The Finnish Immigration Service in 2013

In 2013, the Finnish Immigration Service started working under new management, as the former Director General Jorma Vuorio was appointed to the post of Director-General of the Migration Department of the Ministry of the Interior from 1 April 2013. Jaana Vuorio started as the new Director General on 1 July 2013.

The total number of matters received by the Finnish Immigration Service increased slightly from the previous year. In total, 50 003 matters became pending in 2013 (2012: 48 319). The number of applications for the first residence permit did not change significantly from the previous year (2013: 21 259, 2012: 21 265), whereas the total amount of citizenship applications (8 639) continued to rise from previous years (2012: 7 865, 2011: 5 763). The total number of decisions made was 59 878, which is 20 % higher than the number of matters that became pending.

More effective case management

The results of the Finnish Immigration Service were partly made possible by the electronic case management system, UMA. In 2013, special attention was focused on improving the usability of the system. The improvements have made the system easier to use, which in turn contributes to a more effective decision-making process.

The Finnish Immigration Service is responsible for developing the UMA system, and the development is funded from the appropriation for the operating expenses of the agency. Also other public authorities such as the police, who are the competent authority for applications for extended permits and registration of EU citizens, benefit from the improvements of the system now that these applications are included in the electronic services.

Via the e-service, applicants can follow the progress of the processing of their application, supplement the application and receive information about the decision. Compared with applications submitted on paper, it is faster to process electronic applications, as the application forms and appendices do not need to be sent by post over long distances.

The e-service also benefits public authorities, as it guides customers in filling out the application with all necessary information and appendices. This has reduced the need for further clarifications.

In 2013, the e-service was extended to include citizenship applications and declarations for the acquisition of Finnish citizenship as well as all other residence permit applications except for applications for a residence permit on the basis of family ties and international protection. The e-service will later include applications for a residence permit on the basis of family ties.

Planning and developing

Our procedures are continuously developed, so that the agency can react to changing conditions in the best possible way.

In 2013, we were able to further increase the effectiveness of asylum decision-making. The decision-making and asylum interview processes were developed through a project funded by the European Refugee Fund to support the introduction of the Lean method and through personnel training by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO).

The results of the actions to promote efficiency can also be seen in the amount of decisions made. Even though the Asylum Unit did not receive any additional resources, the number of asylum decisions increased by 7 % in 2012.

The development work has an impact on the accommodation capacity needed at reception centres, as the number of asylum seekers have remained at the same level compared with the previous years. The fact that decisions are made faster has reduced the time asylum seekers spend at the reception centres, and more capacity has become available than there are arriving residents. Therefore, the accommodation capacity has been reduced and decisions have been made to close down certain reception centres. These measures together with the actions to promote efficiency in asylum decision-making resulted in savings of approximately 10 million euros in reception costs in comparison to 2012.

The delays in placing those asylum seekers who have received a residence permit to municipalities remained to be a problem. However, some improvements could be made by further supporting independent moving at the reception centres. Only 328 persons moved to municipalities through the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres), which is 17 % of the asylum seekers who received a residence permit. The number of asylum seekers who have received a residence permit and wait to be placed in a municipality has constantly been around 500 at the reception centres.

The joint project between the Finnish Immigration Service and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) concerning assisted voluntary return continued in 2013. The project, which is partly financed by the European Return Fund, aims to offer asylum seekers the option of assisted return to their home countries. Between 2010 and 2013, 1 199 persons have been able to return home with the assistance of the project. The project has brought about considerable savings in the reception costs.

During 2013, a new strategy was created for the reception system in cooperation with the reception centres.

Active part of the society

The Finnish Immigration Service aims to be an active part of the society, which can be seen in the different projects and improvements within the agency.

The communications strategy was revised at the beginning of 2013, and one of the aims is to share our expertise openly and actively and to develop our means of interactive communication. The agency decided to start using social media channels, which are a major part of modern communication. The database of the Migration Library was also made open to the public online, so that customers can search the database wherever they are.

In 2013, a project funded by the European Refugee Fund was also launched to provide orientation for quota refugees before they arrive in Finland. The orientation, which is given to quota refugees before their arrival, facilitates their integration into their new home country. In addition to practical matters, the training covers ways of coping with the upcoming life change.

The Finnish Immigration Service has also participated in the “Football belongs to everyone” tour, which visited reception centres across Finland. We also organised information meetings for example for employers of foreigners as well as for people who deal with return migration in their work.

Focus on human resources development and well-being at work

Human resources development and well-being of the personnel provide a foundation for a well-functioning work community and effective procedures. The competence vision that the management has created for the Finnish Immigration Service steers personnel planning, recruitment and competence development within the agency.

The aim is to create chances of promotion for our experts and to support more extensive competence. In 2013, a staff rotation system was introduced in the agency. The aim of the system is to ensure that members of our staff have extensive competence and ability to work flexibly in different tasks.

A comprehensive annual report will no longer be published

The Finnish Immigration Service will no longer publish a more comprehensive annual report.

• The annual reports from previous years can be found on our website www.migri.fi under About us > Publications.
• Yearly statistics are available on our website www.migri.fi under About us > Statistics.
• The name of our Twitter account is @Maahanmuuttovir
• Our press releases can be found on our website www.migri.fi under For the media > Bulletins