Processing of asylum applications
After a police or a border control official has accepted your application and you have arrived in a reception centre, the Finnish Immigration Service takes responsibility for handling your application. The Finnish Immigration Service will soon invite you to an asylum interview.
These links will take you directly to the different sections of the page:
- Asylum interview
- After the asylum interview
- Age assessment, or establishment of age of a person younger than 18 (age test)
- Expedited processing
- Waiting for the decision
Asylum interview
On this page you will find information and instructions about the asylum interview and its procedure.
You will find all the information you need in the menu to the left. If you are using a mobile device, you will find the information under the menu in the top right corner of the page.
Watch a video about asylum interviews.
Together with your invitation to an asylum interview, you will receive instructions that tell you what will happen at the interview. The instructions that are given to clients together with the asylum interview invitation can be found here: asylum interview.
When is the interview?
The Finnish Immigration Service tries to organise your asylum interview as soon as possible after you have applied for asylum. However, if we are processing a large number of asylum applications, it may take some time before we are able to interview you. All you need to do is to wait.
The Finnish Immigration Service will select a time for your asylum interview and send you an invitation to it. The invitation states the language into which your interview will be interpreted, as well as the exact location and time of the interview.
You cannot change the interview time. If you for example fall ill, notify your reception centre immediately. The employees of the reception centre will contact the Finnish Immigration Service.
Where is the interview conducted?
Asylum interview held at the Finnish Immigration Service
The Finnish Immigration Service conducts asylum interviews at four of its offices across Finland: Helsinki, Raisio, Lappeenranta and Oulu.
The Finnish Immigration Service usually holds your interview at the office closest to the reception centre at which you are registered. Sometimes we may hold the interview elsewhere.
The Finnish Immigration Service will send you an invitation telling you
- when and where your asylum interview will be held, and
- whether the interview will be held in person at the Finnish Immigration Service or over a video connection.
Together with the invitation, you will receive instructions containing important information about the day of the interview and how you should prepare. The staff at your reception centre will help you organise travel to the interview location.
Before you enter the customer facilities of the Finnish Immigration Service, you may be required to undergo a security check.
Asylum interview held over a video connection
The Finnish Immigration Service may conduct your asylum interview over a video connection. In this case you attend the interview from your reception centre or detention unit and are connected to an employee of the Finnish Immigration Service via video link.
The content of the interview is the same and you will be invited to attend in the same way regardless of whether the interview is held in person at the Finnish Immigration Service or over a video connection.
Accessibility information for interviews
Please inform the staff of your reception centre in advance if you have special needs regarding the asylum interview. The reception centre will notify the Finnish Immigration Service of them before the interview. Adjustments can be made if you have a physical, sensory or other disability, or if you need a support person to attend the interview with you. We do our best to meet your accessibility needs when we arrange the interview.
Interview facilities in Helsinki
The address of the interview facilities in Helsinki is Ratapihantie 11. Entrance is from the upper-level door by the junction of the Kellosilta street and the Veturimiehenkatu street.
There are no separate parking spaces for customers. If you hold a parking card for people with reduced mobility, you can drive and park in front of the entrance.
The pick-up and drop-off area is in front of the entrance.
- Drive north along the Ratapihantie street.
- Turn right to the Rautatieläisenkatu street.
- Take the first turn right to the Veturimiehenkatu street.
- Take the first turn right to the Kellosilta street.
- The entrance to the Finnish Immigration Service’s interview facilities is on your right side.
The entrance is not clearly distinguishable. The sign marking the entrance is not easily visible from the traffic route. There is a canopy above the entrance.
There is no electronic door-opening mechanism. There is a low threshold in the doorway. There is space for turning in front of the entrance.
The interview rooms are on the same floor as the entrance. When you enter the building, the security guards will guide you to a waiting area.
The signs inside are clear and distinguishable.
There is seating available in the waiting area. There is sufficient room for moving with a wheelchair in the corridors. An employee of the Finnish Immigration Service will escort you from the waiting area to the interview room and back to the waiting area.
