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6.7.2020 | The EU home affairs ministers will meet at the first informal meeting of Interior Ministers during Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union on 7 July. The meeting will be held as a video conference. The Ministers will discuss the development of European law enforcement cooperation and search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea. Finland will be represented by Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo.

25.2.2021 | International internet crime and mobile crime are constantly evolving. Proposed amendments to the Europol Regulation concern, for example, exchange of information between Europol and private operators to ensure that prevention of serious international crime and terrorism meets today’s requirements.

8.12.2020 | The Government proposes that wellbeing services counties be established and healthcare, social welfare and rescue services be reformed. The proposed counties would be established as soon as possible after the passing and approval of the relevant bills. The bills would enter into force in stages, the first ones on 1 July 2021 and the last ones on 1 January 2023. However, Parliament needs to pass the legislative package before the reform can enter into force.

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.

5.11.2020 | Efforts to combat human trafficking will be reinforced by closer cooperation between authorities, organisations and municipalities. A team investigating human trafficking offences will be established at the Helsinki Police Department, and an action plan to be completed at the beginning of next year will coordinate anti-trafficking work more extensively. Today, different parties took part in a round table discussion hosted by Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo.

21.10.2020 | A summary of comments received on the draft government proposal on the organisation of health, social and rescue services is published. Respondents welcome the objectives of the reform and agree on its necessity.

7.5.2020 | The Government decided on 7 May to extend the temporary restrictions on border traffic in Finland until 14 June 2020. The decision follows on from the decision made by the Government on 19 March to restore border control at internal borders, close certain border crossing points and restrict traffic across external borders.

2.7.2019 | Migration, the course of internal security and strengthening of common values and the rule of law will be the key topics as the justice and home affairs ministers of EU member states convene in an informal meeting in Helsinki on 18–19 July.

23.1.2020 | On 23 January, the Government appointed Kirsi Pimiä, Master of Laws with court training, as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior. She will take up her new post on 1 February and her term of office will last for five years.

12.6.2020 | RESOLUTION 11 June 2020 GOVERNMENT RESOLUTION ON A STRATEGY AND AN ACTION PLAN FOR TACKLING THE GREY ECONOMY AND ECONOMIC CRIME FOR 2020–2023 2 GOVERNMENT RESOLUTION ON A STRATEGY FOR TACKLING THE GREY ECONOMY AND ECONOMIC CRIME FOR 2020–2023 The ...

23.6.2021 | The Government proposal for legislation on establishing wellbeing services counties and reforming the organisation of healthcare, social welfare and rescue services was adopted by Parliament on 23 June 2021. The proposed wellbeing services counties will be established as soon as possible after the passing and approval of the relevant acts. The acts will enter into force in stages, the first ones on 1 July 2021 and the last ones on 1 January 2023.

8.10.2020 | On 8 October, the Government adopted a decision on restrictions on entry into the country, which will enter into force on 12 October. Restrictions on entry will be reintroduced for traffic between Finland and Cyprus, Latvia and Liechtenstein. All existing restrictions on entry will continue until 10 November.

1.10.2020 | On 1 October, the Government adopted a decision on restrictions on entry into the country, which will enter into force on 5 October. Restrictions on entry will be reintroduced for traffic between Finland and Lithuania, Poland and San Marino.

7.2.2020 | The Ministry of the Interior has set up a project to prepare the national legislative amendments required by the regulation on the European Border and Coast Guard. The regulation entered into force in December 2019.

11.2.2021 | Employers should support an employee who is subject to online targeting and shaming on social media or otherwise because of his or her duties. In addition, the police must ensure uniform practices in the investigation of online targeting and shaming. This will improve the position of the victim and safeguard legal protection, says the Ministry of the Interior's working group.

4.3.2020 | Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo will attend an extraordinary meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 4 March. The home affairs ministers of EU Member States will meet in Brussels to discuss the current situation at the Greek-Turkish border.

4.5.2020 | A research project will examine the combined effects of the amendments to the Aliens Act and the practices of applying the Act with regard to the status of those requesting and receiving international protection. In particular, the project will examine whether the amendments have had an impact on safeguarding the best interests of the child.

5.11.2020 | On 5 November, the Government adopted a decision on restrictions on entry into the country, which will enter into force on Monday 9 November. Restrictions will be lifted for residents of Singapore who are travelling from their home country to Finland. Restrictions on entry will also be lifted for residents of the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions who are travelling from these regions to Finland, provided that reciprocity is confirmed by the Council of the European Union.

17.10.2019 | Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo invited representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the authorities to discuss honour-related violence and other restrictions on girls’ lives. Much has already been done to prevent honour-related violence, but the work must continue. Raising awareness and continuous training and cooperation among professionals are among the most important means of tackling the problem.

