Search

18.2.2022 | On 18 February, the Ministry of the Interior sent out for comments draft amendments to the Aliens Act which would extend the use of a long-term visa known as a D visa. Long-term visas would speed up entry into the country for people who have been issued with residence permits.

17.5.2019 | Hate speech is such a serious problem that the Government must define policies for its eradication. A working group that examined the phenomenon proposes that an action plan against hate speech be drawn up, a centre of expertise be established, and the relevant legislation be amended. Hate speech has harmful consequences not only for the victim but also for democratic society as a whole, the rule of law, and freedom of expression.

18.11.2021 | The Money Collection Act will be amended so that voluntary carbon offsetting services can be provided without a money collection licence in future. These services will be excluded from the scope of the Money Collection Act. The Government submitted the bill amending the Act for approval on Thursday 18 November. The President of the Republic is to approve the bill on 19 November. The Act will enter into force on 22 November 2021.

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.

1.10.2021 | On 1 October, the Ministry of the Interior sent out for comments a draft government proposal to amend the Nationality Act. The aim of the amendments is to update and clarify the Act. The intention is not to make it easier or more difficult to acquire or lose citizenship.

27.1.2022 | On 1 December, the European Commission issued a proposal for provisional emergency measures for the benefit of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The proposal is part of a set of joint EU measures aimed at responding to Belarus’s actions. Belarus has made efforts at its borders to instrumentalise migration for political purposes. The Government expressed its position on the proposal in its communication submitted to Parliament on 27 January.

1.11.2021 | A total of 17 projects will receive funding from the last call for proposals of the programming period 2014–2020, organised in May under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF). EU funding to be granted for the projects will amount to approximately EUR 7.5 million. The funded projects will develop the asylum system and promote receptiveness in society, capacity building for legal migration and the implementation of the return system and Finland’s quota refugee programme. 

7.10.2020 | On 8 October, Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo will attend an informal meeting of the EU home affairs ministers via video conference. The main theme of the meeting will be the reform of the EU migration and asylum policy. The ministers will now have their first discussion about the reform and the way forward. No decisions will be made at the informal meeting.

31.12.2014 | Uusi yhdenvertaisuuslaki voimaan ensi vuoden alusta

30.8.2021 | The Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU has called an extraordinary meeting of home affairs ministers on Tuesday 31 August. Finland will be represented by Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo. The topics on the agenda will be the migratory and security impacts of the situation in Afghanistan.

16.9.2021 | The aim is to amend the Money Collection Act so that voluntary carbon offsetting services would be excluded from the scope of the Act. In future no money collection licence would be required for voluntary carbon offsetting. The Government submitted to Parliament a proposal to amend the Money Collection Act on 16 September 2021.

17.3.2020 | The Government resolution to slow the spread of coronavirus infections and to protect at-risk groups, issued on 16 March 2020, states as follows (section 2):

25.6.2026 | The Government has submitted a government proposal for legislation on police criminal intelligence to Parliament. The proposal includes an amendment to the Police Act that would introduce provisions on criminal intelligence methods and their use in threat‑informed criminal intelligence. It would also strengthen the police’s secret intelligence collection powers used to prevent and detect individual offences.

20.5.2021 | On 20 May, the Government decided to extend the restrictions on entry into the country until 15 June 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, and we do not yet have adequate measures available to replace the restrictions. For this reason, and to curb the spread of COVID-19 variants, both internal border controls and restrictions on external border traffic will continue. Minor amendments will be made to the decisions adopted on 22 April. These will enter into force on 24 May.

11.12.2020 | EU home affairs ministers will hold an informal videoconference on 14 December 2020. Finland is represented by Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo. The ministers will continue the discussion on the reform of the EU's migration and asylum policy. Other items on the agenda include the future of internal security and cooperation between law enforcement authorities. No decisions will be made at the informal meeting.

31.1.2020 | The Ministry of the Interior has launched a project focused on a reform to the Lotteries Act. In line with the Government Programme, the goal is to determine any needs to reform the Lotteries Act, especially with an eye on further enhancing the prevention and reduction of the harmful effects of gambling. Moreover, legislative means to support the operating conditions of Veikkaus Oy and strengthen the exclusive right system will also be examined

13.8.2020 | On Thursday 13 August, the Government appointed Minna Hulkkonen, Master of Laws, as Director General of the Migration Department at the Ministry of the Interior for the period 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2025.

18.2.2021 | On 18 February, the Government decided to extend the current restrictions on entry into the country until 18 March 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, and there are not yet adequate measures available to replace internal border controls. For this reason, and to curb the spread of COVID-19 variants, both internal and external border controls will continue until 18 March. No substantive changes will be made to the decisions taken on 11 February 2021.

20.8.2020 | On Thursday 20 August, the Government appointed Jari Kähkönen, Master of Administrative Sciences, as the Director General of the Finnish Immigration Service for the period between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2025.

11.9.2020 | The Ministry of the Interior has launched an update of an action plan for preventing illegal entry and residence for 2021–2024. Along with the issues in the previous action plans, the new action plan will also examine the status of those residing in the country without a residence permit, the phenomena of abuse associated with them and the status of human trafficking victims.