The interview rooms are of different sizes. There is not enough space for turning with a wheelchair in all rooms. If you have told of your wheelchair use in advance, we will book a large interview room for you.
There are two toilets in the waiting area but they are not accessible. There is an accessible, large toilet in a corridor behind a locked door. You can ask the staff to open it for you.
Guide dogs and service dogs are allowed indoors.
There is no sound beacon or induction loop.
Interview facilities in Raisio
The address of the interview facilities in Raisio is Nallinkatu 8.
Parking spaces for customers are available free of charge for 2 hours. Remember to use a parking disc. In addition, there are accessible parking spaces for two cars. They are located over 10 metres from the entrance.
The pick-up and drop-off area is in front of the entrance.
The route to the entrance is marked with signs, has lighting and is wide enough for a wheelchair. There is a canopy above the entrance.
There is a ramp for wheelchair users in front of the entrance. The security guard will open the door for you.
The waiting lobby for customers is at street level on the same floor as the entrance. When you enter the building, the security guard will guide you to a waiting lobby for customers.
There are signs indoors.
There is enough space to move with a wheelchair.
Seating is available in the waiting lobby.
The interview rooms are on the 2nd and 3rd floor. All floors can be accessed with a lift. The lift door opens automatically. The lift is spacious and there is room for turning with a wheelchair or a baby stroller/pushchair. The lift buttons are 90–130 centimetres from the floor and have raised numbers. The button for the exit floor is green and embossed. The alarm button is raised but does not have a collar. The lift does not give audio instructions.
An employee of the Finnish Immigration Service will come and escort you from the waiting lobby to the interview room. During breaks, the employee of the Finnish Immigration Service and the security guards can help you with using the lift.
There is an accessible, large toilet in the lobby on the 3rd floor.
Guide dogs and service dogs are allowed indoors.
There is no sound beacon or induction loop.
Interview facilities in Lappeenranta
There are two routes to the interview facilities:
- the main entrance of the Virastotalo office building at Pormestarinkatu 1
- an accessible entrance at the address Villimiehenkatu 2.
There is no free parking reserved for customers. There are public parking spaces along the Pormestarinkatu street. Parking there is subject to a fee. There are no accessible parking spaces.
The pick-up and drop-off area is in front of the Villimiehenkatu entrance at the address Villimiehenkatu 2.
The main entrance of the Virastotalo office building is distinguishable and has lighting. The route to the Villimiehenkatu entrance is not very distinguishable and has poor lightning. Both entrances are wide enough for a wheelchair. There is a canopy above both entrances.
Both entrances have a ramp for wheelchair users. The front doors have an electronic opening mechanism. You can open the front doors by pushing a button. There are buttons both on the outside and on the inside. There is space for turning with a wheelchair in front of both entrances.
The main entrance of the Virastotalo office building, the interview rooms and the customer lobby are on the P floor. The Villimiehenkatu entrance in on the K floor.
There is a lift in the building. The lift door opens automatically. The lift gives audio instructions, meaning that the lift will announce when it reaches a floor. There is not enough room in the lift for turning with a wheelchair or a baby stroller/pushchair.
The entrance to the Finnish Immigration Service facilities is inside the office building on the P floor. The door has a doorbell. Ring the doorbell and wait for the security guard to open the door for you. The door has an automatic opening mechanism. There is a low threshold in the doorway.
The security guard will guide you to a customer lobby. There is seating available in the customer lobby. There is sufficient room for moving with a wheelchair in the corridors.
There are not many signs indoors. An employee of the Finnish Immigration Service will come and escort you from the customer lobby to the interview room.
There is an accessible toilet in the common areas of the Virastotalo office building on the P floor.
Guide dogs and service dogs are allowed indoors.
There is no sound beacon or induction loop.
Interview facilities in Oulu
There are two routes to the interview facilities:
- The main route is at the address Albertinkatu 4 B.
