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Interoperability

Answers to questions about biometric data regulation What is biometric data? Biometric data means personal data that result from technical processing, such as facial images and fingerprints, and allow the unique identification of a person. Who mak...

Data protection and processing of personal data at the Ministry of the Interior Contact information Data Protection Officer Data Protection Officer Mikko Levämäki tietosuojavastaava.sm(at)gov.fi Controller Ministry of the Interior, PO Box 26, FI-0...

Smart Borders Package improves EU border management The EU has adopted a Smart Borders Package, which is to be introduced in 2025-2026. The Smart Borders Package aims to: facilitate border checks improve internal security by, for example, stronger...

Cybercrime knows no borders Cybercrime refers to criminal activities that take place online or exploit information networks and systems. A growing number of crimes reported to the police now involve the use of these technologies in some way. Cyber...

Whistleblower protection Whistleblower protection safeguards people who report certain types of misconduct. In this case, a ‘whistleblower’ is a person who, in the course of their work, discovers a breach of European Union or national law concerni...

Accessibility statement for the website intermin.fi The intermin.fi website is subject to the Act on the Provision of Digital Services (available in Finnish and Swedish). Under the Act, public online services must be accessible, which means that e...

Frequently asked questions about criminal intelligence legislation Why are the intelligence collection powers of the police being strengthened? One of the key objectives of the Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government is to step up th...

Frequently asked questions about the CER Act What is the Critical Infrastructure Protection and Crisis Resilience Act? The Act on the Protection of Infrastructure Critical to Society and on the Improvement of Resilience is a general act that defin...

CER-laki

Questions and answers on gambling system reform General information on the gambling system reform Why switch over to a licensing system and retain a partial monopoly system instead of, for example, strengthening the current system based on the Vei...

14.4.2026 | The Ministry of the Interior has sent out for comments a draft government proposal to update civilian intelligence legislation in response to the changed security environment.  The proposal would introduce new powers, including measures to prepare for state-sponsored threats, and clarifying amendments arising from practical needs identified in intelligence activities. Changes are also proposed to the non-disclosure periods for documents. The deadline for submitting comments is in late May.

14.8.2025 | Public authorities in Finland will have to use the Bank and Payment Account Monitoring System each time they request information on account balances, transactions and securities. The Government submitted the legislative amendments for approval on 14 August. The President of the Republic is expected to approve the amendments on 15 August, and they will enter into force on 1 December 2025.

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.

Government Programme measures in the police sector The Government Programme aims to strengthen security and society's resilience. Police presence will be secured throughout the country. The Government will step up the combating of crime to improve...

Emergency response centres receive emergency calls Emergency response centres receive emergency calls for the rescue, police and health and social services, and relay the information they receive to the appropriate assisting authorities or partner...

About the Ministry of the Interior’s web service The address of the Ministry of the Interior's web service is intermin.fi. The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for the service, and it is maintained by the Ministry’s Communications Unit in c...

25.9.2025 | The Government proposes amendments to acts governing the use of biometric data stored in the registers of the police and the Finnish Immigration Service. Improving the use of biometric data would particularly support the investigation of the most serious crimes. The Government submitted the proposal to Parliament on 25 September.

EU migration and asylum system The new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum will help the EU improve the control of its external borders and increase the efficiency of asylum and return procedures. At the same time, the rights of asylum seekers will be...

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Temporary protection for people fleeing from Ukraine Temporary protection is intended for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. Granting temporary protection makes it possible to provide protection to a limited group of people in a swift process that...

16.4.2026 | The Government has submitted to Parliament a proposal for an act on the automated search and exchange of information for European police cooperation. The proposal would introduce amendments to national legislation required by the EU regulation known as Prüm II.

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...

Gambling legislation helps to prevent and reduce gambling-related harm In Finland, gambling games are run by the state-owned company Veikkaus Oy. In line with the Government Programme, the gambling system will be reformed by introducing licences t...

Racist crimes account for most hate crimes There is no single universally agreed definition of hate crime. A hate crime is generally taken to mean any criminal act which is motivated by prejudice or hostility against groups of people that the vict...

2.6.2026 | Voittoa tavoittelemattomien yhteisöjen ja säätiöiden (NPO-sektori) rahanpesun ja terrorismin rahoittamisen riskiarvion toimintasuunnitelmassa määritellään toimenpiteet, joilla vahvistetaan NPO-sektorin riskienhallintaa sekä viranomaisten riskiperusteista yhteistyötä.

Removal and departure from the country If a person does not meet the conditions for legal stay in Finland, they are required to leave the country. This applies, for example, to persons whose asylum or residence permit application has been rejected...

People found guilty of certain serious offences can lose their Finnish citizenship.

15.7.2024 | Cooperation between the law enforcement authorities of the EU Member States and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) will be improved by developing automated search and exchange of data. The Ministry of the Interior set up a legislative project on 15 July 2024 to prepare the amendments to the national legislation that may be required by the EU Regulation.

23.9.2021 | The development of interoperability between EU information systems will improve the identity management of third-country nationals staying in the Schengen area. The package includes a number of extensive EU information systems related to internal security, migration management and travel. The EU regulations concerning the framework for interoperability were adopted in 2019. The legislative propo...

4.12.2025 | The Ministry of the Interior has sent out for comments a government proposal for an act on the automated search and exchange of data for police cooperation and for amending the Act on the Processing of Personal Data by the Police. The proposal introduces amendments to national legislation required by the EU Regulation on the automated search and exchange of data for police cooperation (the Prüm II Regulation). The deadline for submitting comments is Monday 19 January 2026.

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.

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.

