Asylum in Finland

You can apply for asylum in Finland if you have a justified reason to fear persecution in your home country. Reasons for the persecution can include origin, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinions.

The Finnish Immigration Service investigates whether there are grounds for asylum and makes the decision.

You can only apply for asylum for yourself. If your underage children are also applying for asylum, they must be present in person.

The border between Finland and Russia has been closed. You cannot currently enter Finland that way. You cannot currently apply for asylum at the land border between Finland and Russia. 

You can apply for asylum in Finland only inside Finnish borders. There is not a special asylum application form that you can submit in advance.

When you arrive in Finland, immediately tell the border control authority or police that you want to seek asylum. The border control authority or police will register you as an asylum seeker, record your basic information and take your fingerprints. 

Once an official has received your asylum application, you will be taken to a reception centre. You can live there while the Immigration Service processes your application. You can also live somewhere other than at the reception centre but you must pay for your housing yourself.

Border procedure

In some situations, the border authority may apply a border procedure to your asylum application. There must always be a legal reason for this. The border procedure (rajamenettely) means that the Finnish Immigration Service will process the application in an accelerated procedure or consider the application inadmissible. The Aliens Act (ulkomaalaislaki) defines the situations in which the Finnish Immigration Service can do this.

The border authority will direct you to a reception centre. You have to live there for as long as the border procedure takes. During that time, you cannot leave the area of the centre without permission. In the border procedure, you have the same rights to advice and legal assistance as other asylum seekers.

For more information on asylum application and border procedures, please visit the website of the Finnish Immigration Service.

If you have fled Ukraine due to the war or cannot return there due to the war, you can apply for temporary protection. Read more on the InfoFinland page Temporary protection in Finland.

The Finnish Immigration Service website provides information for Russians on residence permits, applying for asylum and citizenship issues.

In EU countries (and Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), you must apply for asylum in the first country that you enter. If you applied for asylum or resided in another EU country (or Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein) before coming to Finland, your application will not be processed in Finland. Instead, you will be turned back to the country you were in before coming to Finland. This is called the Dublin procedure.

If you are a citizen of a European Union member state, you will probably not receive asylum in Finland. Finland considers all EU countries safe for their citizens. However, all applications of EU citizens are still investigated.

You can find information on how to move to Finland for reasons other than as an asylum seeker on the InfoFinland page EU citizens.

If you are an asylum seeker, under 18 years old and enter Finland without a parent or guardian, a representative will be appointed for you. The representative is a trustworthy adult who manages your affairs while the Finnish Immigration Service processes your application. The representative comes with you when you need to speak with the authorities. Your representative also investigates whether you can be reunited with your family. You have a right to accommodation, food and health care. You also have a right to go to school.

The Finnish Immigration Service will process your application and make the decision. The Finnish Immigration Service will verify your identity and the route through which you travelled to Finland and assess whether you can receive asylum in Finland.

It is common for the processing to take several months. Once you have applied for asylum, you have the right to stay in Finland for as long as it takes to process your application. During that time, you cannot leave the country. If you leave the country, the authorities may decide that your application is no longer valid.

You should also keep in mind that, once you have applied for asylum and are residing in Finland, you cannot receive a residence permit on the basis of studies, work or self-employment. If you want to apply for a residence permit based on studies, work or self-employment, you must leave Finland and apply for a residence permit in Finland from your home country or at a Finnish mission in your country of permanent residence.

The asylum interview (turvapaikkapuhuttelu) is the most important event during the processing of your application. During the interview, you will be asked about the events and reasons why you had to leave your home country. It is important to give as much detail as possible about what happened. Based on what you say, the Finnish Immigration Service will decide whether you will be granted asylum in Finland.

As an asylum seeker, you have the right to have a legal aid attorney in the interview. The attorney will participate in the asylum interview at their own discretion.

If you need an interpreter, the Finnish Immigration Service will get one for you.

You can stay in Finland if you are granted asylum or a residence permit on other grounds. You can be granted asylum in Finland if the authorities think that you will be persecuted in your home country due to

• origin
• religion
• nationality
• membership in a specific social group, or
• political opinion.

If you are not granted asylum, in some cases you can be granted a residence permit based on subsidiary protection. You can be granted a residence permit based on subsidiary protection if you are at risk of:

• death penalty or execution,
• torture or other inhumane treatment or punishment, or
• serious personal danger due to an armed conflict.

When you apply for asylum, the Finnish Immigration Service also investigates whether you could be granted a residence permit on other grounds.

If you are not granted asylum or a residence permit on other grounds, you will be turned away from Finland. You can also appeal a negative decision to the administrative court. Appeal instructions are provided with the decision.

You can find information on what to do if you receive a negative decision on the InfoFinland page Negative residence permit decision.

During the processing of your application, you can receive advice and legal assistance from a public legal aid office. If you want a legal aid attorney, contact the legal aid office. The reception centre can help you, if necessary. The legal aid office (oikeusaputoimisto) can also refer you to a private attorney or private law firm.

You can also receive advice from the Refugee Advice Centre (Pakolaisneuvonta ry). The Refugee Advice Centre also gives advice to people who are in Finland without a residence permit.

Asylum seekers are not entitled to social security in Finland. This means that you cannot obtain social security benefits from Kela.

The reception centre pays you a reception allowance. The allowance is paid until your asylum application has been processed. The reception allowance is a small amount of money intended for necessary expenses.

If you are granted a residence permit and live permanently in Finland, you are entitled to social security in Finland. Persons who have been granted a residence permit can apply for coverage under the Finnish social security system from Kela.

As an asylum seeker, you can only work if your right to work is valid. You can work in Finland once three or six months have passed after you applied for asylum.

Read more on the InfoFinland page Right to work in Finland.