- Another route is via the inner courtyard entrance of the Oikeustalo Court House at the address Sepänkatu 3 A. This entrance is intended for customers who need an accessible parking space.
Neither entrance is entirely accessible.
The pick-up and drop-off area is in front of the entrance at Sepänkatu 3 A. Cars may stop for pick-up and drop-off at the address Albertinkatu 4 B as well.
There are private parking spaces, where parking is subject to a fee, in the inner courtyard of the building, as well as accessible parking spaces that can be used free of charge. The accessible parking spaces are located less than 10 metres from the inner courtyard entrance of the Finnish Immigration Service. The Finnish Immigration Service does not have separate parking spaces reserved for its customers.
The route from the Sepänkatu entrance has insufficient signs. The main entrance on the Albertinkatu street is distinguishable and has sufficient signs.
Both entrances have lightning and are wide enough for a wheelchair. There is a canopy above both entrances. There is space for turning with a wheelchair in front of both entrances.
The inner courtyard entrance at Sepänkatu 3 A has a door buzzer. Press the buzzer, and a security guard will come and open the door for you. The buzzer is too high for a wheelchair user to reach. There is a high threshold in the doorway. There is no ramp for wheelchair users. The security guards can provide assistance at the entrance.
At the Albertinkatu entrance, there is no electronic door-opening mechanism. At the Albertinkatu entrance, there is a low threshold in the doorway but it is easy to cross with a wheelchair.
The route from the Albertinkatu entrance to the facilities of the Finnish Immigration Service is marked clearly with signs. If you enter from the Sepänkatu side, a security guard will escort you to the Finnish Immigration Service’s premises.
The customer premises of the Finnish Immigration Service are on the 2nd floor. Both entrances are on the P floor.
There is a lift in the building. The lift door opens automatically. The lift does not give audio instructions. There is not enough room in the lift for turning with a wheelchair or a baby stroller/pushchair.
The entrance to the Finnish Immigration Service's facilities is inside the building on the 2nd floor. The door has a doorbell. Ring the doorbell and wait for the security guard to open the door for you. The security guard will guide you to a customer lobby. There is a low threshold in the doorway.
Seating is available in the customer lobby. There is sufficient room for moving with a wheelchair in the corridors.
An employee of the Finnish Immigration Service will come and escort you from the customer lobby to the interview room.
There is an accessible, large toilet in the customer lobby on the 2nd floor.
Guide dogs and service dogs are allowed indoors.
There is no sound beacon or induction loop.
What is asked in an interview?
At the beginning of the asylum interview the Finnish Immigration Service will ask you about:
- your identity
- your travel route, or the way you came to Finland
We will also ask other questions that help us determine whether your asylum application will be processed in Finland. Read more about situations in which an asylum application is not processed in Finland.
After this, we will ask you to tell us all the reasons why you are applying for asylum in Finland.
The interview is your opportunity to tell us about the events in your home country or country of permanent residence, and the threat you are experiencing. If you have documents that you want to show us to support your statements, bring them with you to the interview, unless you have already handed them over to Finnish authorities earlier.
Our decision on your asylum application will be based on all the information you give us in the interview and other materials you give us to support your asylum application. For this reason, the interviewer tries to gain information about all the facts that are important in your case. The interviewer will also assess what parts of your statement and your documents are important in your case. If necessary, he or she will ask questions to guide you to talk about the most important things. When we make a decision on your asylum application, we will also assess whether your statement is credible.
Interpreting at the asylum interview
The Finnish Immigration Service will book an interpreter for your interview
When your asylum interview begins, the interviewer will ask if you understand the interpreter. If you do not understand the interpreter, you should say so immediately. You can also tell us in the middle of the interview if you do not understand the interpreter or if the interpreter does not understand you. It is important that you tell us immediately if you and the interpreter cannot understand each other.
We will book an interpreter who speaks the language that you have stated as your mother tongue or another language that you understand.
Counsel at the asylum interview
As an asylum seeker, you have the right to have a legal counsel at the asylum interview. The counsel decides whether it is necessary for him or her to participate in the interview. Read more in the section Legal advice.
If you have a special reason why you need to bring another support person with you to your asylum interview, the interviewer will decide in the beginning of the interview whether this person may participate.
Your support person can ask in advance whether he or she is allowed to be present at the interview by requesting this in writing. To give us enough time to reply to the request, your support person must send an email to migri@migri.fi as soon as you have received an invitation to an interview. Your support person must state in the email why it is necessary for him or her to participate in the interview. For data security reasons, please do not send any personal details by email. Only your customer number should be mentioned in the email.
Let us know in advance if you need a support person to attend the interview
If you wish to be accompanied by a support person in the interview, you or the support person must request it from the Finnish Immigration Service in writing before the interview. Otherwise the interviewer will decide at the beginning of the interview whether the support person will be allowed to attend.
The support person is not a counsel and does not take part in the investigation of your case. A family member cannot be a support person without reasonable grounds.
You can ask about the attendance of a support person from the Finnish Immigration Service as follows:
- Send an encrypted email to the Finnish Immigration Service at migri@migri.fi as soon as you have received the invitation to the interview. To send your encrypted email, use the Securemail service (securemail.migri.fi), the exact details of which can be found on the page Contact information.
- Explain in your message why you need a support person to accompany you in the interview. The Finnish Immigration Service decides whether to allow the support person to attend the interview.
Please note that in principle only the persons taking part in the interview are allowed in the interview premises due to the limited space in the waiting area. However, if you wish, you may bring with you one person who will not take part in the interview to accompany you to the waiting area.
Recording of interviews
The Finnish Immigration Service records every asylum interview – you can get your recording by submitting a request. The recording is kept for five years.
You can ask for your asylum interview free of charge. The recording will be delivered on a CD. For data security reasons the recording cannot be sent as an email attachment.
You can submit a request for your recording using the request for information form.
If you wish, you can listen to your recording at the Finnish Immigration Service office.
You may also record your interview yourself
The asylum interview is conducted in an area to which the general public has no access. Recording (i.e. photographing, voice recording or video recording) is permitted in this area for the purpose of observing the operations of the Finnish Immigration Service.
Taking individual photographs or video of an immigration service official or an interpreter as an individual person is not permitted, because the purpose of the photographs or video would not be to observe the events of the interview or the work of the interviewer or interpreter.
Recording is only permitted during the interview in the facilities reserved for the interview
You are only allowed to record your asylum interview during the actual interview in the facilities reserved for the interview. You are not permitted to photograph or record anything before or after the interview, during breaks or outside the interview room in other areas, such as the waiting hall, which is closed to the general public. Any type of recording in these areas is prohibited in order to protect the identity and privacy of asylum seekers present in the area.
Due to the nature of asylum-related matters, the authorities are obliged to protect the identity and privacy of asylum seekers. Thus, the prohibition on recording is emphasised in areas that are closed to the general public and where asylum seekers are present.
Recording is also generally permitted in the interview facilities of the detention unit. In certain cases, recording in detention unit facilities may be restricted based on legal provisions.
If you record your interview, remember:
- Recording must not disrupt the interview. If recording disrupts the work of an interviewer or an interpreter or hinders your concentration, the interview may be discontinued.
- You are responsible for any consequences of keeping your mobile phone switched on in order to record your interview and any related data security risks. The Finnish Immigration Service recommends that you completely switch off your mobile phone during the interview, if you do not intend to record the interview.
- You are not allowed to bring additional equipment, such as lights, or other people with you into the interview room to record the interview.
Recording of interviews
تسجيل المقابلة (arabia)
ضبط کردن مصاحبە dari (prs)
Qeydkirina telefonê (kurmandzi)
ضبط کردن مصاحبه پناهندگی Farsi (fa)
Duubitaanka wareysiga (somali)
قهیدکردنی لێپرسینهوه (sorani)
запись собеседования (ru)
Asylum interview with an unaccompanied minor asylum seeker
An asylum seeker who is under 18 years of age and arrived in Finland alone always has his or her representative with him or her in the asylum interview. In addition, a legal counsel (a lawyer or a social worker from the reception centre) may also participate in the interview.
