Finland: Asylum applications soar by 38% this year

Asylum seekers at the Joutseno reception centre in eastern Finland early last year. Image: Tommi Parkkinen / Yle

Thursday, May 7, 2015

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Due partly to a surge in Somali asylum seekers, this year is on track to be the second-busiest ever for applications. The Finnish Immigration Service warns that waiting times will become longer unless it hires more staff.

The number of asylum seekers arriving in Finland has risen sharply this year. During the first four months of the year, applications went up by more than one third compared to the same period of last year.

As of last week, more than 1350 people had sought asylum – nearly 100 of them children who arrived alone. The largest numbers were from Iraq, Somalia and Kosovo. There has been a considerable increase in the number of Somali asylum seekers, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) said on Thursday.

Busy summer and autumn ahead

During the January-April period, there was a monthly average of 338 applications, up from 245 per month in early 2014. Altogether 1354 people sought asylum, including 98 minors travelling alone.

Applications usually tend to surge in the summer and autumn. Migri predicts that the 5,000-person barrier may be broken this year for the second time ever. The previous time was in 2009, when almost 6,000 applicants arrived.

Migri estimates that housing 1,000 asylum seekers costs the state some 15 million euros annually, and notes that reception centres for asylum seekers are now more than 90 percent full.

It also says it needs 20-25 more staffers to deal with the upsurge in applications – warning that otherwise waiting times for decisions will grow from the current 160-170 days.

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