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Data protection

Contact information 

Finnish Immigration Service 

Street address: Opastinsilta 12 A, 00520, Helsinki

Postal address: P.O. Box 10, 00086 Helsinki 

migri@migri.fi 

0295 430 431 (switchboard)

Data Protection Officer

The Data Protection Officer of the Finnish Immigration Service is Katariina Lehtola.

Contact information:

Street address: Opastinsilta 12 A, 00520, Helsinki
Postal address: P.O. Box 10, 00086 Helsinki 
Tel. 0295 430 431 (switchboard)
e-mail: tietosuojavastaava@migri.fi

Processing of personal data and data protection at the Finnish Immigration Service

Personal data are data that concern a person who is or can be identified. For example, they include 

  • a name
  • an address
  • a telephone number 
  • a diary number of a matter
  • a customer number. 

Data protection principles guide the processing of personal data and protect an individual’s privacy when personal data are processed. Processing includes everything from planning the processing of personal data to deleting the data, and also viewing them.

The Finnish Immigration Service only processes personal data for a legitimate reason. For example, personal data are needed for processing matters related to residence, citizenship, international protection and the reception of persons applying for international protection in compliance with legal requirements, as explained in detail below. Some of our services are used on a voluntary basis. Personal data are also processed when dealing with personnel or financial matters, for example. 

Sections 3 and 5 of the Act on the Processing of Personal Data in the Field of Immigration Administration (615/2020)* contain information about the other controllers of the case management system for immigration matters (UMA). For information about how these controllers process personal data and data protection in their activities, please contact each controller.

* later referred to as the Personal Data Act in Immigration Administration

Data subject’s rights and access to personal data

You have a right to know which data concerning you we store and who processes them. You also have a right to access the data we have collected on you and, if necessary, update them. 
If you need more information about how your personal data are processed at the Finnish Immigration Service, please contact the Data Protection Officer.

Compliance with the data protection legislation in Finland is supervised by the Data Protection Ombudsman. For more information about your rights related to data protection, visit the Data Protection Ombudsman’s website at tietosuoja.fi.

For more information: 

Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2016/679 (the General Data Protection Regulation) 

Data Protection Act 1050/2018 

Act on the Processing of Personal Data in the Field of Immigration Administration 615/2020 
 

The personal data we process 

Sources of data 

The data processed for the purposes referred to in section 1 of the Personal Data Act in Immigration Administration are obtained and maintained on the basis of data provided by the data subject and/or their legal representative. Data concerning the person are also obtained from the authorities and other parties pursuant to the Act. The Act limits the types of data obtained from each authority and restricts the purposes for which they can be used. In addition, data may be obtained from the following sources: 

  • Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres), 
  • Finnish Centre for Pensions
  • Social Insurance Institution (Kela),
  • municipal social welfare authorities, 
  • Finnish Transport Safety Agency, 
  • Legal Register Centre, 
  • Finnish National Agency for Education, 
  • educational institutions,
  • Finnish Patent and Registration Office
  • National Police Board and Finnish Security Intelligence Service,
  • Defence Command Finland
  • Border Guard, 
  • Criminal Sanctions Agency, 
  • National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health, 
  • detention units, 
  • National Prosecution Authority,
  • Finnish Workers' Compensation Center,
  • Customs,
  • Finnish courts 
  • Employment and Economic Development Offices (TE Offices),
  • Employment Fund,
  • foreign affairs administration, 
  • National Enforcement Authority, 
  • reception and registration centres, 
  • Finnish Tax Administration, and 
  • Digital and Data Services Agency.  

Data may also be obtained from publicly available sources, including open websites and registers.

Recipients of personal data 

The personal data concerning data subjects collected for the purposes referred to in section 1 of the Personal Data Act in Immigration Administration are also disclosed to other authorities in order for them to perform their tasks laid down in the legislation within a specified scope if the recipient of the disclosed data has a statutory right to obtain these data from the Finnish Immigration Service.

Among other things, the Finnish Immigration Service may disclose the personal data it processes to: 

  • Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres), 
  • Emergency Response Centre Administration, 
  • Social Insurance Institution (Kela) and municipal social welfare authorities, 
  • Finnish Agency for Health and Welfare 
  • National Police Board and the Finnish Security Intelligence Service, 
  • Defence Forces, 
  • educational institutions, 
  • legal aid offices, 
  • Border Guard, 
  • detention units, 
  • the ministry responsible for organising the reception of asylum seekers and victims of human trafficking 
  • Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, 
  • Employment and Economic Development Offices (TE Offices), occupational safety and health authority, 
  • reception and registration centres, and 
  • Digital and Data Services Agency. 

Fingerprints taken for applying for an alien’s passport and a refugee travel document may be used by the Finnish Immigration Service, the police, the Border Guard, the Customs when performing the tasks of a border control authority, and the foreign affairs administration. 

Fingerprints taken for an application for a residence permit, a residence permit card and a residence card for a family member of an EU citizen may be used by the Finnish Immigration Service, the police, the border control authorities and Finnish missions. 

The Finnish Immigration Service’s partners with whom the agency has concluded an agreement on processing personal data in compliance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation only process personal data on behalf of the Finnish Immigration Service for specified purposes.