If you have a special reason why you need to bring another support person with you to your asylum interview, the interviewer will decide whether this person may participate.
Hearing of a co-applicant under the age of 18
Under law, the Finnish Immigration Service has an obligation to hear all children 12 years of age or older who apply for asylum in Finland together with their family. Sometimes the hearing of the child may be deemed clearly unnecessary. In that case, the child does not need to be heard.
The Finnish Immigration Service can also hear a younger child. Hearing a child under the age of 12 may be necessary so that the Finnish Immigration Service can secure the realisation of the child’s best interest. The hearing of a younger child is possible if the child is sufficiently mature to have his or her views taken into account.
Children are always interviewed in accordance with their age and maturity.
The Finnish Immigration Service hears all children 11 years of age and older
When arranging an interview with a family, we invite to the hearing all children 11 years of age or older applying together with the family. This is done so that
- we can make sure that the child’s best interest will be realised, and
- the processing of the family’s applications will not be delayed in case a child turns 12 before the family receives a decision.
We also hear children between 4 and 10 years of age, if it is deemed necessary. Hearing a child below the age of 12 can be necessary, for example, when the family’s grounds for asylum are specifically connected with the child.
Children are heard only in matters related to themselves
We give all children applying for asylum together with their family the possibility to tell about their matters themselves, if they want to. The child’s statement is taken into account in the decision-making, in accordance with the child’s age and maturity. The purpose of a child’s hearing is not to investigate the credibility of the parents’ or guardians’ statements.
We will not interview the child if he or she does not want to be heard. The child’s refusal to be interviewed does not influence the decision on the application.
The hearing of the child and the child’s parent or guardian is usually arranged on the same day
We will send the child an invitation to a hearing. The child’s parent or guardian is also asked to be present at the hearing. The child is also heard briefly without the presence of the parent or guardian.
In the hearing, children are heard about
- their worries and fears,
- violations of their rights,
- and other issues that are relevant to the asylum application.
The asylum interview instructions for co-applicants under the age of 18 can be found here: migri.fi/asyluminterview.
You can request the Finnish Immigration Service to hear a child
The Finnish Immigration Service does not always have all information about the reasons why a child below the age of 11 should be heard.
For example the following persons can ask for a hearing of the child:
- the child
- the child’s parents or guardians
- the child’s counsel or attorney.
How can the child’s parents or guardians request for a hearing?
If you are a parent or guardian participating in a hearing at the Finnish Immigration Service, you will be asked if you want your child to be heard.
In other cases, you can request the Finnish Immigration Service to hear your child. Send the request as an encrypted email message to the address migri@migri.fi. You can send encrypted email using the service securemail.migri.fi.
You can ask the following persons to help you send the request:
- your counsel
- a social worker at the reception centre
- a public health nurse at the reception centre.
After asylum interview
After the asylum interview
- ቃለ መጠይቅ ላደረጉ ጥገኝነት ጠያቂዎች ተጨማሪ መረጃ (am)
- معلومات لطالب اللجوء بعد المقابلة (ar)
- معلومات برای پناهجویان بعد از انترویو (مصاحبە) (Dari)
- اطلاعاتی برای پناهجو پس از مصاحبه (fa)
- Tietoa turvapaikanhakijalle puhuttelun jälkeen (fi)
- Information for asylum seekers after asylum interview (en)
- Información para solicitantes de asilo después de la entrevista (es)
- Information à l’attention du demandeur d’asile après l'entretien (fr)
- ინფორმაცია თავშესაფრის მაძიებლისთვის ინტერვიუს შემდეგ (ka)
- Agahiyên ji bo penaxwaz piştî hevpeyvînê (Kurmanji (Kurdish))
- مهاجرت اداره ممکن له تاسې څخه د مرکې وروسته نور وضاحت وغواړي – خپل ځواب په ټاکلي وخت کې مهاجرت ادارهته وسپارئ (ps)
- Информация для просителей убежища после собеседования (ru)
- Amakuru agenewe abasaba ubuhungiro nyuma yo kubazwa (rw)
- Macluumaad loogu talaggalay qofka magangalyoddoonka ah, warysiga kaddib (so)
- زانیاری بۆ داواکەری پەنابەری لە دوای چاوپێکەوتن (Sorani (Kurdish))
- Information till asylsökande efter asylsamtale (sv)
- Mülakat Sonrası Sığınmacı İçin Bilgi (tr)
Information for asylum seekers after asylum interview
Reply within the time limit if the Finnish Immigration Service asks for additional information after your asylum interview.
