Finland cannot select specified quota refugees on request
Finland will admit 750 quota refugees in 2015.
Preference in the refugee quota will be given to refugees with the greatest need for protection and resettlement, in other words those with the most urgent need for help.
Selection of quota refugees is a process with many stages. The UN refugee agency UNHCR first proposes a group of refugees for resettlement in Finland. After this, Finland selects the quota refugees who will be resettled in Finland among these persons.
Family ties do not usually help entry into Finland
Each year, Finland notifies UNHCR of the number of refugees of a certain nationality it will admit. In other words, Finland does not ask UNHCR to present preselected persons for resettlement in Finland.
Due to the small refugee quota, UNHCR usually cannot take account of family ties or wishes concerning the country of resettlement, although relatives living in Finland would understandably like to have their families in Finland. The need for help is a more important criterion than family ties.
If relatives living in Finland wish to have their relatives resettled in Finland, they should encourage them to mention their relatives living in Finland and their desire to be resettled in Finland while being interviewed by UNHCR.
Admission of Syrian refugees continues
Under the refugee quota for 2015, Finland will admit 350 Syrians, 150 Congolese refugees from Southern Africa and 150 Afghan refugees.
One hundred emergency cases will also be admitted under the quota. Emergency cases are persons in urgent need of resettlement due to, for example, medical reasons.
لا يمكن لفنلندا أن تختار لاجئي حصة مُعيَّنين ومُعرَّفين
This bulletin in Arabic