20.8.2020 | The various provisions on the processing of personal data by authorities dealing with migration matters will be brought together in a new act. The Government submitted the bill for approval on Thursday 20 August. The President of the Republic is to approve the bill on Friday. The act will then enter into force on 1 September.

23.10.2019 | The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the International Centre for the Development of Migration Policy (ICMPD) are important partners for Finland.

23.5.2018 | The Ministry of the Interior has launched a new project to reform the Lotteries Act. The previous reform of the Lotteries Act focused on the merger of the gambling operators. The new Veikkaus — a fully State-owned Finnish gambling company — started operating at the beginning of 2017. The current project will prepare legislative amendments concerning the introduction of compulsory identification...

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.

14.12.2018 | A new Migration Review has been published. The report provides a concise summary of Finland’s migration-related policies, key legal amendments and up-to-date statistics. It also includes an extensive media review.

22.11.2018 | Plans are in place to amend the Act on the Processing of Personal Data by the Police in order to bring it in line with the new EU data protection requirements. The Act also includes provisions on the processing of personal data by the Finnish Security Intelligence Service. Following the updates, the Act would be connected to the purposes of processing personal data rather than to specific registers or data management systems.

20.12.2018 | The start of 2019 will see the entry into force of amendments to acts and decrees related to the police, immigration, rescue services and civilian crisis management. This press release provides a summary of the most important changes.

12.9.2019 | Legislation concerning the processing of personal data in the field of immigration administration to be collected into a single act. Government proposal on the Personal Data Act in the Field of Immigration Administration and related acts was given to parliament on 12 September.

15.11.2018 | The EU is examining new means to improve detection and removal of online content that incites to terrorist acts. The European Commission is proposing a new regulation to tackle dissemination of terrorist content online. The Commission’s proposal includes obligations on both internet service providers and Member States. On 15 November, the Finnish Government submitted a communication to Parliament on the Commission’s proposal for a regulation.

28.10.2019 | Commissioned by Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo, the National Police Board requested the police to give an account of its actions during a demonstration in Narinkkatori in Helsinki on 19 October. The National Police Board has now delivered the report and its own statement to the Minister. The report also covers the demonstration of 14 October and other preliminary data based on which the threat assessment was formed. On the basis of the report, the police acted appropriately.

10.12.2025 | The wellbeing services county reform is progressing towards the set objectives throughout Finland, but there are still many issues left to address. This is according to a broad-based interim evaluation of the wellbeing services county reform made by an independent expert group.

24.9.2020 | On 24 September, the Government adopted a decision on restrictions on entry into the country, which will enter into force on 28 September. Restrictions on entry will be reintroduced for traffic between Finland and Estonia, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Slovakia and Sweden, as well as for residents of Canada, Georgia and Tunisia who are travelling from their home country to Finland. Restrictions will be lifted for traffic arriving in Finland from San Marino.

12.6.2025 | The Government will tighten conditions for family reunification, in other words residence permits issued to foreign nationals on the basis of family ties. In its session on 12 June, the Government proposed that the President of the Republic approve the relevant amendments to the Aliens Act on 13 June. The amendments will enter into force on 16 June.

29.11.2018 | Finland’s counter-terrorism preparedness and capabilities are based on close cooperation between authorities and other actors in society. The Government adopted a Resolution on the National Counter-Terrorism Strategy on 29 November. The Strategy includes 31 actions that are either already being carried out or the implementation of which will begin immediately as a collaborative effort of authorities and other actors.

15.10.2015 | Uuteen rahapeliyhtiöön tähtäävän lainsäädännön valmistelu alkaa

27.11.2018 | Actions against hate speech and online bullying will be intensified through cooperation between an expert working group and public officials. The Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education and Culture have together established a project to prepare proposals for more efficiently preventing hate speech punishable under the Criminal Code of Finland and harassment prohibited by law and for promoting a discussion culture that takes other people into consideration.

3.2.2025 | Finland’s Ministry of the Interior has sent out for comments a proposal for amending the regulation on biometric data stored in the registers of the police and the Finnish Immigration Service. An objective of the Government Programme is to strengthen crime prevention and improve the conditions for using biometrics in law enforcement and crime prevention. The Ministry proposes that biometric data co...

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.

20.9.2018 | In the future, the reserve police could be deployed during a state of emergency as well as during disorder in a normal situation. This will allow for a more effective response to a changed security situation and new threats and strengthen the operational capability of the Finnish police in extensive and wide-reaching incidents and security situations. On 20 September, the Government submitted a proposal to Parliament for legislation on reserve police and certain related acts.

20.6.2018 | Action against trafficking in human beings should be coordinated at the government level. The Government needs to have a permanent coordinator, and such a position should be established at the Ministry of the Interior. These are the findings of a recent report that looked into the coordination and reporting of human trafficking issues by the Government.