The Finnish Immigration Service will continue processing your application after your asylum interview. If we need additional information from you, we may send you a request for additional information, perform a language analysis or invite you to a new hearing.
Additional information
If we need additional information from you in writing, we will send you a request for additional information by letter. In the letter we state the date on which your reply must reach the Finnish Immigration Service at the latest.
Reply to the request within the time limit. It is your responsibility to make sure that your reply reaches the Finnish Immigration Service by the deadline. The Finnish Immigration Service can make a decision on your application even if you do not reply to the request.
If you have a legal counsel, he or she can also send your reply to the Finnish Immigration Service. Discuss the matter with your counsel.
New hearing
If we invite you to a new hearing, your reception centre will notify you of the invitation. In the invitation we will tell you why we need to hear you again.
Read the invitation and the instructions in it carefully before the hearing.
Please be on time for your hearing. You cannot postpone the hearing without good reason. If you do not attend the hearing without good reason, we can decide your application without a new hearing.
You can send additional information on your own initiative after your asylum interview
You can send additional information and documents to the Finnish Immigration Service after your asylum interview if there are changes in your situation or you obtain further evidence for your application, such as a doctor’s certificate or an identity document. Send the documents to the Finnish Immigration Service as soon as possible. If you have a legal counsel, discuss the matter with him or her.
If your address, telephone number or email address changes during the processing of your application, inform your reception centre of the changes immediately.
Additions and amendments to the interview transcript
If the interviewer has not reviewed the entire interview transcript together with you during the asylum interview, you have been given a date by which you can make additions and amendments to the transcript. If you want to make additions or amendments to the interview transcript, you can send them to the Finnish Immigration Service by encrypted email. Write ‘PTK’ in the subject line and include your customer number in the message field. See section ‘Email’ below for instructions on how to send encrypted email.
How to send additional information for your asylum application
You can send additional documents to us either by email or by letter. You can also bring documents to our service points. Include your customer number and diary number in them. You can find your customer number and diary number in the top right-hand corner of your asylum interview record or the request for additional information, for example.
If we have asked you to send us original documents, we recommend that you send them as a registered letter. You can ask your reception centre or your legal counsel for help with sending a registered letter. You can also bring the original documents to one of our service points, if you like.
Send your additional documents by email to the address migri@migri.fi. When you send email, use our Securemail service (securemail.migri.fi). The Securemail service will encrypt your message. We cannot open messages that have been encrypted by using other services than our Securemail service. For guidance on how to use the Securemail service, see the page Contact information.
Postal address
If you send your additional documents by letter, post your letter to Finnish Immigration Service, PO Box 10, 00086 Helsinki.
You can also bring your reply to one of our service points
You do not need an appointment or a waiting number to bring documents to our service point. Put your documents in an envelope and leave the envelope in the letter box which is in the service point lobby. For contact information and opening hours of service points, see the page Service points.
Assisted voluntary return
If you want to return to your home country or a country where you have the right of residence, you can apply for assisted voluntary return. When you apply for assisted voluntary return, it will be examined whether you meet the criteria for receiving assistance. If you want to apply for assisted voluntary return, contact your reception centre. The reception centre will help you apply for assisted voluntary return and make a decision on your application.
