Finnish Immigration Service terminates its contracts with eight reception centres

The Finnish Immigration Service terminates its contracts with eight reception centres and reduces the number of beds in one reception centre.

“The reception centres whose contracts are now terminated will be closed down, the need for reception capacity has reduced further and the available accommodation capacity is sufficient,” says Heikki Väätämöinen, Head of Section at the Reception Unit.

Need for reception capacity is decreasing

Approximately 46,000 people are currently registered as clients in the reception system. Approximately 37 per cent of them live in private accommodation and 13 per cent live in municipalities as part of the municipal model for accommodation. The majority of the clients registered in the system have fled from Ukraine.

After the reception centres have been closed down, there will be 113 reception centres, their secondary branches and service points for clients in private accommodation, as well as 10 reception units for minors in Finland.

The Finnish Immigration Service put out to tender reception centre operations both in the autumn of 2022 and in the spring of 2023. As a result of the competitive tendering this spring, 17 new reception centres were procured.

The Finnish Immigration Service is responsible for directing, planning and supervising the operations of the reception system. The reception centres maintained by the Finnish Immigration Service are located in Helsinki, Lappeenranta (Joutseno) and Oulu. The other reception centres are maintained by, for instance, non-governmental organisations, Finnish municipalities and private companies.

Reception centres whose contracts will be terminated

• Kyyhkylä reception centre, Wellbeing 365 Oy, by the end of September. 200 beds.
• Forssa reception centre, Finnish Red Cross, Häme district, by the end of September. 170 beds.
• Jyväskylä reception centre, Salmiranta unit, Finnish Red Cross, Western Finland district, by the end of December. 150 beds.
• Iisalmi reception centre, Setlementti Puijola, by the end of September. 200 beds.
• Rovaniemi reception centre, Metsäruusu emergency accommodation, Finnish Red Cross, Lapland district, by the end of September. 150 beds.
• Kuusamo reception centre (apartment-based), Finnish Red Cross, Oulu district, by the end of September. 150 beds.
• Sipoo reception centre, Hemcare Oy, by the end of September. 300 beds.
• Ruukki reception centre, Finnish Red Cross, Oulu district, by the end of December. 200 beds.

Changes in the number of beds

• Kuusankoski reception centre, Hemcare Oy, reduction of 200 beds by 14 July 2023. New capacity 200 beds.

Media inquiries

• Heikki Väätämöinen, Head of Section, firstname.lastname@migri.fi, tel. +358 295 433 037
• Press release, 26 May 2023: Second set of reception centre operations put out to tender, 17 new reception centres to open
• Press release, 12 June 2023: The municipal model for accommodation to end at the end of 2023