11.7.2018 | Minister of the Interior Kai Mykkänen will attend the informal meeting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council in Innsbruck on 12–13 July. The topics to be addressed at the meeting include European border management, a crisis-resilient asylum system and themes related to police cooperation. As part of the work to reform the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), the Council will also discuss m...

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.

7.3.2018 | The home affairs ministers of the EU countries will discuss interoperability between EU information systems on 8 March at the meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council. Finland's representative at the meeting will be the new Minister of the Interior, Kai Mykkänen. Interoperability between information systems is an important issue for Finland with a view to improving both national and EU internal security.

21.6.2018 | It is proposed that players of slot machines located across the country, excluding those located in game arcades, be required to identify themselves from the start of 2021. Compulsory identification would make it technically possible to introduce restrictions to manage at-risk gambling on slot machines too. At the moment, players must identify themselves when they play Veikkaus online games. The propo...

27.3.2025 | Finland’s Ministry of the Interior has set up a legislative project to strengthen the administrative approach to combating organised crime and the related exchange of information as outlined in the Government Programme.

5.10.2017 | The Internal Security Strategy, A Safe and Secure Life, is a road map for ensuring that Finland will be the safest country in the world, as envisaged in the Government Programme. Good internal security means that everyone can enjoy the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the rule of law without fear or insecurity caused by crime, disorder, accidents or national or international events. The Government adopted a Resolution on the Internal Security Strategy on 5 October.

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.

25.1.2018 | The Government has proposed the adoption of intelligence legislation in Finland, with the aim of improving our protection capabilities against serious threats to national security. Such threats include terrorism, espionage by foreign states or disruption of critical infrastructure. The focus of intelligence gathering by the Finnish Security Intelligence Service would therefore be on identifying threats and responding to them at an earlier stage.

31.5.2020 | The restrictions put in place to mitigate the COVID-19 epidemic are being phased out gradually and in a controlled manner starting on 1 June. The aim is to curb the epidemic while minimising the adverse impact on people, businesses, society and the exercise of fundamental rights. From the beginning of June, certain restrictions will be alleviated, including the restrictions on gatherings, the organisation of events and the opening of public spaces.

13.10.2020 | The Ministerial Working Group on Health and Social Services has reviewed the opinions submitted in the round of comments held from 15 June to 25 September 2020 on its draft government proposal. As a result, the Government has made a number of policy adjustments and amendments to the draft. A total of 804 comments were received. The draft proposal will be submitted to the Finnish Council of Regulatory Impact Analysis on 14 October 2020 and presented to Parliament in early December 2020.

13.4.2018 | Finland's new National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security was published on Friday 13 April. This is Finland's third National Action Plan (NAP), extending from 2018 to the end of 2021. Through the NAP, Finland aims to contribute effectively to sustainable peace by strengthening women's participation.

27.6.2019 | The survey report provides information on the standards and efficiency of the asylum procedure and the asylum applicants’ legal protection. The survey, examining the entire procedure and all authorities involved, was the first of its kind.

13.9.2017 | The EU home affairs ministers will meet at the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels on 14 September. They will discuss counter-terrorism action and assess the current situation following the recent terrorist attacks in Europe. Finland’s representative at the meeting will be Minister of the Interior Paula Risikko, who will give an update on the situation in Finland.

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.

21.12.2017 | New legislation is proposed for the processing of personal data by the police. The Ministry of the Interior has sent out for comments a draft law concerning the processing of personal data by the police. The new personal data act of the police would replace the existing provisions concerning the processing of personal data by the police. The new act must fulfill the requirements of the EU’s upda...

28.6.2017 | The legislation on Finland’s preparedness to provide and receive international assistance will be specified within the mandate of the Ministry of the Interior. The President of the Republic approved the amendments on 28 June.

6.3.2025 | The Government is tightening the conditions for family reunification. In line with the Government Programme, the Government proposes that Finland should introduce the additional conditions permitted by the EU Family Reunification Directive concerning the spouses' minimum age, ability to provide for their own needs and the time they have stayed in the country. The Government submitted a proposal on the matter to Parliament on 6 March.

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):

13.8.2013 | Equality Conference Boahttevuohta - Moving forward together in Inari on 14-15 August

3.4.2017 | The Ministerial Working Group on Immigration has adopted the Action Programme for the Prevention of Illegal Entry and Stay for 2017–2020. The current programme is more extensive and covers a longer period of time than the Action Plan for the Prevention and Management of Illegal Stay approved last December. This is the third in a series of programmes first established in 2012.

5.3.2025 | The EU home affairs ministers will gather in Brussels on 5 March for a meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council. The topics on the agenda include the state of the critical submarine infrastructure, the management of migration and the fight against drug trafficking and organised crime. Finland will be represented by Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen.