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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.

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.

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.

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.

6.2.2013 | Good Relations -hanke edistää hyviä etnisiä suhteita

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.

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.

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.

7.4.2016 | Perheenyhdistämisen edellytyksiin tiukennuksia

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

3.10.2016 | Kansainvälisen terveysturvaohjelman Suomen työryhmä sai Damir Čemerin -palkinnon

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.

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.

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.

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.

9.5.2019 | The Acts on the Processing of Personal Data by the Police and the Border Guard will be amended in order to bring them in line with the new EU data protection requirements. In addition, passenger information collected by air carriers may in future be utilised more extensively in prevention of terrorism and serious crime.

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

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.

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

17.9.2013 | "Tuntemattoman pelko on inhimillistä"

23.3.2023 | Several amendments will made to the Rescue Act and the Act on the Emergency Services Academy. For example, the obligation to purchase and maintain smoke detectors in apartments will be transferred from the residents to the owner of the building from the beginning of 2026.

22.6.2022 | In future, the border procedure could be introduced by decision of the Government if an exceptionally large number of people were to arrive in Finland over a short period of time or if hybrid influence activities that exploit migration were directed against Finland. The Government submitted the relevant proposal for amending the Aliens Act to Parliament on 22 June. The purpose of the proposal is to make it easier to manage migrants who have made their way towards Finland.

9.1.2025 | Provisions on the answering of emergency communications made to the general emergency number and on the accessibility of the number were added to the Act on Emergency Response Centre Operations in 2023. The legislative amendments implemented the EU Directive on the accessibility requirements for products and services (European Accessibility Act). The amendments will enter into force on 28 June 2025.

2.10.2025 | The tense security situation underscores the importance of preparedness, both in the Baltic Sea region and in the Euro-Arctic area. Meeting new threats requires joint exercises and well-functioning processes, as underlined at the Rescue Borealis 2025 international field exercise held in Oulu.

15.3.2022 | The Ministry of the Interior has set up a project to examine and prepare legislative amendments to enable the introduction of the border procedure in Finland. The border procedure would allow the processing of potentially unfounded asylum applications immediately at the border or in its vicinity. This would prevent asylum applicants from travelling within Finland or from Finland to other EU countries.

10.5.2022 | The Ministry of the Interior has sent out for comments draft amendments to the Aliens Act that would enable the introduction of the border procedure. The border procedure would allow the processing of potentially unfounded asylum applications immediately at or in the vicinity of the border. This would prevent asylum applicants from travelling within Finland or from Finland to other EU countries. The deadline for submitting comments is 23 May.

16.6.2021 | The Ministry of the Interior is circulating for comments a draft government proposal for the Act on the Interoperability of the European Union’s Information Systems. The Act would enable the police, Finnish Customs and the Finnish Border Guard to make queries in the common identity repository of the European Union’s information systems for the purpose of identifying a person.