The Finnish Immigration Service is reportedly planning to close several reception centers for migrants. Moreover, Finland's Parliament last week reduced financial support for asylum seekers to the EU's minimum level.
Finland's immigration office has announced plans to both shut down "some" accommodation centers for asylum seekers and reduce the overall "number of places" at the centers.
That's according to an online press release published Monday morning (July 1).
The Immigration Service, known as Migri, justified the decision citing a decreasing number of "new applicants for international protection and recipients of temporary protection" in spring.
Migri also noted that recipients of temporary protection who had relocated from centers to municipalities contributed to a reduced demand for accommodation.
"Capacity will be scaled down by reducing the number of places in the reception units in operation and by closing down some of the units," the Director of the Reception Services Department is quoted as saying in the press release. "Some of the new reception units for adults and families will be turned into institutional reception units."
Several Finnish NGOs, including Moniheli, the Finnish Refugee Council and Startup Refugees, have been criticizing the move.
Aicha Manai, CEO of Startup Refugees, which helps migrants find employment, called reducing accommodation capacity for migrants a "political power move" that would make it easier to take in fewer migrants in the future.
"The political alignments or policies are being made in order to intake fewer asylum seekers in the future," Manai told InfoMigrants, adding that she believes the lower number of arrivals is due to migrants no longer wanting to come to Finland as a result of policy changes.
Confronted with this position by InfoMigrants, a spokesperson for Migri said the agency is "not responsible for legislation." The spokesperson furthermore said that Migri tries to "ensure that the operations of reception centers are cost-effective and that the number of places corresponds to the current need. If the number of applicants increases, we are prepared to increase the number of places."
According to Migri, Finland currently has 76 reception centers, three of them are run by the agency itself, and 23 units for underage migrants. Of the some 28,000 protection seekers currently staying in the "reception system," according to Migri, 43 percent live in private accommodation, the rest in accommodation centers. The majority of them are Ukrainians staying in Finland under the Temporary Protection Directive.
Consequence for migrants
The reduction in accommodation capacities will be carried out during summer and fall, according to the press release. Some migrants currently staying in reception centers "may have to move" as a result.
"If necessary, customers can transfer to another unit or move to private accommodation or to a municipality," the press release reads.
As for Ukrainian refugees, they can "apply for a municipality of residence" -- provided they have been staying in Finland continuously for at least one year. This applies to some 11,000 people in the reception system, according to the press release.
Those who already reside in a Finnish municipality "can personally decide their place of residence" and have "the same rights and services as other residents."
In early June, news broke that Finland is constructing new fences and deploying more guard patrols, drones and electronic detectors along sections of its 1,340-kilometer-long border with Russia in an attempt to close down new migrant routes.
In May, the Finnish government submitted a proposal to pass temporary measures to address what it referred to as "instrumentalized migration" -- or migration facilitated with the aim of destabilizing Finland and the EU -- from Russia.
The proposed legislation is described as a means to improve border security and help Finland to counter migration tactics that it sees as threatening national security.
It also includes several provisions to control irregular entry into Finnish territory. One of them would give the government the authority to restrict the reception of asylum applications in specific border areas for up to a month at a time.
Last September, Finland closed its land border crossings with Russia amid an increase in irregular migrant arrivals from Russia. After announcing several extensions of the closures, the government said in April they would remain shut indefinitely.
Parliament cuts financial support for asylum seekers
In separate events, the Finnish Parliament last week reduced the country's financial support for asylum seekers.
That's according to an article by Finland's national broadcaster Yle (short for Yleisradio Oy) published on Friday (June 28).
The 'reception payment' currently stands at 348.50 euros per month for single persons and single parents (102.15 euros in case the migrant receives meals at their reception center).
Once the law comes into effect, the financial support will be at the lowest level allowed under European Union law, Yle reported. Only one member of Parliament from a governing party voted against the bill.
According to Yle, reception payment refers to the money for "those seeking international protection, those receiving temporary protection and victims of human trafficking without a designated home municipality."
Importantly, the law means that rejected asylum seekers can no longer obtain a residence permit based on employment, entrepreneurship or studies, Yle reported.