Arrival in Finland
Quota refugees do not live in reception centres. Instead, they move directly to Finnish municipalities. A quota refugee may only arrive in Finland after a municipality has agreed to take him or her and offer him or her an apartment.
The Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres) are in charge of directing quota refugees to the municipalities.
Each ELY Centre negotiates with the municipalities in its area and agrees on the number of refugees to be resettled into each municipality. The state pays compensation to the municipalities for receiving quota refugees and organising integration services.
If you have been admitted to Finland under the refugee quota (resettlement program), you can find more information on the website: www.movingtofinland.fi.
Videos for the refugees moving to Finland in the resettlement program
The Finnish Immigration Service has published videos about Finland on the agency’s YouTube channel. The videos are intended for quota refugees who have been selected for relocation to Finland. The videos are available in five languages: Arabic, English, Kurmanji, Tigrinya, and Congo Swahili.
English: Videos for the refugees moving to Finland in the resettlement program (youtube.com)
Arabic: مقاطع فيديو للاجئين الذين سينتقلون للعيش في فنلندا ضمن برنامج إعادة التوطين (youtube.com)
Congolese Swahili: Video kwa ajili ya wakimbizi waliochaguliwa kwenda kuishi huko Finland (youtube.com)
Kurdish Kurmanji: Vîdyoyên ji bo penaberên ku di bernameya niştacîhbûnê de diçin Fînlandyayê (youtube.com)
Tigrinya: ቪድዮታት ንብፕሮግራም ዳግመምቁቋም ናብ ፊንላንድ ንዝግዕዙ ስደተኛታት (youtube.com)
The videos cover the following themes:
- Basic facts about Finland
- Life in Finland
- Childcare, education and basic rights for children in Finland
- Education opportunities and a meaningful life for youth
- Education and working life of adults
- Social security and health care services in Finland
- Compilation of videos 1–6