Assisted voluntary return includes assistance and help with returning to your home country which you can receive if:
- you have received a negative decision on your asylum application
- you want to cancel your asylum application
- your international protection status has ended or
- you are a victim of human trafficking.
You can get many types of assistance for your return
Assisted voluntary return includes travel arrangements, assistance at the airport and possible financial assistance that is paid after your return by a local organisation in your country of return. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is responsible for the travel arrangements. IOM can help you get a travel document from the embassy of your home country and register your children born in Finland as citizens of their home country if needed. If you have health issues, IOM will take them into account in the return arrangements.
When you receive a decision on your application for assisted voluntary return, the decision includes information about what type of assistance you can get. The assistance is primarily granted as in-kind assistance. In-kind assistance means various services or supplies that can help you with starting a business, education or studies, living expenses and healthcare expenses, for example.
Receiving assistance for voluntary return requires that you move from Finland voluntarily. You have to cancel all pending applications and appeals concerning asylum, residence permits and alien’s passports.
Contact your reception centre or the Finnish Immigration Service for more information about assisted voluntary return
If you live in a reception centre, contact the staff at the reception centre. If you do not live in a reception centre, you can contact the Finnish Immigration Service:
- by phone or WhatsApp: 050 413 8625
- by sending email to return@migri.fi via our Securemail service (securemail.migri.fi), which will deliver your message to us reliably.
Further information: Voluntary return.
Other residence permits
Information about other residence permits and grounds for granting them can be found on the following pages:
Applying for a residence permit is subject to a fee.
Age assessment, or establishment of age of a person younger than 18 (age test)
Assessing your age is an important part of determining your identity.
We seek to determine your age on the basis of documents or your interview. If you cannot show us any documents, we will register the age you tell us as your age.
However, if the authorities have well-founded reasons for suspecting that you have not told us your real age, we may perform a forensic age assessment.
For example, we may have doubts if you seem older than you claim to be, or if the information you have given us leads us to suspect that you are older than you say.
The age assessment can be performed if you, your guardian or your other legal representative gives a written consent. If you refuse the age assessment without an acceptable reason, you will be treated as an adult. However, this alone is not a reason for us to reject your asylum application.
At present, the examination methods most commonly used include dental and carpal bone examinations by X-ray and clinical examination.
You will get more information about the age assessment if you are going to get one.
If the age assessment reveals that you are 18 years of age or older, we will process your application as an adult’s application.
Accelerated procedure and manifestly unfounded application (expedited processing)
When the Finnish Immigration Service applies an accelerated procedure to an application, it is processed faster than usual. The Finnish Immigration Service must make a decision on the application within five months of its submission if an accelerated procedure is used. If the Finnish Immigration Service rejects your application in an accelerated procedure, it can consider your application manifestly unfounded.
An accelerated procedure is applied to your application if:
- you have not presented such persecution or violations of human rights as grounds for your application that would entitle you to receive international protection
- you have presented claims concerning your need of protection that are clearly implausible
- you come from a safe country of origin where you may be returned
- you have misled the authorities by presenting false information or documents or by deliberately withholding relevant information or documents about your identity or nationality that could have had a negative impact on the decision
- Finnish authorities can consider it likely that you, with fraudulent intent, have destroyed or disposed of an identity or travel document that would have helped establish your identity or nationality
- you have made a subsequent application that meets the criteria for admissibility laid down by law
- you have made an application only for delaying or disrupting the enforcement of a decision on the basis of which you can be removed from the country
- you refuse to comply with an obligation to have your fingerprints taken in accordance with Finnish law and EU legislation
- you have entered Finland or continued your stay in Finland unlawfully and you have not presented yourself to the authorities without lawful reason or not made an asylum application as soon as possible
- Finnish authorities may consider you a danger to the national security or public order for serious reasons, or Finnish authorities have removed you from the country forcibly for serious reasons of public security or public order.
