Ministry of the Interior to prepare amendments to provisions on detention and entry bans in the Aliens Act

The Ministry of the Interior's project will examine the provisions on detention and entry bans in the Aliens Act. The aim is to tighten the Aliens Act in accordance with the set of measures related to voluntary return and departure laid down in the Government Programme.

The Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government states that it will implement an extensive set of measures related to voluntary return and departure, which aims to support the Government's objectives to tighten Finland's asylum policy. As stated in the Government Programme, the more stringent provisions and best practices made possible by the EU Return Directive will also be introduced. 

The project consists of two parts

The aim of the Ministry of the Interior's project is to prepare amendments to the Aliens Act to support these objectives. The project consists of two parts, one of which will tighten the provisions on detention in the Aliens Act. The purpose is to enable the detention of aliens on grounds of public order and security and the continuation of detention for 12 months in place of the current 6 months. In addition, the intention is to expand the possibilities to detain aliens guilty of serious offences. 

The other part is, in accordance with the Government Programme, the reform of the provisions on entry bans. The reform work will examine the possibility of withdrawing a residence permit from an alien staying outside Finland and imposing an entry ban due to the person being a danger to public order and security  or national security without hearing the person in Finland.

The project will also examine the Return Directive and explore possible more stringent provisions that have not yet been included in Finland's national legislation. 

The European Commission carried out a Schengen evaluation in Finland in summer 2023. If the evaluation report provides recommendations related to return and departure from the country, they can be taken into account in the project. 

Inquiries:

Jutta Gras, Senior Ministerial Adviser, firstname.lastname@gov.fi