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Filing an administrative complaint with the Finnish Immigration Service

You can file an administrative complaint with the Finnish Immigration Service if you suspect that

  • a public official at the Finnish Immigration Service
  • a reception centre or its employee
  • a detention unit or its employee
  • the Assistance system for victims of human trafficking or its employee

has acted unlawfully or failed to fulfil their obligations.

Before filing an administrative complaint, you can first directly contact the public official, reception centre, detention unit, or the Assistance system for victims of human trafficking in question. This may lead to a swifter resolution of the matter.

If your complaint concerns senior officials at the Finnish Immigration Service or the agency as a whole, you can file a complaint with the Ministry of the Interior (intermin.fi). We will forward the complaints that concern senior officials or the agency as a whole to the Ministry of the Interior.

You can also file a complaint with the supreme overseers of legality, which are the Parliamentary Ombudsman (www.oikeusasiamies.fi) and the Chancellor of Justice (okv.fi).

How do I file a complaint?

Anyone can file an administrative complaint

It can be submitted in free form. We recommend that you use an administrative complaint form: Filing an administrative complaint with the Finnish Immigration Service (pdf).

If you cannot use the form, you can write a letter. State in your letter that you would like to file an administrative complaint.

The complaint must contain the following information:

  • your name and contact details
  • who you are complaining about 
  • a description of what happened and when, and
  • the reasons why and how you think unlawful conduct or a failure to fulfil obligations has taken place.

You can send the form or the letter either by post or by email. If you choose to email the complaint, use encrypted email: For contact details and instructions, see the page Contact information. Alternatively, you can submit your complaint to a reception centre, detention unit or to the Assistance system for victims of human trafficking. They will forward your complaint to the Finnish Immigration Service.

A complaint can be filed orally only in exceptional circumstances, for example if you are unable to submit your complaint in written form for health reasons. In that case, you must be prepared to orally provide the same information which otherwise would have to be written in a letter.

We will request that you supplement your complaint with additional information if we deem this necessary for the processing of the matter.

A complaint can be filed free of charge.

Language of complaint

You can file a complaint in Finnish, Swedish, or English. The decision is always issued in Finnish or Swedish.

Authorisation

If you file a complaint for another person, and the complaint contains confidential information about this person, you need to get a power of attorney from the person on whose behalf you are filing the complaint. If you email the power of attorney, use encrypted email: For contact details and instructions, see the page Contact information.

A power of attorney is not required if your complaint concerns the operation of the Finnish Immigration Service, a reception centre, a detention unit or the Assistance system for victims of human trafficking in general.

You cannot use a complaint to appeal a decision

An administrative complaint can never be used as a means of appealing against a decision on residence permit, asylum or citizenship. A complaint provides no grounds for the Finnish Immigration Service to change or annul a decision already made.

You can appeal a decision on residence permit, asylum, or citizenship to an administrative court. Instructions on how to appeal are attached to the decision. Read more on the page Appealing a decision.

Examination of a complaint

Administrative complaints are examined in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, where applicable. Where necessary, a statement will be requested from the public official, reception centre, detention unit, or the Assistance system for victims of human trafficking which is the subject of the complaint. Your complaint will not be examined without a special reason if

  • you have not given your name in the complaint
  • the complaint is incomplete or unclear as to what it is about, or
  • the complaint concerns a matter dating back more than two years.

The Finnish Immigration Service will provide you with a written reply. This reply will also be delivered to the official whose actions are the subject of the complaint. If the subject of the complaint is a reception centre, detention unit, or the Assistance system for victims of human trafficking, the reply will be given to its director. A decision on an administrative complaint cannot be appealed.

The Finnish Immigration Service, reception centre, detention unit or the Assistance system for victims of human trafficking may make changes to its procedures or issue new guidelines or orders following the complaint.

If the Finnish Immigration Service finds that the conduct of the official in question was reprehensible, the Finnish Immigration Service may issue him or her with a reprimand or warning, for example. If there is reason to suspect that a crime has been committed, the Finnish Immigration Service will submit a request for examination to the police.