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4.10.2018 | The operating conditions of the Crisis Management Centre Finland (CMC Finland) will be strengthened and the rights and responsibilities of experts deployed abroad will be clarified. On 4 October, the Government submitted a proposal to Parliament on the amendment of the Acts concerning civilian crisis management. The intention is for the amendments to enter into force on 1 January 2019.

17.9.2013 | "Tuntemattoman pelko on inhimillistä"

21.9.2017 | The maximum amount of assistance for voluntary return will be increased. In future, the maximum amount of financial assistance granted to adults who decide to return to their home countries voluntarily could be EUR 1,500, and to accompanying minors EUR 750. Previously, the maximum amount of financial assistance was EUR 1,000 for adults and EUR 600 for minors.

13.9.2013 | Schengen States with eastern external land borders to step up cooperation

8.5.2019 | Written by the Ministry of the Interior, the Migration Review provides current information about developments in labour migration and the asylum-seeker situation as well as about recent legislative amendments.

28.5.2025 | Prime Minister Petteri Orpo travelled to Kyiv on Wednesday 28 May at the invitation of Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

20.8.2015 | Suomi valmistautuu 15 000 turvapaikanhakijan vastaanottoon tänä vuonna

19.3.2019 | On 19 March, Parliament adopted a government proposal to amend the Firearms Act and the Act on Voluntary National Defence. The amendments will introduce the changes required by the EU Firearms Directive into Finnish legislation. The amendments will enter into force as soon as possible.

3.10.2016 | Kansainvälisen terveysturvaohjelman Suomen työryhmä sai Damir Čemerin -palkinnon

5.2.2018 | The Ministry of the Interior has set up a project to amend the Nationality Act. The aim is to lay down provisions on the loss of Finnish citizenship for people with dual citizenship who are found guilty of a terrorist offence.

23.10.2023 | The Ministry has set up three projects aimed at tightening the rules on international protection in line with the Government Programme. The planned changes will make international protection temporary in nature and introduce the option to withdraw protection if the applicant commits a serious offence. Finland will also introduce a new border procedure and make the asylum process more efficient.

9.2.2018 | Finland has made progress in the national implementation of the EU Firearms Directive. The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence have worked closely with stakeholders to find solutions on how to implement the Directive at national level. Last year, three different thematic discussion sessions were organised for stakeholders. The Ministries have also held separate meetings with them.

2.9.2025 | The Government of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has reached a decision on its budget proposal for 2026. The Government’s decisions aim to support economic growth, which is picking up. Supporting economic growth and continuing responsible fiscal management is necessary to ensure the security of people in Finland and safeguard their access to important services going forward.

17.10.2025 | The Rescue Borealis exercise, conducted in Finland between August and October 2025, brought together around 700 professionals from healthcare, rescue services and other security authorities from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Germany. This multi-agency exercise, which was mainly funded by the European Commission and focused on chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats (CBRN), was reportedly the largest of its kind in Europe in recent years.

19.1.2024 | The Ministry of the Interior has sent out for comments a proposal for an act on the protection of infrastructure critical to society and on the improvement of resilience. The legislative project will enhance national security and the resilience of society.

6.11.2019 | The Security Research Event (SRE) will bring together international security experts in Helsinki on 6–7 November 2019 to take stock of the state of play and the challenges of security research in Europe. This side event of Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union will be co-hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and the European Commission. One of the keynote speakers will be Finland’s Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo.

9.12.2025 | The Government proposes improvements to the Finnish Border Guard's preparedness and its ability to respond to the requirements of the changed security and operating environment. The Ministry of the Interior has sent out for comments a government proposal for an act amending the Border Guard Act and certain related acts.

5.3.2018 | An application round for additional funding from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) to be distributed for resettlement was launched on 5 March 2018. The European Commission grants additional funding for resettlement to Member States based on the number of quota refugees resettled by the Member State concerned.

17.5.2018 | The Ministry of the Interior proposes that a new act on the processing of personal data by migration authorities be enacted. The new act would replace the old Act on the Register of Aliens adopted over 20 years ago. The relevant legislative proposal was sent out for comments on 17 May.

13.3.2020 | As a result of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, UK citizens living in Finland will have to submit a separate application for a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement. The Ministry of the Interior has launched a project to prepare legislation that will specify the procedure and the timetable.

18.4.2024 | The Government intends to make international protection temporary in nature. The length of international protection permits will be shortened to the minimum allowed by EU law. In addition, any particularly serious offence committed in Finland or endangerment of national security would prevent a person from being granted international protection. The Government submitted its legislative proposal to Parliament on 18 April.

