Changes in the administrative branch of the Ministry of the Interior at the turn of the year

Amendments to legislation and decrees applying to the police, immigration and border control will enter into force at the beginning of 2021, of which the most important ones are explained in this release.

Permanent force of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency will begin its operation on 1 January

A permanent operative force for use by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex will be established on 1 January 2021. The permanent force will be constructed in phases, comprising a total of 10,000 persons at the end of 2027. Finland’s contribution to the permanent force in 2021 will be eight long-term dispatched public officials, 72 short-term dispatched officials and 30 public officials set aside for a quick response reserve. The permanent force will support the EU Member States in external border control and in returning the citizens of non-EU countries.

Finland will accept 1050 quota refugees

The number of quota refugees accepted by Finland will increase from 850 to 1050 next year. The number is estimated annually and varies from 850 to 1050 according to the Government Programme and depending on the total number of asylum seekers. 

Finland will accept a total of 550 Syrian refugees from Lebanon and Turkey as well as 250 Congolese refugees from Zambia. In addition, it will accept 130 refugees evacuated from Libya to Niger or Rwanda. Finland will also prepare for accepting 120 refugees without a nationality and region restriction, including emergency cases.

Finnish Parliament will finally decide on the refugee quota in connection with confirming the State Budget next week.

The price of passports and identity cards will rise

The price of passports and identity cards will rise at the turn of the year. The coronavirus pandemic that began in 2020 and the related restrictions have also reduced the number of permits issued by the police as well as the revenue received from these.  The price of a passport applied for by visiting the authorities will rise from EUR 51 to EUR 58. The price difference to a passport applied for electronically will remain the same, as the price of the latter will be EUR 52. According to law, fee-paying permit activities must be in line with its costs.

The price of identity cards will rise by one euro, due to an increase in printing costs, apart from one exception. The price of an identity card applied for by visiting the authorities will rise from EUR 54 to EUR 55. The price of an identity card applied for electronically will rise from EUR 48 to EUR 49. If the identify card is obtained together with the passport, the price of the identity card will be EUR 8 smaller.

Fees of security clearances conducted by the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service will mainly remain unchanged

The fees of security clearances conducted by the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service will mainly remain unchanged next year. The fee for comprehensive personnel security clearances connected with a completed security clearance will be revised. 

Two new outputs concerning the security of aviation will be added to the security clearance responsibilities of the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service. The Aviation Act and the Security Clearance Act were amended in 2020.
In addition, a fee will be charged from the standard personnel security clearance that includes investigation of the subject’s foreign interests and is connected with a completed security clearance. The fee will be a half of that of the actual clearance.

Permit processing fees of the Finnish Immigration Service

The Ministry of the Interior will also adopt a Decree on the fees of the Finnish Immigration Service for 2021.

Read the press release on permit processing fees of the Finnish Immigration Service

Equality of the national languages taken into consideration in official badges and identity cards

The badges and identity cards of the security authorities of the administrative branches of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Finance will be updated as of 1 January 2021. The fair treatment of the national languages secured by the Constitution of Finland and the Language Act will be taken into consideration in the new cards of the Police, the Border Guard, the rescue authorities and Customs. 

The new badges and identity cards will be similar to those in use earlier, except for texts in the heading field that were rendered to the same size (Finnish, Swedish and English). 

According to the Ministry of the Interior’s guidelines, work on changing badges and identify cards must be commenced immediately at the beginning of 2021. The transition period will last until the end of 2021. The Ministry of the Interior requires that all security authorities change their badges and identity cards to new ones, with priority to Swedish-speaking areas and customer service persons. 

The maximum loss limits of Veikkaus Oy’s online gambling games will remain unchanged between 1 January and 31 March

The maximum loss limits of Veikkaus Oy’s fast paced online gambling games will remain unchanged until 31 March 2021. The reduced day-specific maximum loss limit will remain at EUR 500. The month-specific maximum loss limit is EUR 2000. A decree issued by the Ministry of the Interior on the matter will enter into force on 1 January 2021.

Further information:
Jaana Heikkinen, Legislative Secretary, tel. +358 295 421 603, jaana.heikkinen@raja.fi (European Border and Coast Guard Agency)
Mirka Eirola, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 295 488 383, mirka.eirola@intermin.fi (quota refugees)
Heidi Kankainen, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 488 335, heidi.kankainen@intermin.fi (Police fees)
Johanna Hakala, Government Counsellor, tel. +358 295 488 452, johanna.hakala@intermin.fi (fees of the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service)
Tapio Aaltonen, CIO, tel. 295 488 350, Ministry of the Interior (authorities’ badges and identity cards)
Jukka Tukia, Ministerial Advisor, +358 295 488 573, jukka.tukia@intermin.fi (maximum loss limits of gambling games)

The press release has been supplemented on 22 December 2020: The link to the press release on the processing fees of the Finnish Immigration Service has been added to the press release.