14.4.2020 | The information systems used by law enforcement authorities in the EU Member States will be developed to improve their interoperability. The aim is to ensure that the end-users of the systems (the police or border authorities, for example) have rapid and controlled access to the information they need for the performance of their duties.

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.

23.3.2023 | The provisions on the processing of personal data in emergency response centre operations will be updated to comply with the EU data protection legislation. The legislative amendments will not affect the right of the Emergency Response Centre Agency’s operators to process personal data needed in their work.

27.3.2025 | The Ministry of the Interior has published a nation-wide report on how well the targets set for rescue services and their finances have been achieved in the wellbeing services counties. The report recommends that the counties focus on recruitment of rescuers and preparedness for civil defence. They should also step up their efforts on incident and accident prevention with a view to reducing the number of incidents, accidents and fires across Finland.

19.9.2022 | The Government proposes amendments to the emergency response centre legislation to update the provisions on the processing of personal data in centre operations to comply with the EU data protection legislation.

18.2.2025 | Aimed at the entire population of Finland, the Preparing for Crises and Incidents Guide was published on the Suomi.fi Web Service in November. The preparedness instructions have reached a large number of people over the first three months.

28.8.2025 | The EU’s new Entry/Exit System will be gradually introduced across EU countries starting on 12 October 2025. On 28 August, the Government issued a decree to bring the national legislation related to the system into force. The decree will enter into force on 12 October 2025.

4.7.2024 | New legislative amendments will prevent the evasion of provisions on entry more effectively than before. In its session on 4 July, the Government proposed that the President of the Republic approve the amendments to the Aliens Act and the Researchers and Students Act. The President of the Republic is scheduled to approve the amendments on 5 July, and they will enter into force on 1 September 2024.

26.9.2024 | Finland is applying for additional funding for its programme under the EU Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (BMVI) to strengthen surveillance at the eastern border. Finland is seeking the maximum amount defined by the Commission, EUR 50 million. The Government decided to apply for funding on 26 September 2024.

11.11.2024 | Cashing Out Joint report by the Nordic countries on cross-border money laundering via cash transportation Foreword As the global economy is getting more and more digitized, criminals are still using cash to carry out their criminal activity, as ca...

18.4.2024 | The Government proposes legislative amendments to prevent the evasion of provisions on entry more effectively than at present. The amendments would prohibit asylum applicants from switching to a work-based or education-based application procedure in order to apply for a residence permit. The amendments would also tighten the identity verification procedure. The Government submitted the proposal to Parliament on 18 April. The proposed acts would enter into force on 1 July 2024.

8.6.2021 | The Ministry of the Interior has sent a draft government proposal for supplementary legislation on the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) out for comments. The purpose of the proposal is to make amendments to the national legislation as required by the relevant European Parliament and Council regulations. 

30.1.2024 | The Ministry of the Interior has sent out for comments a legislative proposal on amendments to the Aliens Act. The deadline for submitting comments is 20 February 2024.

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.

9.2.2023 | Finland has around 50,500 civil defence shelters with space for about 4.8 million people. Finland has a sufficient number of places in shelters. Civil defence shelters are located in large cities in particular. The highest number of places in civil defence shelters in relation to the population can be found in the Greater Helsinki area and Pirkanmaa. This is evident in the preliminary data of the Ministry of the Interior’s report.

8.5.2025 | Letter Page 1 (2) 10 March 2025 Kirkkokatu 12, Helsinki PO Box 26, FI-00023 Government Tel. 0295 480 171 | [email protected] | www.intermin.fi Dear Supplier, MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR ACCEPTS ONLY E-INVOICES The Ministry of the Interior only accep...

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.

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.

20.12.2022 | The President of the Republic approved supplementary legislation on the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) on 20 December. The supplementary legislation amends the national legislation as required by the relevant European Parliament and Council regulations. 

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.

4.5.2023 | The European Commission will carry out a Schengen evaluation in Finland in May and June 2023. Evaluation teams coordinated by the Commission will travel across Finland to evaluate how the Finnish authorities apply the Schengen acquis in its different areas.

8.7.2022 | The EU home affairs ministers will hold an informal meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 11 July in Prague. The meeting will be the first during the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Ministers will discuss the effects of the war in Ukraine on the EU’s internal security, fight against child sexual abuse, and interoperability between EU information systems in the justice and home affairs sector.

14.10.2021 | The Government has submitted to Parliament a government proposal for supplementary legislation on the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). The purpose of the proposal is to make amendments to the national legislation as required by the relevant European Parliament and Council regulations. 

27.10.2022 | In its fourth supplementary budget for 2022, the Government has proposed a total of EUR 9.0 million in additional funding for the administrative branch of the Ministry of the Interior and EUR 6.0 million in funding outside of the budgeted spending limits for a pilot section of a fence on the eastern border.

18.3.2021 | On 18 March 2021, the Government submitted to Parliament a proposal on national legislation supplementing the EU regulations on the use of the Schengen Information System (SIS). The role of the SIS is to support checks at the external Schengen borders and improve cooperation and exchanges of information between law enforcement and judicial authorities across Europe.

7.7.2022 | A new national information system for incident and accident prevention will be procured for the rescue services. The purpose of the procurement is to enhance, harmonise and make transparent the processes of incident and accident prevention, data transfer and practices in rescue services and to enable electronic services for customers. The reform aims to improve the effectiveness of incident and accident prevention and the equality among clients.

7.10.2021 | National implementation of the EU Directive on access to financial information moves a step closer. On 7 October, the Government submitted to Parliament a proposal to amend the Act on the Bank and Payment Accounts Control System and the Act on the Financial Intelligence Unit.