Asylum applications may only be submitted in Finland

According to the Aliens Act, an asylum application must be submitted in Finland. The application cannot be made abroad, but must be submitted in person to the police or the Finnish Border Guard.

The Finnish procedure is similar to that in other countries with regard to seeking asylum. In most European countries, asylum applications may only be submitted within the country where asylum is sought. In other parts of the world, however, practices may vary. Some EU Member States have previously permitted an asylum application to be submitted in one of their embassies abroad, but this practice has been discontinued.

Finland receives contacts from abroad from time to time, asking for international protection. Such communication usually arrives by letter or email directly to the Ministry of the Interior or through an embassy or the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. This will not result in the processing of an asylum application in Finland, but we naturally respond to such communication and explain about the Finnish asylum seeking procedures.

For additional information, please contact: Ministerial Adviser Sanna Sutter, tel. +358 40 508 4814, or Special Adviser Andrei Nahkala, tel. +358 71 878 8212

Finnish Immigration Services web site www.migri.fi/asylum_in_finland