11.7.2019 | Provisions on the marking and deactivation of firearms will be specified to comply with the amended Firearms Act. Provisions concerning identification data of firearms and firearm components will also be amended. A new licence type will be introduced for active sport shooting, target shooting and practice: a firearm licence may in future be granted for certain particularly dangerous firearms used...

12.6.2019 | National legislative work relating to the new European Union Home Affairs Funds has started at the Ministry of the Interior by setting a working group. The working group will review the implementation of the Home Affairs Funds in the current financial programming period and prepare legislation concerning the funds for the national implementation of the EU financial programming period 2021–2027.

17.9.2020 | As a result of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, UK citizens living in Finland must submit an application for the right of residence in Finland under the withdrawal agreement. The Government submitted the bill for approval on Thursday 17 September. The President of the Republic is to approve the bill on Friday. The act will then enter into force on 1 October.

7.4.2016 | Perheenyhdistämisen edellytyksiin tiukennuksia

10.10.2024 | The Ministry of the Interior is requesting comments on a draft proposal for amending the Act on the Bank and Payment Account Monitoring System. The consultation round ends on 21 November 2024.

5.10.2020 | The Ministry of the Interior has sent the draft government proposal on legislation supplementing the EU regulations on the use of the Schengen Information System (SIS) out for comments. The aim is to amend the personal data legislation of the police, the Border Guard and Customs as required by the EU regulations on the SIS.

11.9.2025 | Finland will host Rescue Borealis 2025, an international exercise bringing together hundreds of experts from Finland and abroad. The exercise strengthens cooperation between authorities in Euro-Arctic and cross-border emergencies. Rescue Borealis 2025 includes a field training exercise that will take place in the Oulu area between 29 September and 3 October 2025.

22.4.2021 | The implementation programme of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) will receive an additional resettlement appropriation of EUR 5.7 million, which the European Commission will pay to Finland. The funding will be allocated to measures related to the reception and integration of quota refugees who arrived in Finland in 2020. During the previous monitoring period from October 2019 to October 2020, 572 quota refugees arrived in Finland.

6.2.2013 | Good Relations -hanke edistää hyviä etnisiä suhteita

1.8.2024 | The Ministry of the Interior has set up a legislative project to amend the Firearms Act and the Firearms Decree. Provisions concerning loading devices, silencers and the storage of cartridges, among other things, will be clarified. A comprehensive review of the provisions governing deactivated weapons will also be carried out.

9.1.2025 | The Finnish Ministry of the Interior has set up a legislative project to extend the validity of the Act on Temporary Measures to Combat Instrumentalised Migration (‘Border Security Act’). The purpose of the act is to respond to efforts to put pressure on Finland through the instrumentalisation of migrants.

19.2.2025 | A working group of the Ministry of the Interior explored the possibility of introducing a citizenship test as a requirement for acquiring Finnish citizenship. According to the Government Programme, the Citizenship Act will be reformed by tightening the requirements for acquiring Finnish citizenship.

10.7.2019 | The ability to prepare for extreme weather events will be increasingly important in the future. A European team of researchers has developed a role-playing game to help authorities plan their response to extreme weather events. Finland’s Presidency will test the game at a workshop for civil protection authorities focusing on chemical, radiological and hybrid threats as well as weather phenomena.

10.4.2025 | On 10 April 2025, the Government submitted a proposal to Parliament on amending the Act on Bank and Payment Account Monitoring System.

21.12.2022 | The start of 2023 will see the entry into force of amendments to acts and decrees. This press release provides a summary of the most important changes. 

6.10.2022 | Minister of the Interior Krista Mikkonen met the Baltic interior ministers Lauri Läänemetsi (Estonia), Kristaps Eklons (Latvia) and Agnė Bilotaitė (Lithuania) and Undersecretary of State Bartosz Grodecki in Helsinki on 5–6 October. The meeting focused on civil and emergency preparedness, and on critical infrastructure and its protection.

4.7.2018 | A project appointed by the Ministry of the Interior on 3 July will investigate and draft possible amendments to the Aliens Act concerning the processing of subsequent applications for international protection and the implementation of the Finnish Immigration Service’s decisions enabled by the EU Asylum Procedures Directive. In connection with this project, an amendment required by the Court of Justice of the European Union will also be made to the Aliens Act.

4.5.2018 | The changes required by the EU Firearms Directive are being implemented in Member States. In Finland, the Directive causes changes particularly to the Firearms Act. The draft government proposal for implementing the Firearms Directive was circulated widely for comments on 4 May. The basis of the proposal is to prevent specially dangerous firearms and their components from falling into the wrong ha...

28.12.2017 | The maximum amount for support granted as lump sums for projects financed from the EU Home Affairs Funds rises from EUR 10,000 to 100,000. The Government adopted the decree on the matter on 28 December.