Negative asylum decisions given for most Ukrainian applicants – internal flight possible

The Russian media has criticised Finland for making negative decisions on Ukrainian asylum seekers. Examples include a Ukrainian woman and her 7-year-old son, who the media claim were returned to Kiev.

The Ukrainian state is the primary provider of protection to Ukrainian asylum seekers from the crisis area. In every case, the Finnish Immigration Service also assesses whether Ukrainians have the option of living in safety in other parts of Ukraine.

In 2014 and 2015 the Finnish Immigration Service granted a residence permit to a total of three Ukrainians on the basis of humanitarian protection. Humanitarian protection can be granted on the basis of the poor security situation in Eastern Ukraine, but in every case this requires that the person does not have the option of internal flight. Although the security situation in Donetsk and Luhansk is poor due to armed conflicts, civilians are in no danger elsewhere in Ukraine.

On the basis of the account given by the asylum seeker in question, the Finnish Immigration Service assesses, case by case, whether he or she might fall victim to persecution or other serious violations of human rights if returned to his or her country of origin. The agency's decisions are based on Finland's Aliens Act and established judicial procedure. In connection with each decision, the applicant's account is compared with up-to-date and impartial information on his or her home country. According to international country information, no evidence exists that Ukraine is persecuting its own citizens.

In 2014, a total of 302 Ukrainians sought asylum in Finland. There has been a clear fall in their number this year: by 27 May only 24 such applications had been made. The applicants have come from locations evenly spread around Ukraine, not just the conflict zone in Eastern Ukraine.

The Finnish Immigration Service cannot publicly comment on issues related to individual asylum seekers. For the protection of the applicants' safety, asylum matters are confidential by law.

Further information for the media

Esko Repo, Head of Section, Asylum Unit
Tel: +358 295 430 431, email: firstname.lastname@migri.fi