The Finnish Immigration Service applies an accelerated procedure to process an application by an unaccompanied minor only if
- the child comes from a safe country of origin where he or she may be returned
- the child’s application is a subsequent application that meets the criteria for admissibility laid down by law
- Finnish authorities may consider the child a danger to the national security or public order for serious reasons, or Finnish authorities have removed the child from the country forcibly for serious reasons of public security or public order.
If you have special needs arising from a vulnerable status according to law or otherwise ascertained during the asylum procedure, you have the right to receive support to ensure that you can benefit from the rights connected with the asylum procedure and comply with the related responsibilities. If the Finnish Immigration Service is unable to give you such support within the processing time of five months set for an accelerated procedure, the Finnish Immigration Service will not apply an accelerated procedure to your application.
What is a safe country of origin?
A safe country of origin is a state where there is no risk of persecution or serious violations of human rights. The other Member States of the European Union are usually considered safe countries
When assessing safety, the Finnish Immigration Service pays special attention to the following questions:
- Does the state have a stable and democratic social system?
- Does the state have an independent and impartial judicial system and does the administration of justice meet the requirements for a fair trial?
- Has the state signed the main international human rights treaties and does the state adhere to them?
- Have there been serious violations of human rights in the state?
There is no pre-approved list of safe countries of origin.
Waiting for the decision
After your asylum interview, your application will be transferred to the processing queue and from there to one of our decision-makers.
You can see the expected processing time of your application in the Processing Time Checker.
Under law, decisions on asylum applications must be made within 6 months of the lodging of the application, unless there is a special reason why the processing takes longer. The processing time is calculated from when you notify the police or the border authorities in Finland that you want to apply for asylum.
You do not need to contact the Finnish Immigration Service if the expected processing time of 6 months has been exceeded. We will send you a notification stating:
- that there is a delay in the processing of the application
- the reasons for the delay
- a new estimate of when you will receive a decision.
For more information on processing times, see the page Processing times. Answers to frequently asked questions about processing times can be found on the page Frequently asked questions: Processing times of asylum applications.
As the processing time depends on the personal situation of each applicant, someone who arrived in Finland at the same time as you may receive a decision before you do. This is normal. Please simply wait for your decision. The Finnish Immigration Service will contact you if something is missing from your application.
You may live in a reception centre or private accommodation while your application is being processed.
Read more in the section Daily life in a reception centre.
Watch a video about waiting for the decision on the YouTube channel of the Finnish Immigration Service. The videos are available in nine languages: Arabic, Dari, English, Persian, Somali, Sorani, Finnish, Turkish and Russian.
Enquiries about asylum applications
Matters concerning an asylum seeker must be kept secret by law. We can only give information about them to you or your legal representative. The purpose of secrecy is to protect your privacy and safety. We cannot verify the identity of a person who has contacted us by email or over the phone. For this reason, we cannot reply to enquiries about asylum applications by email or by phone or disclose whether a person is a client at the Finnish Immigration Service.
If necessary, you can send us an enquiry about the processing of your application by email: migri@migri.fi. Send your enquiry as an encrypted email message using the service securemail.migri.fi. In this case, we will reply to you personally by sending a letter to the address that you have given the Finnish Immigration Service.
It is not the duty of the reception centre personnel to make enquiries about the status of your application on your behalf. However, the personnel can give you advice on how to make an enquiry or how to get a counsel.
If you have a legal counsel
You can also ask your counsel to help you make the enquiry. Your counsel can use our online service Enter Finland for Counsels and Representatives to
- follow the status of your application
- send additional information regarding the application
- request documents concerning your matter directly to his or her Enter Finland account
- receive requests for additional information from the Finnish Immigration Service and respond to them directly from the online service.
Stay in Finland during the processing of your application
You can not leave Finland while your application is being processed. Your application will expire, meaning that it will no longer be processed if:
- you can not be contacted for at least two months
- the authorities find out that you have left Finland.