as the number of new asylum seekers entering the country. The actual number of asylum seekers, on the other hand, has not fallen; on the contrary, it has risen slightly compared with the beginning of 2012.

At the moment, approximately 660 of the total of 3,100 accommodation places in the reception centres are vacant.

Biggest reduction in early July

As of 1 May, the number of accommodation places in group homes and support housing units for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers were reduced by 26. In Oulu, the number of places was reduced by a total of 19: seven in group homes and 12 in support housing units. The number of places in the Punkalaidun Group Home were cut by seven.

The first reception centre to reduce the number of its accommodation places will be Kajaani, by 50 as from 1 June.

The largest reduction − 150 places − will take place on 1 July and be distributed as follows:

• Kemi Reception Centre: 30 places
• Rovaniemi Reception Centre: 20 places
• Ruukki Reception Centre: 50 places
• Oravainen Reception Centre: 10 places
• Pietarsaari Reception Centre: 40 places.

Variables monitored closely

The reception unit of the Finnish Immigration Service, which controls the reception of asylum seekers in Finland, closely monitors any variations in the numbers and profiles of applicants in Finland and other Nordic countries. The development of the situation in the main countries of origin of the asylum seekers and its potential effects on the number of refugees, and eventually on Finland, are also followed closely. If need be, new accommodation places can be established quickly.

According to preliminary statistics, 1,002 people applied for asylum in Finland between January and April 2013. This is 20% more than the beginning of last year (with 795 applications between January and April 2012). In the light of these figures, the total number of applicants arriving this year is estimated at 3,600–3,700 (in comparison to 3,129 in 2012). The estimate is flexible because the number of applicants often varies, particularly in autumn.

Further information for the media

Senior Adviser Veikko Pyykkönen, Reception Unit, tel. +358 (0)71 873 0431, e-mail: firstname.lastname@migri.fi