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Border procedure

This page contains a brief summary of the border procedure. For more detailed instructions, see the leaflet you receive if your application is referred to the border procedure: What you need to know about the EU asylum border procedure.

The border procedure means that your application for international protection will be processed already at the border or in proximity of the border. The purpose of the border procedure is the quick processing of applications made by applicants who do not meet the conditions for entry and whose applications are likely to be manifestly unfounded. If an application cannot be processed in the border procedure, the application will be moved to another procedure and the applicant will be allowed to enter Finland.

When the grounds you have presented for your application indicate that your application may be eligible for an accelerated procedure or may be considered inadmissible, the Finnish Immigration Service can apply the border procedure to your application.

When your application is in the border procedure, you must stay in the area of the reception centre or detention unit in which you have been ordered to reside. 

Unaccompanied children who apply for asylum may be subject to the border procedure only if the authorities have reasonable grounds to consider that: 

  • the child is a danger to the national security or public order of Finland, or 
  • the child has been forcibly expelled under law for reasons of national security or public order.

Processing time

Under law, the Finnish Immigration Service must make a decision on your application that is subject to the border procedure and serve the decision on you within 5 weeks of the registration of your application for international protection. However, the border procedure does not end immediately when you receive the decision: it continues until you receive a written notification from the reception centre or detention unit on the termination of the border procedure. The maximum duration of the border procedure is 12 weeks.

Information about asylum examination and your rights and obligations during the processing of your application

The border authorities will give you the following leaflets:

  • What you need to know about the EU asylum border procedure
    • Read the leaflet carefully. It contains information that you need to know during the different stages of the processing of your application. 
    • Pay particular attention to your rights and obligations during the asylum procedure, which are explained in the leaflet. Note that if you do not comply with your obligations, your asylum application will be considered withdrawn or rejected. You may lose your status as an applicant for international protection and all the rights linked to that status. 
  • Your rights and obligations on reception during the asylum border procedure
    • Read this leaflet carefully. It explains what your rights and obligations related to reception are. You will need the information presented in the leaflet for as long as you are a client of a reception centre or detention unit. Note that if you do not comply with your obligations, a decision to limit the support you receive may be made, or you may lose the support completely in some situations. 
  • What you need to know about the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation
    • You will receive this leaflet to prepare for the possibility that the authorities decide that another European country is responsible for examining your application.

Termination of the border procedure

When the border procedure ends, you will receive a written notification from your reception centre or the detention unit.

The border procedure ends if one of the following applies:

  • Your application cannot be considered inadmissible.
  • Your application cannot be processed in an accelerated procedure.
  • The administrative court has not issued a final decision within the time limit set for it, and the maximum duration of the border procedure, which is 12 weeks, is exceeded in your case.
  • The administrative court overturns the decision of the Finnish Immigration Service and allows you to stay in Finland.
  • The Supreme Administrative Court decides to allow you to stay in Finland.   
  • You are moved to the return border procedure.
    • If your application is rejected in the border procedure, you will be moved to the return border procedure. This means that you must stay in the same reception centre. In some cases, you may also be detained. The maximum duration of the return border procedure is 12 weeks.
    • In total, the maximum duration of the border procedure and the return border procedure is almost 6 months. During that time, you must stay in the reception centre in which you have been ordered to reside and your freedom of movement is restricted. 

When the border procedure ends, you are allowed to move freely in Finland and you have the right to leave the area of the reception centre in which you were ordered to reside. However, you have an obligation to leave Finland if the Finnish Immigration Service has issued an enforceable decision on your removal from the country.

If you are held in detention, you will be notified separately when your detention ends

You will receive a separate notification when your detention ends. You will receive the notification from the district court, the police or the border authorities. When your detention ends, you will move to a reception centre.