Division of tasks in immigration affairs

The Finnish Immigration Service

• grants residence permits to foreign nationals entering Finland, such as students, employees, self-employed people, returnees and family members of foreign nationals living in Finland;
• registers the right of residence of EU citizens and issues residence cards for family members of EU citizens;
• processes asylum applications from the asylum interviews to the decisions;
• guides, directs and plans the practical operation related to the reception of asylum seekers and beneficiaries of temporary protection;
• issues alien’s passports and refugee travel documents;
• decides on denial of admittance or stay and on deportation;
• decides citizenship applications and citizenship declarations and determines citizenship status;
• maintains the the case management system for immigration affairs; 
• produces information services for international needs and for Finnish decision-makers and authorities; and
• participates in international cooperation in its own field.

In addition to the Finnish Immigration Service, many other Finnish authorities handle immigration-related matters.

Our key partners in immigration affairs are:

• The Ministry of the Interior as well as the Finnish police and the Border Guard, which are subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior
• The reception centres for asylum seekers
• The Ministry for Foreign Affairs as well as Finnish missions abroad (embassies and consulates), which are subordinate to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs
• The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment as well as Employment and economic development offices (TE Offices) and Centres for economic development, transport and the environment (ELY Centres), which are subordinate to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
• The Ministry of Education and Culture and Finnish National Agency for Education
• The Ministry of Justice as well as administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court as appellate authorities, and the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman, which are all subordinate to the Ministry of Justice.

The table below provides a general view of the most central matters concerning immigration and the authorities that manage and make decisions on these matters. In certain cases, another authority may decide on the matter.

Division of tasks in immigration affairs in Finland