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.
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.
Email
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:
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.
