Number of Ukrainians seeking temporary protection in Finland increasing
The number of people fleeing Ukraine and seeking temporary protection in Finland has increased in the last week. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 9,247 Ukrainian citizens have sought international protection in Finland.
Most apply for temporary protection, which Finland and the other EU Member States are granting Ukrainian refugees. Most of the people seeking temporary protection are women and children.
‘Although there is clear growth in the numbers, most Ukrainians arriving in Finland still have some personal ties to Finland,’ says Antti Lehtinen, Director of the Reception Unit.
Temporary protection based on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can be granted to citizens of the European Union, citizens of countries not party to the Schengen Agreement, and stateless persons who have resided in Ukraine legally and whose return to the relevant country of origin safely and permanently is not possible. A total of 93 applications for temporary protection have been submitted by people, who are not citizens of Ukraine.
The actual number of Ukrainians staying in Finland is higher. Not everyone fleeing Ukraine and arriving in Finland applies for temporary protection. Ukrainians can stay in Finland without a visa for three months. They may also have some other grounds for a residence permit, such as a job or a family member in Finland.
Processing applications for temporary protection is progressing
Temporary protection is sought from the Finnish Police or Border Guard, after which the Finnish Immigration Service grants the residence permit. The Finnish Immigration Service started granting temporary protection residence permits for people fleeing Ukraine a little over a week ago. To date, 409 decisions on temporary protection have been issued.
The processing time for temporary protection applications is currently around two weeks. Once the decision is issued, the Finnish Immigration Service orders a residence permit card for the person. The card usually takes around two weeks to arrive.
‘However, the processing is becoming faster all the time,’ says Lehtinen.
Many have asked the Finnish Immigration Service how the number of people fleeing Ukraine will affect the processing of other asylum applications. One of the reasons the EU activated the Temporary Protection Directive was to ensure that the large number of people fleeing Ukraine would not overload the asylum systems of EU Member States.
‘In practice, the number of applications for international protection we received in just one day last week was larger than the total number of new asylum applications we received in the last year. This would have overloaded our entire asylum system. Now, we have been able to process other asylum applications as usual,’ says Lehtinen.
In total, since 24 February 2022, the Finnish Immigration Service has issued 287 asylum decisions for other asylum seekers than those fleeing Ukraine. The number of asylum interviews has also remained at the usual level with 247 interviews held.
No significant changes in the number of Russian asylum seekers
The Finnish Immigration Service is closely monitoring migration at the Finnish borders and in Europe in collaboration with other authorities.
There has been no significant change in the number of Russian asylum seekers. This year, Russian citizens have submitted 115 asylum applications. The number has remained at a similar level in the last few years.
The people who have submitted an application recently have not yet been interviewed. The grounds for applying asylum cannot be specified. Each applicant’s need for protection is assessed individually. Generally, in recent years, the largest groups of Russian citizens applying for asylum in Finland have been North Caucasians, political activists, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
In addition, 28 Russian citizens have applied for temporary protection. Russian citizens applying for temporary protection are usually family members of Ukrainian refugees.
In general, Russians are one of the largest groups applying for residence permits in Finland. Every year, residence permits are granted to Russian citizens based on family ties, work and studies. Currently, there has been no significant change in the residence permit applications submitted by Russians. Last year, 4,345 first residence permit applications were submitted by Russian citizens.
Further information to the media:
- Director of the Asylum Unit Antti Lehtinen, tel. 0295 433 037, email: firstname.lastname@migri.fi
- Russia's attack on Ukraine on the migri.fi website
- Temporary protection for people fleeing Ukraine
