Finland: Asylum and immigration
01 January 1991
Finland: Asylum and immigration
artdoc November=1995
Finland undecided on EU "burden sharing" initiative
The chief of the Office for Aliens' Affairs of the Ministry of
the Interior has said that the government is undecided on the
Finnish response to the idea, being discussed throughout the
European Union, that the burden of refugees should be spread
more equally among all member states.
Such a model would mean Finland receiving more refugees
than it has up till now. The number of refugees gaining
asylum in Finland has dropped radically. Only 836 people
asked for asylum in Finland last year. In 1993, the number
was 2,023 and in 1992, 3,625. The largest groups of asylum-
seekers in 1994 were Somalis (177), Russians (91), Iranians
(66), former Yugoslavs (65) and Iraqis (55).
The Office for Aliens' Affairs decided on 1,096 asylum
applications in 1994. In 15 cases asylum was granted and in
294 cases a residence permit. A negative decision was given
in 489 cases and almost 300 applications expired or the person
left Finland. Of the negative decisions, 239 were made under
normal procedures and 250 as a result of accelerated
procedures (Helsingen Sanomat 6.1.95, 27.2.95).
Iraqi asylum-seekers in Estonian prisons brought to Finland
Finnish refugee and border control officers brought 88 Iraqi
refugees including Kurds and Arabs from Estonia, where they
had been in prison, some for periods ranging from nine months
to two years. The Finnish government decided to receive the
refugees after the Estonian government made an official
request. Estonia does not have a refugee reception system as
it has not signed the UN Refugee Convention.
Most of the refugees were men, but there were also 18
women and 20 children among the group. The refugees were in
relatively good physical shape, although some suffered from
mental and emotional problems caused by the uncertainty of
their situation (Helsingen Sanomat 17.2.95).
Ombudsman criticises officers at Helsinki harbour after
expulsion of Kurds
The parliamentary ombudsman has criticised passport officers
at Helsinki harbour following two cases that involved the
expulsion of five Kurdish asylum-seekers.
The first case occurred in October 1992, when a Kurdish
woman from Iraq who came to Helsinki harbour via Estonia was
simply sent back the next day. A month later, another ship
brought a group of four Iraqi Kurds, two of them minors, all
of whom were summarily expelled but managed to appeal against
the decision, claiming that as they had asked for asylum in
their own language the officers had not understood them.
Parliamentary ombudsman Jacob Soderman has criticised the
officers involved for not providing an interpreter and for
failing to take into account the fact that two of the
applicants were minors. Four border control officers were
given an admonition and the Ministry of the Interior was asked
to clarify expulsion regulations in order to take better
account of the UN Refugee Convention and the Convention on the
Rights of the Child.
The passport control officers have defended their actions
by saying that the Kurds did not ask for asylum,
identification papers were not in order and they did not have
enough money to support their stay. But the ombudsman has
pointed out that it is unlikely that the Kurds would have come
to Finland as tourists or businessmen (Helsingen Sanomat
2.1.95).
IRR European Race Audit, no 13, April 1995. Contact: Liz
Fekete, Institute of Race Relations, 2-6 Leeke Street, London
WC1X 9HS. Tel: 0171 837 0041